Our in-house repair staff will be glad to take a look at your instrument and discuss any repairs or maintenance issues that you are having. In most cases simple repairs or adjustments can be diagnosed while you wait and an estimate provided for both the cost and time to perform the work required. Sometimes the repair or adjustment can be made while you wait or even by the end of the same day however this is highly dependent on the amount, and type, of work to be performed along with the pre-existing workload in our shop. Whether you bring your instrument into our store, or if you have shipped us your instrument for assessment/repair, you will always be contacted before any work is performed to obtain authorization. Our goal is to return your instrument to you as soon as possible while executing the exceptional quality of work that has been a hallmark of our company. Also note that beyond repairs, we offer regular or annual maintenance services on an appointment basis that ensures your instrument is returned in the shortest time possible. Call us today to schedule your annual servicing appointment. Always be sure we have current and complete contact information on file so we may effectively communicate with you during the time we are working on your instrument.

A: The cost to repair your flute and bring it back to optimum playing condition can only be assessed by our trained in-house repair staff once they are able to physically inspect and play your instrument. It would be irresponsible for us to try and accurately quote repair costs either over the phone or via email without the opportunity for this physical inspection process. That said, given your description of circumstances surrounding the repair and/or symptoms our trained repair staff may be able to establish a minimum starting cost for the repair work.

For regularly scheduled maintenance/service (also known as a “clean-oil-adjust” or “COA”) we can quote minimum starting costs based on the level of instrument, manufacturer and our predefined scope of work. Should our repair specialists discover additional work is required or recommended beyond what is covered by the standard maintenance scope, we will contact you with a cost estimate for approval prior to performing additional work. Always be sure we have current and complete contact information on file so we may effectively communicate with you during the time we are working on your instrument.

We recommend getting your flute serviced (also known as a “clean-oil-adjust” or “COA” or annual maintenance) once a year assuming normal use (how much it is played) and care (environment, and if you clean it each time you play it). Getting your flute regularly serviced will make it possible for it to function at its optimal level. Over the course of a typical year, pads will develop leaks and the headjoint cork will wear out. The amount of play will affect the condition of the oil inside the mechanism. Bringing your flute in every year for servicing will ensure that we find anything that is causing you difficulties while playing, and it lessens the chance of major repairs needed on your instrument in the future.

Whether or not an instrument will require work after not being played for a period of time depends on many factors including but not limited to: length of time stored (are we talking 2 months or ten years?), condition/cleanliness at the time it was stored; environmental conditions during the time it was stored (temperature, humidity, local contaminants) and how it was stored (case, cover, etc.). Finally, there are some inherent construction elements that may affect the instrument’s playability after extremely long periods of storage including the spring adjustments and the natural aging of the oils and pad materials. Therefore, if you plan on storing your instrument away for an extended period, consult with an instrument repair specialist to make sure you are doing everything you can to protect it and do not be surprised if it still requires some adjustment and basic cleaning after it has been in the top of your closet for five or ten years.

No! On metal instruments (flutes or piccolos) grease or oil will only attract dust and dirt that will eventually scratch your tenons (the internal part of the flute joint) thereby creating places for even more dirt to accumulate. Try wiping down the inside and outside of your tenons, using a fair amount of pressure, with your outside cleaning cloth instead. If it appears that you have a dent in your tenon, contact your technician. Always remember that the proper way to assemble your flute is using a single twisting motion, in one direction (choose either clockwise or counter clockwise and stick with it!), while bringing the parts together in a straight on motion with no scooping action. On piccolos with cork tenons, you may use a small amount of quality woodwind cork grease. If your instrument ever requires a large amount of force to put it together... STOP... and contact your repair technician. It is easier to affect a repair without having to figure out how to get the instrument apart first.

The Carolyn Nussbaum Music Company is authorized and manufacturer-certified to perform manufacturer warranty work on all instruments that are purchased through us. Manufacturer warranty work must be conducted through the company/retailer from which the instrument was purchased or in special circumstances can be performed by us, as long as we can obtain written authorization and guarantee from the original retailer that they will reimburse us for the work performed. This authorization cannot come from the customer.

Possibly. Some homeowners insurance or instrument insurance policies cover your instrument while “in transit” but others may not. It is best to contact your insurance company first to confirm whether or not your instrument is insured while being shipped to our business. Buying insurance through any shipping company is usually expensive and the cost will depend on the value of your instrument(s). If you buy shipping insurance through a carrier, be sure to understand the limits and coverage of the policy being purchased. You want to make sure that the carrier is covering the full value to repair or replace your instrument and that all loss, regardless of cause, will be covered for the entire time it is in the carrier’s possession. Also confirm that your carrier will require a signature to release the shipment to us upon delivery. Most major carriers, by default, require signature on all deliveries made to our business/commercial address, but confirm beforehand to be sure. When we ship your instrument back to you, you pay us for the cost of shipping and we make sure that the instrument is insured during transit. Although we do our best to protect all our shipments, should you ever receive a shipment from us that is damaged (instruments or otherwise), be sure to contact us immediately. Take pictures, if possible before and after opening the shipment) showing the damaged packaging and contents, and always save all packing materials.

