TromboneChat

I’m feeling very frustrated having ordered a custom mouthpiece via Mouthpiece Express. It’s been over a year! The folks at Mouthpiece Express keep giving me new dates but it seems like recently Bach has stopped responding to their emails! I know I should cancel the order and ask for a refund but I want the piece as ordered! Anyone have any suggestions or insights?

There's another thread about lack of customer service from Conn-Selmer, probably a related situation. Actually I know how it is - a custom order can take enough time away that could be dozens of standard mouthpieces - and nobody really wants to do that.

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I just received some very standard parts (for a King 3B) from Conn-Selmer. I ordered them back in early November. That’s 5 months for parts that they should have readily available by the dozen in a bin. From what I am hearing, all the larger instrument manufacturers are having supply chain issues. A custom order would just magnify the problem. So…..a year or more for a custom mouthpiece from Conn-Selmer does not surprise me.

Sorry Gfactor, probably not what you want to hear.

I did finally get the parts I ordered from Conn Selmer, but it took several months. A year is just insane.

Just a quick update - I finally canceled my custom mouthpiece order as it became clear that it was never going to arrive in my lifetime!

Gfactor wrote: ↑Sun May 28, 2023 11:27 pm Just a quick update - I finally canceled my custom mouthpiece order as it became clear that it was never going to arrive in my lifetime!

Good decision.

The other good news is that there are better mouthpiece makers than Bach!

Bach has always been slow with custom orders. When I was a student, I ordered a 5G with the "88H" shank from Bach, after trying one that somebody else had. It showed up at least a year later (longer, I think) and was expensive. Also, it was completely different than the 5G I was playing (rim shape, width, and cup depth) and the cup had mysterious "ridges" like a series of steps all the way from the rim to the throat. To be fair, I think custom orders require re-setting some of their equipment which means time lost for making their stock products, so I do understand the extra cost.

Jim Scott

Crazy4Tbone86 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 06, 2023 7:35 pm I just received some very standard parts (for a King 3B) from Conn-Selmer. I ordered them back in early November. That’s 5 months for parts that they should have readily available by the dozen in a bin. From what I am hearing, all the larger instrument manufacturers are having supply chain issues. A custom order would just magnify the problem. So…..a year or more for a custom mouthpiece from Conn-Selmer does not surprise me.

Sorry Gfactor, probably not what you want to hear.

I think that almost every iteration of the Bach name/company has had problems with inventory, ordering, delivery, and custom orders at some point. (I suppose the same thing can be said of other manufacturers in the music industry.) A year is too long to wait for any custom order, and especially for any parts.

If an organization sciences (?) person were to reorganize the company and their chain of command and communication, I’ll bet it would help. But businesses are usually willing to experience inefficiency if it doesn’t sacrifice their bottom line.

Now I’m curious what you ordered

Matt K wrote: ↑Mon May 29, 2023 6:50 pm Now I’m curious what you ordered

It was a 7C with a symphonic backbore. I’ve had the suspicion that the standard Bach backbores are too constrained. I’ve since ordered a Curry 7M which has very similar specs.

Gfactor wrote: ↑Thu Jun 01, 2023 4:07 am I’ve since ordered a Curry 7M which has very similar specs.

Would love to hear about your impressions after you play the Curry awhile.