Hans van Oost wrote:

> Selmer, of Paris, is making clarinets of artificial materials
> (probably just a good plastic) and they seem to be as good as
> the granadilla wood instruments, but they are not cheaper. ...
> (However, as a tuba player, I would never buy myself one of those
> plastic sousaphones.)

The sousaphones with the fiberglass-reinforced plastic bells have been
big sellers in school bands here in the USA.  They don't suffer dents
and thus save a lot of money.

I think you'll notice some generational differences regarding the use
of plastics in consumer goods as well as musical instruments.  When I
was a kid in the 1950's, our family didn't have a thing made out of
plastic in the house except for the kitchen radio and the telephone.
Motorola marketed a television set at that time with a plastic cabinet:
a good quality one at that.  It didn't sell because nobody'd be caught
dead with a plastic-encased television set.

The latest generation of consumers -- i.e., the kids just growing up
now -- are among the first to accept plastics in every sort of product.
Most of our electric kitchen appliances are plastic, as are our
computer CPU's, monitors, the laser printer, keyboards, scanner,
speakers, the new 25" TV set (Natalie loves the damn thing,) the
wastebaskets, the snow shovel, the kitchen chairs, all the telephone
stuff, and the Saturn SL-1 that Natalie drives.

I don't think anyone cares much whether something's made of plastic
anymore -- though many manufacturers cautiously call it "resin," which
always makes us laugh.  I don't think it'll be too long until we see
"resin" invade serious musical instruments, and I won't regard that as
a big tragedy when it happens.  Musical instruments should be used to
make music: if plastic construction will make a bassoon or a violin
sturdy and cheap I'll be delighted.

Mark Kinsler
http://www.frognet.net/~kinsler

 [ I probably know 20 tuba players and all play brass horns.  They
 [ agree that the plastic Sousaphones are good instruments, but they
 [ say that when they're performing on the road it's much easier to get
 [ a brass horn repaired.  Thus maintenance should be considered along
 [ with initial cost.  Most musical instruments aren't yet considered
 [ by musicians as a throwaway consumer item like TVs (and some cars!).
 [ -- Robbie