Just information
I met Alain yesterday; he now lives in Brittany (France), and his waiting list is 14 years.
Best regards.
… oh my… 
That’s worst case. With cancellations, the wait might only be 13 yrs 10 months.
Does that mean that if I ordered now, it would be a massive 35 years beore I could play them 
Yep, and that would put me at age 91! 
Ah…but what is the price now, and what will it be?
Or, if you know someone who’s selling…it might be a few days. Am I thinking of Ben, or myself? 
so…em…somewhere out there is a bloke who’s either thinking and or telling his mates,“only 13yrs 6 mo’s to go!”???
So, these makers with the decade+ waiting lists, how much of a deposit do they ask for? What do they do with said deposit? And what happens to said deposit if they should depart from this world prior to completion of the job? One would hope they keep all deposits in accessible accounts (under the mattress) so that they can be easily refunded if need be, not spent on materials.
Of all the things in life to wait for…14 years at that …pipes??? 
Alain takes a deposit at a certain point in time much nearer the time to work on the set, especially if custom work is proposed. Most people like that as it forces them to get the money together on a bit of a plan. Alain also knows that, if a buyer defaulted from his list, he would have no problem finding a buyer.
Perfectly right Jim
Alain also told me he doesn’t take any deposit when placing an order, for it makes no sense anymore.
Perfectly right Jim
Alain also told me he doesn’t take any deposit when placing an order, for it makes no sense anymore.
Has Alain stated if he is on schedule these days? By this I mean is he delivering currently promised sets as he initially scheduled. Alain is very presice. When I got onto his list, he sent me a letter stating the month and year that it woukld be ready.
I’ll ask him next time, I’m not sure he has an email adress now, for he just arrives in France.
I’ve always found Alain to be very precise in his delivery estimates - built up a concert pitch set from him over a few years when I started playing and everything arrived right on time. Got a flat set from him more recently, also right on schedule.