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ALDI Special Buys Musical Edition 25th February - Trumpet $149, Flute $149, and Others

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On the 25th February Aldi is selling a number of musical items at good prices. Great for the aspiring musician, or a cheap option for parents with kids who are musically interested.

If you're craving a bit of horn, a B flat brass trumpet going for $149 -> your average yamaha goes for about $600+ and Bach trumpets a few thousand so this is a steal if you need to wake up your neighbours at 5am and want to save electricity by not using your sound system.

(A visually comparable trumpet goes for $369 at HN http://www.harveynorman.com.au/nuova-trumpet-with-case.html?…)

And if ear piercing clarinet squeaks are more your thing, for $149 you can grab a beautiful ebony grain clarinet.

And for trying to pick up chicks in highschool, a 40" acoustic guitar with steel strings for $69.99 (Cheaper than some colognes!)

All instruments (except guitars it seems) come with carry case, musical talent not included.

Being an Aldi deal, stocks may be limited so be in fast, or your mood will B flat.

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closed Comments

  • +23

    feeling horny?

    • +27

      This one time at band camp

    • +3

      Do it for Debussy!

  • +41

    I'll be baroque after this.

    • +22

      But you know you'll be bach.

    • +22

      Yeah, but you know you'll be Bach for more deals

      damn…beat me to it by 8 seconds!

      I can't Handel all these amazing deals

      • +7

        you just need to right a Liszt.

        • +7

          and a coin or token for the Chopin trolley.

        • Music!

        • +1

          @skegger: IT'S NOT A TUBA

    • +3

      I'm Bizet with my Chopin Liszt at VivALDI-Bach in a minuet.

      Don't bother wasting your money.

  • +9

    This deal is off the scale - Cleffinately some great prices there!

    Prices almost half that of name brand instruments that will hold a tune and not be embarrassing to take to music class.

  • I'm sure they haven't scratched Aldi branding into them with a rock

  • -6

    This deal blows my trumpet ( haha ha, get it)? Only 90s kids will see what I did there

    • Yes I see? Maybe you out should call yourself tommytrumpet, it's original!

      • -8

        Well I don't like to toot my own horn ( aha see there I go again looooool I love puns they're so punny)

        • +2

          Careful, you'll get a kinky neck if you try that too offen, maybe just play with your clarinet for a while

        • @Beach Bum: how come my terrible pun got negged. but cornier puns got posd?

  • Is the keter-portable-workstation any good?

  • +12

    Might get the wife one so at least one horn gets blown in the house

    • +1

      If she doesn't end up using it you might be stuck blowing your own horn.

    • +1

      Lisa stop blowing her sax

  • +4

    I bought an Aldi $99 guitar a while back - the strings were so far away from the frets it made it difficult to play, so I returned it.

  • +1

    Anyone tried ALDI violin?

    • +2

      Lots of people.

    • +13

      being played every week when the popular stuffs sold out

    • +9

      Yep, complete rubbish - don't bother unless you want to give up on playing / have your child feel demoralisingly inadequate next to their orchestra mates who, even if they're not as good, sound better on their superior fiddles.

      Violins these days are pretty cheap (check out 'Stentor' branded fiddles as an example), there's no need to waste your dollars on this.

      Source: Have played violin for 15+ years, tried cousin's Aldi violin. Even re-strung it. Not even I, as an accomplished player, (with new strings worth more than the violin itself!) could make it sound any good.

  • +2

    Just so everyone knows, a 40-inch guitar looks quite small, compared to many other guitars. So you know what to expect.

    Also, if you are buying an instrument for a child to use at school, find out first if the music teacher is a "brand snob" (for want of a better description). Bought an Aldi flute a few years ago for one of my kids, and asked an experienced flute player to evaluate it. They said "quite good", and were impressed by it. But the music teacher at school kept saying "you should get a better flute", until we eventually bought a student yamaha to shut them up.

    Secondly, if you can't find stock at your local Aldi, ask. When I bought one, there were none on display, they were still "out the back" in the stock room.

    • They got referral points from you buying the Yamaha… I swear they get kick backs.

      • Well, they didn't from me. Bought at a music store, not from the school. Music store wasn't near school.

        But I reckon you're right with a lot of the other things you have to buy for school.

