Have any of you good people done business with fifeanddrum.com? I placed an on-line order two weeks ago and have heard nothing from them other than an email acknowledging the order (probably an automated response). As nearly as I can tell, there has been nothing done on this order since May 30. When I called, I got an answering machine. Is this typical? Is this a real store, or is it one of those operations that is run out of some guy’s basement and he gets to it when he gets to it? Do I need to be contacting my credit card company?
It is a real store and I’ve done business with him a lot in the past. I am a member of and still subscribe to the list. I switched from fife to flute a number of years ago but can vouch for the store. Its a one man operation, I believe, so may be a litle slow. I suggest going to the web site and sending an email through there.
BillG
I’ve oprdered from them and not had any problems.
I sent a message through the website yesterday before I posted here, requesting resolution within 24 hours and have not received a response, although the 24 hours are not up yet.
Checking the on-line order status give me this:
Order Number: xxxxxxx.xxx
Status: Your order has been sent to FIFEandDRUM.com
It has not been processed yet.
Record Last Updated: 05/30/06
No change since the day I ordered it, and this was on an item for which the website said “Availability: Ships Immediately.”
And now calling the phone number on the website – 860-760-6513 – gets me a message stating “This number is not in use. Thank you for calling. Goodbye.”
Fortunately, no charge has posted to the credit card, and if I don’t get a response today, I will send an email cancelling the order.
Thanks to everyone who responded. Unfortunately, my experience with their customer service has not equalled yours.
I have ordered from them once and found that they did not seem to be all that organized. I ordered three things from them (mostly to take advantage of there shipping and handling) and the books came separately and the fife came directly from Ron Peeler.
Seemed to me they were honest, but the order tracking was strange (perhaps because they were not shipping the fife). Hope everything works out in the long run for you.
No response; order cancelled. If I could have found any indication this outfit was still in business, it would have been negotiable, but the non-working phone number pretty much killed any interest I had in continuing a business relationship with them.
And so my dreams of becoming a fifer are thwarted, at least for the nonce, but maybe I’ll wander into a museum gift shop while on vacation this summer and can pick up one of those Cooperman plumbing pipes to play with. Meanwhile, perhaps the purchase of a new whistle with the coin saved from this aborted transaction would be in order. I know at least three purveyors of whistles who actually fill their orders.
You might want to check out Ralph Sweet’s fifes. He’s got some reasonably priced wooden fifes (down to 50 or 60 bucks, I think) and even has a $7 plastic fife. I think anyone who’s met or dealt with him will concur that he’s reputable, and there are two generations at work, so they ain’t goin’ nowhere.
I’ve had good luck with Ed Boyle at beafifer.com. He doesn’t confirm your order unless you email him asking, but he ships quickly and the products are good. His cheapy fife is $7.50, his instruction book is helpful, if eccentric, and the Model F fife (available in two woods, two styles) are works of art. About $105 and truly beautiful. And he’s quick with advice when asked.
Thanks. I’ve been to both Ralph Sweet’s site and beafifer, and there are some truly beautiful instruments to be had at each, although they were priced a bit beyond what I had initially planned to pay. I was hoping to stay out of the hundred dollar range, primarily because I’ve never been able to get a sound out of any transverse-blown instrument. But then, I’ve never tried on anything other than a basic untunable Dixon flute and one of those Cooperman museum shop plastic tubes. I thought I would invest just a tad more, so I was looking to order that Cooperman persimmon student model, even though I know reviews have been mixed on this site. The price was good (only 35 dollars) and it looked more like a real instrument than the plastic ones. (I did know enough to avoid the 15 dollar maple Cooperman wall hanger.)
I’m just not ready to pop a C-note for something I may not have any inate ability at, but I did notice a couple of items that I thought I’d run past you folks, if you don’t mind my hijacking my own thread, to wit:
Ralph Sweet makes a maple version of both the colonial B flat and the Cloos reproduction B flat, and at 65 dollars, they were about 25 bucks cheaper than the rosewood and 50 cheaper than blackwood. I’ve seen some disparaging comments about maple as a fife material on this board, primarily referring to the Cooperman maple fife, but I can’t imagine a maker with a reputation like the Sweets have making a junk instrument. Comments about the maple Sweet fifes?
Sweet also make a maple renaissance fife in D. Anyone have any experience with this model? I know this isn’t a traditional military key, but I don’t have any desire to pack up and join the regiment anyway. At least not right away. Would this renaissance fife at 35 bucks be a good trainer? Or would it be harder than learning on a B flat military fife?
And I guess the question at the heart of this is which fife would I most likely be able to learn to get a real fife sound out of?
Thanks again to all.
I had a rennaisance fife of Ralphs…quite a good fife especially for the price range. These little high flutes require a good embouchure to play well, but the first ocatve is readily accessible.
Eric
I think that Doug Tipple also makes a
fife in Bb that is tunable for $50. And received at least one positive review. (search for fyffer’s post on it).
http://home.earthlink.net/~life2all/dougswebspace/index.html
I may be wrong about Ralph Sweet’s renaissance fife, but if it is like his folk fifes, it should be easier to play the bottom octave at the expense of the third octave. In a way, this would make it easier to play than a military style fife designed to play up to high D.
Ralph Sweet is very good at answering questions so I would encourage you to Email him directly with any concerns.
Let me add another favorable report of the Tipple Bb…nnnnice !
Jack
Generally speaking, the Bb military fife is not an easy instrument to start on. You don’t play much in the lower octave and you really do need to be able to focus your breath. While I have’t played one, I would think the Sweetheart maple renaissance fife in D would be a good choice. I have an old version of his folk fife in D which plays very easy in the low octave. I also have a $10 PVC crafts fair flute sitting next to my computor which plays a lot esier than my fancy fife, but won’t do the high notes.
Go with something easy to play to start. Worry about making “dog whistle” sounds later.
Thanks again. I just sent off an order (to a different vendor, or course) for the Sweet renaissance fife in D. Your comments were most helpful, and this instrument looks the best shot I have at actually getting a sound out of a transverse-blown instrument. (And I was also able to sneak a whistle into the order.) I’ll let you know if I ever get a tune out of it.