Domestic (American manufacturer{s} rely on a reputation that was established a century ago, yet the quality that developed that reputation has been gradually abandoned, beginning in the 1970's.
The Japanese began establishing their reputation in the 1970's, with good-fitting parts and low prices...which have become (quite a few of the models) not-Japanese builds, "pretty good" quality, and super-high pricing. ("After all, we're _ _ _ _ _ _.")
Again... (reviewing...I've pointed all of this out before)
JP has a healthy mark-up between the factory price they pay and the price they charge me. I've tried buying around them (for a lower price, even though JP pays less than I can, due to epic quantity). The thing is that JP has established a quality standard with that factory, and I can't get the JP established quality when I buy "around" them. Still, being able to sell a King-like sousaphone with a complete knock-off (butterfly latches et al) of the Conn-Selmer version of the MTS case included, shipping to my customer included, for considerably less than half the online-advertised price of King (perhaps half of a school bid price), and with much better valvesets (quite-cylindrical close-fitting pistons/stainless steel pistons) and (even) nickel-brass slide tubes and nickel-brass bell connection male/female parts...that's pretty good.
...and the way that the American manufacturers have been behaving (parts? enough employees? huh?) makes me wonder if they plan to continue on.
sidebar: I've been selling more JP instruments that usual, because (not known/verified, but told to me by others) the Japan production schedules (even were it that their quality of the instruments mostly sold to schools equaled that of JP) have (again: third-hand information) reached out way over a year.
This summer (as more band directors "auto-choose" to buy Japanese woodwinds to replace old Vito/Bundy, etc. - which they
> wrongly < judged to be "worn out"), Mrs. bloke has had to resort to CUTTING OUT screw-rods on Japanese-brand piccolos, harmony clarinets, and (Malaysia-made) soprano clarinets (absolutely hopelessly frozen) and you might guess that (after 45 years of this mess, dozens of techniques/tricks known for freeing screw-rods, and extremely well-defined forearm musculature - ie. STRONG hands) if ANYONE can get screw-rods freed, it would be Mrs. bloke. Additionally, the cases are (sort-of) disposable quality...bass clarinet and other Japanese-brand thin-plastic cases now feature (yup) plastic hinges.
If (mostly) all we have to choose from are USA-branded Chinese instruments, Japan-branded Chinese (and Malaysian) instruments, and more-recently-established-brands Chinese instruments...
...WHY NOT buy the really well-made Chinese instruments that cost half or considerably less than half-as-much?
I realize that government doesn't give a damn how much things cost. The federal gov't heavily subsidizes local schools, and the federal government has the infinite power to print and borrow money...but (well...) we serfs don't have those powers, and we are the ones to get taxed to pay for this equipment.
me...?? It seems to me that we (even though - yes - many repair people are "hacks", and the best of them are overwhelmed) should probably continue to REPAIR older instruments. A USA-made Blessing marching baritone (with Bauerfend valvesets) is going to play JUST as well with a properly-repaired-and-sleeved (reinforced) mouthpipe as it did when it was new. OK..."ugly finish"...?? NEW instruments soon (in three or four years) look like the 30-year-old instruments, and are handled JUST as carelessly.