        • +4

          I went to the local high school to scope out music lessons for my kid, and the wall was plastered with Yamaha propaganda.

          I said to my wife I am going to buy a different brand, just to spite them.

          It's so annoying that you get shafted into buying something that they decide is better for you. Feel sorry for those parents that need to buy Macs.

          I am hoping to pick up a violin from Aldi.

        • +6

          @jlogic: Bit odd that you got stroppy enough over some posters to shy away from Yamaha, and I hope it inspired you to buy your kid something more expensive of higher quality, rather than going in the opposite direction. Yamaha have been making the best student instruments forever. The value to quality ratio is the best of any beginner brand, and usually because Yamaha does do deals with schools, your kid actually gets the best price on a better instrument. The fact that Yamaha benefits from this type of scheme is simply because it's good business.

          It's your life, but it'd be a real shame to give your kid some piece of off-brand junk just to spite a school's deal with a very reputable company.

        • +4

          @IPYF: i agree here..just like the size if the guitar, it doesn't really matter. Its the quality of the parts, design, manufacturing process etc that matters. Yamaha has the better parts (and so do some other brands). As mentioned above somewhere, it is not inspiring to start playing on A rough sounding instrument. Just my opinion and experience…..

        • -2

          @IPYF: Who says I was going to do that? What gets my goat is when someone just chooses a particular brand over something else. i.e. a Yamaha keyboard over a Roland keyboard.

          Yes it is so they pay the school to be in their pockets. This is my point. Instead of picking the instruments that fit the childs play style you pick the brand that pays you the most.

          Just like mechanical keyboards, keyboards and pianos all feel different across the different brands.

        • @jlogic: This isn't some kind of grand collusion or conspiracy. It's just a mundane sales strategy and it's not like the school are trying to cover up the good agreement they have made. Yamaha sells packages to schools because they're a business and want to make money. Schools want a simple way of delivering reliable industry-standard student instruments to a large amount of kids for an appropriate price, and Yamaha are objectively the best company at providing this service in this space. Everybody in the supply chain gets to win in this situation, but you don't like it because you don't like businesses to make deals to their advantage? Teensy bit irrational if you ask me.

          But, that aside, it was you who said you were going to pick your kid a different brand of instrument than Yamaha just for the sake of spite, so all I'm saying is that I hope you didn't buy your kid a rubbish instrument just to make yourself feel like you had a little victory over…I dunno…clever business-people doing good business I guess.

        • Personally, as far as brass instruments are concerned i think that conn are better value pound for pound

      • The teacher said "get a better flute" not "get a yamaha"

    • +2

      As a music teacher we stay away from these for several reasons

      1. If teachers find them difficult to play on school level music how is a student going to achieve their best and keep interested
      2. Inconsistent build quality
      3. Most repairers wont touch them and parts are almost impossible to get.
      4. They don't last - we have Yamaha, Bach Fender instruments that are 15 yrs old and they still play better than new Aldi ones
      5. Resale value - how could I recommend an instrument that will be worthless in 2 years time at least brands like Fender, Bach, Yamaha, Conn etc are worth something.

      Always go for the best instrument you can afford 30 yrs ago as a kid my folks bought a pro model instrument for me on the advice of a teacher. They went without a new car and other things. I still perform on it and have been offered more than we paid for it several times. Well worth the investment.

      • With the "have been offered more than we paid for it several times" bit, did you take into account inflation? Taking a round figure, $1000 from 30 years ago is now equivalent to ~$2350. So as an investment, you would have had to be offered more than twice the purchase price. Were you?

        Here's how I worked out the inflation: http://www.rba.gov.au/calculator/annualDecimal.html
        Can't enter 2017 as the current date though, probably they don't have the figures for 2016-2017. I used 1987-2016.

        As my child hadn't started playing music, and I didn't know if they would continue for more than a few weeks, I bought the Aldi flute as an inexpensive trial. And my friend who evaluated the flute was comparing it to her Yamaha flute, which was not a student model, and she said the Aldi flute was better in some ways than her Yamaha. For servicing and longevity, I agree you are probably right. For the inconsistent build quality though, Aldi's 60-day returns policy is useful, if you know of someone who can test the instrument.

        • +1

          Buying a lesser model would have meant that they had no hope of recouping the total price if I had not continued. When you factor in the uni degree, money I have made from gigs and teaching that I wouldn't have been able to with a lesser model and the money offered I am glad my parents invested in my future. Note this is very different to investing for making a profit from reselling.

