Playing It Smart

When little Johnny decides he wants to join the school band, the best way to save money is to try to convince him that the radio is a musical instrument, and he already plays it very well. If he doesn’t fall for that, he will want a real musical instrument--maybe a trumpet, a trombone or the drums.

Whichever, you can be sure it will be loud--and expensive.

We have no suggestions about what to do about the noise. But we have checked out a few places where musical instruments can be purchased, and we have some ideas about how to save money.

New to Thousand Oaks is Music Go Round, a national chain store full of used instruments that sell for about half the cost of new ones.

Owner Daniel O’Brien, a teacher, musician and composer, got the idea of opening such a store from parents at Walnut Canyon Elementary School in Moorpark, where he teaches band.

“Parents would tell me the prices of instruments,” O’Brien said. “They were hesitant to put out $800 to $1,000 for a fourth-grader.”

So parents would sometimes go for cheaper imports-- that might keep the child from being able to make a good sound.

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But at Music Go Round, a better-made, better-sounding used instrument can be found for less money than a new and sometimes poorer-quality one.

“Most kids don’t mind having a used instrument, even if it has a few dings,” O’Brien said.

“Even beginners can appreciate a used instrument that can make a better sound and have a better feel.”

O’Brien works hard with Q-Tips and Windex to make the used instruments look appealing.

The accessories, such as strings and reeds, are, of course, new. A student-model flute, clarinet or trumpet costing $400 to $600 new would sell for about $199 at the store, O’Brien said. A $600 Jackson guitar can sell used for about $300.

But O’Brien says he is not doing battle with other stores. The composer, whose works have been heard accompanying feature films and on TV and have been recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra, said there is enough business for his and the other musical instrument stores.

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At Simi Jewelers and Pawn Brokers in Simi Valley, salesman Phil Mogg also provides some less expensive musical instruments.

But unlike O’Brien, his shelves are stocked on a more seasonal basis.

“In the summer we get a lot of musical instruments in as soon as school is out and by September, when school starts again, we’ve sold it all out,” Mogg said. “In December, when people are looking for Christmas presents, we only have a few from early quitters.”

He has sold a $3,000 trombone for $800, a $1,000 sax for $300, a $1,500 flute for about $400 and $800 trumpets for $150 to $200, he said.

Henson’s Music Center in Oxnard also has a few used instruments it sells on consignment for owners.

But its main focus is on new instruments, and the shop has a full range of brass, woodwind, electric and acoustic guitars and percussion.

“Some people want to be the first person to actually blow an instrument,” salesman Michael Velasquez said. “They wonder, ‘Whose air has been in here?’ ”

Another reason to buy a new instrument is that they usually come with a full warranty, some for a year, some five years and others for a lifetime, he said.

Velasquez recommends American- or Japanese-made instruments to get the best intonation, so a child is not blamed for getting a note wrong when it is the instrument’s fault.

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Carolyn McCabe, of McCabe’s Music in Ventura, said McCabe’s carries only American instruments for just that reason. In addition, she said, music teachers prefer them because they are more easily repaired if something does go wrong.

McCabe recommends that a parent rent an instrument for a beginner because of the low initial investment. McCabe’s rents such instruments as flutes, clarinets, trumpets and trombones for $20 a month with a two-month contract.

So if the child plays for two months and realizes that it requires sitting still, work and commitment and would rather watch Pokemon cartoons or play football, the parent is out only $40.

Also, a child can change instruments--from flute to clarinet to trumpet, for instance--without having his or her parents go berserk. After 10 months, the $200 rental fees paid can be applied toward the purchase of a new instrument--whatever that might be.

McCabe’s also sells some used instruments on consignment, she said.

Another way to save money is to talk your child into playing a large, expensive instrument like a tuba.

It seems contradictory, but the more expensive the instrument, the less it might cost the parent, since many schools provide tubas and big bass drums.

They need the sound of these instruments to round out the band and realize not many parents would purchase it.

Another plus--the instrument has to be left at school.

Nancy Needham can be reached at nancy.needham@reporters.net.