Doesn’t get more exciting than this: SLM has added a new line of brass and woodwind instruments aimed specifically at the rental market. The respected Zonda name is synonymous with great reeds, and now Zonda stands for quality flutes, clarinets, trumpets, trombones, and alto and tenor saxophones. Introduced at the recent NAMM convention on January 24th, Zonda instruments started flying out of our warehouse and into retailers everywhere pretty much immediately ….
Zonda Brass and Woodwinds are here.
Asked for the reasons why SLM is now moving into student band products, Zonda brand director Craig Denny is blunt: “It’s a question of why St. Louis Music does anything. We have a goal to provide more value to our customers in every facet of our business. Specifically, the student line is great product with exceptional pricing and terms that make sense for everyone.”
Zonda instruments are making their debut at the NAMM show, and they come with their own Zonda molded ABS cases, and will offer a remarkable guarantee to retailers: Limited lifetime warranty plus free parts for the first three years.
“These are first-rate, quality instruments – not something simply purchased off the shelf,” Denny continues. “Nearly two years in the making, this is a new line that will be profitable for dealers to include in their rental program, and more importantly, stand up to the riggers and treatment that instruments get from young beginning players.”
Denny and the SLM team behind Zonda were committed to make each instrument of the line a stand-out. “There are countless lines out there that have an Achilles heel, something that holds it back … maybe they have great trumpets and trombones, but the clarinets leave much to be desired,” Denny explains. “Their woodwinds might be exceptional but the brass is very weak. With Zonda, every instrument is something a band director will be pleased their kids are playing.”
The Missing Piece
SLM CEO Mark Ragin is especially pleased to be offering Zonda student instruments to his 3,000-plus network of dealers. “I’ll be honest, this has long been the missing piece in our inventory,” he states “I started in the business behind the retail counter and know how important a dependable, profitable line of student instruments is to a retailer. Several times over the last decade we’ve worked to plug this hole, but it needed to be right combination of factors. The line had to be something of quality that sells at a price point which makes sense for a rental program.”
Ragin says that there are many important factors the dealer will find of interest in the new Zonda line. “There’s no sense having rental instruments that can’t be repaired easily in the dealers’ shop,” he says. To back it up Zonda Brass and Woodwinds offer a lifetime limited warranty and for a first time ever in the band industry, free parts for three years.
While these six instruments will be shipping beginning in mid-April, other harmony instruments will follow over the coming years. To learn more about Zonda Brass and Woodwinds, please contact St. Louis Music at [email protected] or call 800-727-4512.