    • That's where you pull a Evan Almighty - do you like jazz?

  • Thanks OP, I needed some mic stands and a drum throne.

  • +2

    This one time…….at band camp

  • +14

    If anyone wants their kid to learn past their first compulsory year, these become a waste of money quite quickly. 1. They are poorly made and have a short life span. 2. They are often harder to use properly leading to waning interest levels and increased frustration. I am happy to elaborate on either of these points.

    Music teachers recommend things because they deal with this for a living and understand the difficulty of buying cheap instruments. They are not cheap in the long run. If anything goes wrong you better hope Aldi will warrant it. If you drop it any decent repair technician won't go near it. A second hand better brand will resell for a similar value down the track provided you maintain it and be better and easier to play.

    Musicians don't get kick backs. They get parents who want to argue that their $149 trumpet is "just as good" as that brand name and don't understand why their kid hates playing it.

    Source: am professional musician who doesn't get kickbacks

    • -7

      Yes but you made my point in your first sentence… I ain't dropping $600 on something that my kid might or might not want to do pass the first year.

      My issue is with schools getting sponsored by a particular brand. They should be telling parents of all budgets what instruments they need to get as the child progresses. Maybe the school should check the music store for other brands to suit different budgets.

      i.e. first years get the shitty cheap ones to practice their scales or whatever they are called (ain't a musician).
      second years move up in the quality stakes but still provide different ones for different budgets.
      third year etc etc…

      Also would help if they also worked out mid way through the year whether a kid is going to make it or not, so parents can start shopping and saving. Instead of lumping the whole purchase in one go.

      I remember my dad cursing them for not telling him early so he could search and save up for a piano. I remember him looking for a second hand piano because we couldn't afford a brand new one. Same with my sister in law, its a big expense to be lumped with especially if the kid doesn't continue.

      Source: Had two sisters that did piano, a niece that is learning the keyboard and a wife that did piano.

      • +9

        A good quality student musical instrument will have some resale value. Honestly you may even lose less on depreciation than the overall cost of these instruments.

        It is not the great music teacher scam. As a very good woodwind player I can guarantee that I have never played one of these cheaply made rebadged instruments and been anything other than disappointed.

        You are just setting up a child for failure buying one of these as they will have it much harder than their friends and they will likely give up as it won't be fun.

        On my experience with wood winds the pads aren't normally seated properly so it means the air escapes you have to blow significantly harder and the pitch will be slightly off. The keys tend to bend over time and formulate bad habits with your fingers being in the wrong place. I guess some of these things could be fixed by getting a service but you'd be looking at around $250 for that and by that point your already 2/3 of the way to a quality student instrument.

        I can't recommend any stronger against these instruments. Stay away.

        • +1

          So your saying they can't even have a "taste" of the musical instrument without dropping $600?

          Well maybe the class room should do hires etc.

          Also thanks for the downvotes only saying what other parents are saying in regards to the cost of instruments and kids dropping out.

          I didn't say I didn't agree with the points I am just pointing out getting something soo expensive on the first go is potentially a waste of money especially if the kid does not want to do it going forward.

        • +1

          @jlogic: most schools I know of do instrument hires. As do some music shops. I'm not sure why you get so agitated.

        • @dtc: Because of the brand lock in that I have seen… that's all. I like to have a choice of what I get and not be diverted to a particular brand.

          I understand calculators etc due to the difference in UIs and how formulas are entered. I have seen kids with a different calculator and the teacher doesn't know how to input the formulas.

          But instruments and computers etc should be brand agnostic and a guide on selecting the right equipment be provided.

          I wouldn't call it agitation more like opinionated on matters such as these.

      • I can't believe schools let parents pay for the instruments especially if it's a compulsory class. My sister is learning violin for music class and I'm pretty sure hire is free of charge.
        Side note: $600 for a decent beginner instrument is pretty good, considering my clarinet had a rrp of $6000.

  • +19

    Strings teacher here. I would stay far far away from the Aldi violins. They are so poorly made that I consider them to be more an imitation instrument than the real thing, and definitely not fit for use without a very expensive overhaul, if you can find a repairer who will even touch them. They do not come fully set up, they are often missing the sound post, the instrument is made with plastic parts instead of wood/ebony, the pegs and fine tuners barely work meaning it does not stay in tune, and the list goes on. I don't teach or play any band instruments so I can't comment on them myself, however my colleagues who do have said similar things about the quality of the Aldi band instruments.

