Recently, I’ve had some questions from customers who have recently bought a brand new flute from the IFS, only to return weeks later with some adjustment issues. This certainly has the potential to be frustrating, but with an understanding about how instruments arrive in my shop, I wanted to take a moment to clarify some expectations about purchasing a flute and what to expect after you walk out the door.
When you leave the store after purchasing an instrument from me, you may think that is the end of our business relationship. In fact, it’s only the beginning! I love to hear from previous customers to know how their student is doing, how the instrument is performing, and improvements they are making. More importantly, though, it truly is necessary to bring your instrument in for regular maintenance. I always tell customers that by the time they notice a problem with their flute, it’s already far overdue for repairs. So come see us every six or so months–or a year at the very most.
Another very important thing to keep in mind is that with brand new instruments, there is a bit of a breaking-in period. It’s certainly not to the level that wood instruments such as violins and other string instruments, but flutes do go through a “settling-in” period after they have come from the shop. All flutes that I sell go through a rigorous inspection and quality control process, and I play each one before it goes on the shelf, but the fact is that sometimes parts go through some changes after they are played fresh out of the box for a couple weeks. It is not unusual to have a tenon come out of adjustment or for the instrument to have some small alignment issues in the first month or so. Rest assured, we will take care of your instrument throughout its entire journey with you, so don’t ever hesitate to give me a call or swing by the shop so we can get it back to you as good as new.