When packing your instrument for shipping we recommend you select a box big enough to put a minimum of three inches of padding around the exterior of the hard flute case on all sides. You can use any packing material available to you, however packing foam, Styrofoam peanuts and/or bubble wrap work best. It is also a good idea to be sure that your flute fits securely in your hard case. With your instrument properly placed within its case, gently rock the case back and forth and side-to-side, if you hear any movement from the inside of the case, try placing a piece of soft fabric inside the hard case on the sides or the ends of the pieces in the areas where your flute may not fit snugly. Take care not to over-pad thereby putting unnecessary pressure on the keys or mechanism. Inside, near the top of the box, make sure that you include your name, address (shipping and billing if different), email address and phone number(s) where we can most easily reach you, along with any specific instructions or notes you wish. Once your flute is packaged snugly, so nothing shifts around inside the box, tape the box securely along all seams and openings. We recommend the shipping label be affixed securely in either a sealed plastic sleeve or covered in clear packing tape to ensure readability in the event the exterior of the package is exposed to moisture/rain.

Call us immediately. The quicker you inform us of your mistake the better our chance of fixing it before we process and ship out your products. We can easily change your shipping address so long as we speak with you before we hand off the shipment to the shipping carrier. Changing the shipping address after your order has been sent out, however, is only possible with United Parcel Service (UPS). UPS has ,imitations that will result in changes fees and we will need to pass the change fee, charged to us by UPS, on to you. Orders placed using USPS services are not capable of being stopped in transit and sent to another address. Please be sure to double-check your shipping address for accuracy and completeness before placing orders. Should you have a specific need for a shipment to arrive at a particular address within a specific time window, please contact us, and we can often address such requests with our knowledge of the major carrier shipping systems.

When shipping to a university, college, school or business address please include the title of the institution. When ordering through our website, the Company field is provided for this information. In the Address field, please include a physical street address followed by a room, suite, hall, box, floor number, etc. If you do not know a university’s mailing street address, it should be easily accessible on the school website. The more detailed information you can give the better so include specific names for any of the following: Halls, Dorms, Departments, etc. If you are not sure what is important or where to put all the information include it in the Customer Notes section during checkout on our website. Always be sure to check your shipping address for accuracy before submitting your order. Remember, United Parcel Service (UPS) will not deliver to United States Postal Office (PO) Boxes. If your institution has a physical mailing street address but also uses an internal mailbox system (not owned by the USPS) be sure to include both so we can include all the information and ensure that your shipment arrives where intended.

When instruments are shipped to a customer for purposes of a trial, the shipment to the customer is insured through our relationship with our shipping carriers at our expense. Once the shipment is signed for at the destination address the customer is wholly responsible for the inventory in their possession. If at the conclusion of a trial if you choose to contract with a shipping carrier for shipping services to return the instrument(s) to us directly, you will be responsible for ensuring that the instrument(s) are fully insured during transit until they are signed for, by us, at our business address. If instead, at conclusion of a trial, a return shipping label is purchased through us (meaning you pay us and we contract with the shipping carrier, on our account, for shipping services), the instruments are then once again insured through us during transit and your responsibility for the inventory would end, with proper packaging and documented evidence of hand-off to the shipping carrier using the label provided by us.

There is no theoretical limit to the number of flutes that can be taken on trial. However, the customer is responsible for paying the shipping cost (both ways). Since the cost of shipping is directly proportional to the value of the shipment, the more instruments that are sent to you the higher the shipping cost will be. Also, even with our extensive instrument inventory, there may be limitations on the availability of certain instruments at certain times to be out on trial. We will always do our best to make sure you have the appropriate access to any instrument we sell and you would like to try out.

Appointments for trying flutes in one of our acoustically balanced trial rooms are always suggested but not required. Even though we stock a huge inventory of brand name flutes, piccolos and headjoints (hundreds!), it is possible that the specifically configured instruments you are hoping to try side-by-side might not all be available if you just walk-in. By making an appointment it also ensures that one of our flute experts is available to work with you one-on-one, for as long as it takes, to guide you in finding the best flute for your playing/performance level and your budget. That said, if you are just getting started in your search for the perfect flute and are in the neighborhood just stop in and we will be glad to have you play on some high quality instruments with as much or as little guidance as you would like. Appointments can be made by contacting us through email or by phone. Typically when setting up an appointment there is information that you will be asked to consider and provide such as:

1) Do you have a budget?
2) Are their specific brands/models you are interested in?
3) What is your playing history? (Beginner, professional, private lessons, etc.)
4) What are your performance goals? (Step-up, upgrade, marching band, sound change etc.)

It is important to keep in mind when scheduling your appointment to allow enough time for the process; beginners can take as short as a half hour to select their flute while professionals can spend several hours narrowing down their choices to find the perfect fit between player and instrument.