    Instead of buying one of these brand new cheap/imitation/toy violins, look for a second hand instrument set up by a strings specialist store, as you can easily come by them for around half the retail price on Gumtree. They may not look as shiny and new, but a second hand instrument set up by a specialist store will last and actually work. Beginner strings students need all the help they can get, so set them up for success with a real instrument.

    • Would you recommend any brand or what to look for in gumtree? I was considering the violin until you mentioned some valid points.

      • +5

        Stentor, Ragetti, Enrico, Arioso, Arco at the beginner / intermediate level.

        Ragetti, Gliga, Capriccio, Cantabile, Hidersine at the intermediate / advanced level.

        Amore, Marcello, Jay Haide, Helmut, Sofia, Ernst Heinrich + anything of 1950s or earlier vintage at the advanced level.

        EDIT: Obviously there are other brands I haven't listed here, but hopefully this gives a good idea.

        • +1

          Stradivarius and Guarneri if you're not on OzBargain.

      • +2

        I'd recommend all of the brands that Catchy has listed, and I see that you're in Sydney, so add Kreisler or any of the brands at the Sydney String Centre to the list.

        Do not buy any of these brands:
        Skylark
        Dolfin
        Livingstone
        Harlequin
        Valencia
        Ashton (might be fine for other instruments such as guitars, but horrible violins)
        Montanari
        Onyx
        Sdella
        Axiom

        Another thing to consider that is just as important as the brand is the store that the instrument has been set up by. Most of the brands are Chinese made instruments (with the exception of Gliga which is Romanian), that arrive in Australia in parts, and are then set up by a luthier in store. This means that the same brand can differ vastly in sound quality and how well it works depending on who has set it up. For example, a Stentor brand violin purchased from a strings specialist store is generally going to have a better set up than a Stentor violin set up by a general music store. Violins from a general music store such as Ellaways and Allan's Billy Hyde will still work just fine, but I always recommend buying an instrument from a specialist store if possible. I don't know too much about Sydney specialists unfortunately apart from the Sydney String Centre (who seem to be a bit on the more expensive side for beginner student instruments), but I can highly recommend the following Brisbane stores:
        Animato Strings (cheapest, brand new violins for around $280)
        Simply for Strings
        Ilja Grawert
        Simmers

        You will find plenty of Animato and Simply for Strings instruments second hand for under $200, whereas the other two stores focus on more advanced instruments and so are generally more expensive.

        PM me if you need anymore help finding a second hand instrument.

    • +4

      Agree 100%.
      Hadn't read this comment when I posted mine above, but can definitely vouch for the "don't come properly set up".

      Even after re-stringing with Obligato strings ($169 retail… more expensive than the violin itself), it was still disappointingly pathetic.

  • +5

    These will be of awful, awful quality.

    • +6

      Pathetique

  • +4

    Was really hoping for a rusty trombone.

  • +6

    My neighbours don't like this deal.

  • +9

    Hey everyone, when rushing in for these special buys (especially first thing in the morning) don't assume its sold out when everyone takes what you wanted. Many times we are rushing to clean up our stock filling from earlier in the morning out the back while you are all shopping. Until we are done we realise some popular items go off show. In between this some of you guys and girls tend to assume the product you are after is sold out when possibly we could have extras out the back. Please ask especially since most if not all Aldi stores carry headsets now to communicate this type of situation.

    • That's if you can find someone to talk to.

  • +5

    For guitars, you're better off getting a used yamaha or other brand off gumtree

    • Artist are have pretty good guitars for their price. Aussie company, guitars made in China.

      https://www.artistguitars.com.au/

      • Hey, what's your opinion on this guitar?

        I've played on and off for about 6 months, but always used my guitar teacher's spare. Now I'm looking at buying one for myself and self learning. Would the guitar above be a good choice?

        Cheers

        • Hey. I can't really comment on that because:
          I play rhythm, so lots of strumming for me. It's usually acoustic and electric for me. Classical guitars don't suit the kind of music I want to play.

