General Discussion

You can now buy beginner-level musical instruments such as trumpets and flutes for under $100. They are usually made in either Taiwan or the PRC (sometimes Korea, but my *overall* impression is that the Korean companies are pursuing the higher-value markets, and put more emphasis on quality. Exceptions no doubt abound.) They cut costs to the bone, using cheaper alloys and thinner metal, and are often assembled with robot-installed screws that are, by design, one-use only. Machines screw them in with the screws cutting their own threads on the way in, and badly degrading them on the way out. In the past, repair shops would drill out a stripped thread, insert a brass bushing thread to fit a new screw, and the instrument would be almost as good as new, although the bushing would now be subject to wear and probably a first point of failure. Now there may not be enough metal to support a bushing -- drilling out the old threads may just break the post (or whatever the screw was in). If you buy one of these instruments for your kid to play in band class, know that the cost of any repair will probably be 50% or more of the cost of a new instrument. With a flute or clarinet, you can throw out the joint with the damage and replace it with one from a new instrument, and hope the next time there's damage it's on a different joint so you can "cannibalize" the new to keep the old working! With trumpets the most common damage is most likely to the thread on the valve caps, which are made of such thin metal that the threads must be very fine, and finer threads in soft metal are easier to cross-thread. Once the threads are damaged, re-threading is not an option -- too little metal, and too weak. An experienced repairman can de-solder an assembled valve casing and replace a damaged valve, but I've been told that the mass-produced trumpets from China tend to desolder everywhere if you heat them anywhere -- basically, the valve assembly will fall apart as fast as you can repair. Buy a new trumpet.

Of course, this is even more true with electronic devices -- they get smaller and cheaper every year, and repair becomes almost impossible because of the specialized knowledge and parts required. Junk and replace is faster, cheaper, AND easier. It's hard to see how this trend can be mitigated at all.