          Also, I play terribly, so it doesn't matter how good/bad my guitar is. I'm going to make it sound just as good/bad.

          EDIT: I take that back. A bad guitar will sound really bad. These guys have good reviews.

          For the price, free shipping, and for what you get with it, that's a good deal. If it's just for playing at home, sure this would be perfect. If you're going to perform, you'd probably want to go to a store and play before you pay.

          If I can sell my Epiphone for a good price, I'll get one from them, just to mess around with.

        • @flaminglemon:
          Cheers for that.

  • +1

    i stick to my primary school recorder, hot cross buns baby

  • +4

    These instruments will be absolute rubbish. I am a woodwind player and have played a variety of these cheap instruments in the past - all are terrible.

    I decided to buy an Aldi guitar years ago just to see if I could learn guitar without outlaying much money. It was so difficult to play compared to my friend's reasonable quality one.

    I got them to try the Aldi one and they couldn't believe how bad it was. She would tune it, and within minutes it would be out of tune again. This just disheartens any student because they think it's them that's causing the poor sound.

    If you want your child to learn music and not be discouraged do not impede them by buying them a crap instrument to save money. It's like trying to cut tomatoes with a blunt knife.

  • Are Rambaldi violins any good? I've heard you can fit them with SD-6 strings.

  • I think the plastic draws look fantastic, might be great for the shed.

  • +12

    Can you play VivALDI on these?

  • Often cashconverters likes to have shiny silver and brass instruments on display and if you know what your after, can be had for a song
    As long as your not worried about being done for receiving stolen goods, you'll grab a 'bargain'

    • Better there than Gumtree… who knows what provenance those instruments have on Gumtree.

    • +2

      *you're

      • +1

        Thank u

  • Has anyone had much experience with the guitars? given that the guitars aren’t actually that much cheaper than usual, what’s the quality like? Would there be any difference in quality between getting the acoustic guitar or the acoustic electric guitar?

  • +2

    I do not recommend the keyboard. I bought one last year, it was terrible quality and died the day I bought it. Save up and get one from gumtree. Thanks to everyone for recommendations for guitars!

    • Thanks for the heads up. The Mrs was thinking about it just because it was worth a try at that price point, but nice to know it isn't worth the trouble.

    • Agree, garbage, Bought one, took it back (the returns process is nasty)
      then bought a decent Yamaha from Allans and its a beauty.

      Aldi sells nicely packaged landfill. My garage is full of it.

  • +4

    The last time Aldi had the acoustic guitars, I picked one up, spied down the neck, and involuntarily choked into a laughing fit. The neck was so twisted - and uneven I couldn't believe it. It changed direction 2 or 3 times along the neck, lol. It refused to tune. Bringing one string into pitch would knock the others out every time. And no, they weren't just slipping on the tuning peg. And although strings are a consumable item and can be replaced, they were so light that when I did a chord close to tuned, another in the same key - wasn't - when forming open chords. It went in and out of tune at random depending on the chord you played, up and down the neck. And forming barr chords increased that variation so much, it was a riot. The action was so high it was ridiculous. Carpel tunnel syndrome, come on down!

    Truly one of the most repulsive instruments I've seen in 3 decades.

    I bought a rubbish homebrand asian 1970s guitar from a garage sale for $20, for our toddler to bang into doorways, take outside, STAND ON… a dreadful instrument to try and actually play. My hands would ache after a few minutes. Yet even it had better intonation than the new Aldi one.

    Picked up a second Aldi one, thinking it might just be that one instrument at fault - and it was just as bad if not worse.

    Buying one would be the quickest and most effective way to discourage someone from playing an instrument for life. For goodness sake, double the price and buy the cheapest (or a secondhand) Yamaha, Cort, Seagull, something - anything - from a music store. Minus any hard case and any 'free' beginner's pack that inflates the price. (Download a free tuner app on your phone instead.) Ask for their best cash price then offer another 10-12% less and be prepared to walk away. Or watch sales for when they go a bit cheaper… Or just don't bother at all. You really are flushing your $ down the toilet.

  • As for the gumtree comments… when buying secondhand, take someone along that has played guitar for more than 3 months. It's pretty easy to pick a gem from the lemons, along with your own viewing of a few youtube clips on what to avoid.

  • drum kit looks like fun!

  • Anyone come across any drum thrones in WA? None in Canno.

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