The best way to order an item from The Brass Ark is to send an e-mail to noah@brassark.com and I will respond back as quickly as I can. Sometimes messages get bounced back or not delivered. If you haven’t heard from me via email, please try again. Sometimes emails get buried in my inbox. The Brassark is soley run by me, Noah. I personally answer all of the emails, fill all orders, pack all boxes, give all advice and provide whatever customer service I can do. Due to my busy schedule, I am only at the shop by appointment so email is the best format to contact me.
I don’t have online ordering for a few reasons. I know how hard it is to buy a musical instrument over the internet… just reading about specs and materials or reviews on forums isn’t enough to ensure that you’re going to find a quality instrument that fits the needs for you. The Brass Ark was created to be a personal experience: to provide a unique store that specializes in the rare, unusual, desirable instrument. A spot on the web that will guarantee some good reading material, history on our craft of brass playing and lots of cool photos of instruments. I don’t see how I could do online ordering, because part of what makes me so excited about brass instruments goes into every photo, every description, every product that is on this website. I also enjoy learning about you, your music, your history and how I can help you either sell a special heirloom or treasured brasswind or help you purchase one from the inventory. It gives me great pleasure when I hear back from clients that are still so satisfied with their instrument, leadpipe, mouthpiece or just a conversation we had about advice… it makes the hours of photo editing, writing descriptions, website coding worthwhile for me. So, to sum it up, I don’t plan on having online ordering for The Brass Ark 🙂
At the moment, I am the only employee. My hours are by appointment only. Clients are welcome to come try instruments in my showroom, but please e-mail ahead of time for an appointment. I’d be happy to meet you at whatever time works for both of us.
Right now, I am only set up to take cash, bank transfers or checks. I cannot take credit cards, however, I can accept a card payment through paypal. I am also set up on WISE. If paying with paypal, I would ask that buyers cover the 3.4-5% fee on instrument purchases, which is very aggressive on a small business like this one. International paypal fees are higher than domestic. Paypal fees are non refundable.
I’m a busy professional musician in Los Angeles and have a family at home. Right now, I can’t dedicate all of my time to be at the shop for regular hours. As this store grows, I hope to have the opportunity to hire a staff and keep regular hours, but for the moment it is only me. Email is the best way to get ahold of, so if you send me a message there, I will have it in a matter of minutes. Of course, you’re welcome to leave a voicemail or send a text message with me on my shop phone but I’m bad about checking voicemails, so the fastest and most efficient way is to email me.
It depends on where you live and what size item you are buying. For most small items I use USPS priority mail which costs $10-$16 and delivers in 2-3 business days. For instruments I usually use UPS and shipping can be $50-$120 depending on the size of the box, insurance value, shipping materials and handling. I try to ship using recycled materials and use green saving methods when possible. International shipping can vary quite a lot depending on the country.
Yes, I ship internationally through USPS express and priority mail. Shipping a trombone to most countries costs around $120-$250 depending which service you choose. I usually recommend express mail, which is 3-5 business days and usually gets items through customs much faster. Please keep in mind that I cannot lower or falsify customs values.
It’s true, Australia and a few other countries (i.e. Singapore and Slovenia for example) have size restrictions on incoming packages. For items larger than this, a private carrier will need to be used… expect to pay $200-$600. If you are unsure if I can ship to your country, please ask me in an email and I will investigate for you.
Yes, Of course! I offer a one week trial period. I want you to be happy with your purchase and I know that buying a horn through the mail sight unseen can be a scary process. I try to be as honest and accurate with my descriptions and pictures as possible to minimize returns, but sometimes the horn is not a match. No worries, I will give a refund minus the original shipping upon receipt of the instrument or item back to me in the same condition I sent it out and a 3% restocking fee. It is the buyer’s responsibility to return the item and insure it for it’s value. Paypal fees are non refundable. Please review my policies page for more details.
I offer a one week trial period. At that point, if I haven’t heard from you, I consider the instrument sold. If you need a few extra days, no problem, just let me know. My policy exists so people don’t take advantage… but I’m a brass player myself, I know what it takes to properly test an instrument.
Yes! please fill out my consignment form, my consignment fees are structured on a sliding scale and are reasonably percentages. See my consignment page
Unlike some used instrument websites and sellers on the internet, The Brass Ark is a brick and mortar storefront where I show and store all of the instruments in my inventory. I have a 24 hour monitored alarm system as well as full coverage insurance against theft/damage/fire etc. You can rest assured that your instrument is 100% covered while in my possession.
See my consignment page for more information. I do sometimes entertain trade-ins of high quality professional level instruments. If you have something to trade please email me, but I’m usually only looking for high quality instruments and a trade in will yield you less net funds than a consignment sale.
I’m sorry, custom ordered instruments or mouthpieces are not returnable. A deposit may be required when the order is placed depending on the maker and sometimes those deposits are also non refundable. Delivery times are estimated at the time of order.
If I don’t have it in stock and a new instrument is being custom made for you, expect 6-12 months depending on the maker’s backlog. I will do my best to keep you updated with instrument progress and if I can get photos/videos of your custom build I will try to facilitate that for you to be a part of the process.
I do my best to update my website as frequently as I can. Sometimes it takes longer than I’d like, but my goal is to do an update twice a month. I purposely don’t have an online ordering system because I sell musical instruments, not general merchandise. I want to talk to you, listen to your needs and wants and will do my best to help you find the right instrument! Talking and getting to know my clients and forging personal connections with them is one of my favorite aspects of running the Brass Ark.
I get this question a lot! Here is the short answer: I’ve been a huge trombone nerd since I was 12 years old when I started collecting gear and becoming serious about brass playing. Being the knowledgeable gear head I am, I began selling instruments for my friends, colleagues and teachers at their request. This eventually got a bit crazy and when I had about 70 instruments for sale stored in the front bedroom at my house (driving my very patient wife crazy!). I decided it was time to set up an actual storefront. My close friend Brad Close was doing brass repair out of his house and also needed a space and it made sense for us to team up and open The Brass Ark/Brass Medic. Since then, The Brass Ark has developed into something other than just a consignment shop. I envision it as a hub for the coolest brass gear from all the world, the stuff I scour the internet for at 2am (I know there are others out there like me, you know who you are!). I also am lucky to have a great collection of unique equipment that I hope to offer to brass players around the world… which is why I’ve launched the leadpipe line in partnership with Brad, my own Brass Ark mouthpiece line and offering the first Brass Ark orchestral trombone (hopefully this line will be successful and grow to offer other instruments). The Brass Ark shop is a labor of love, it takes a lot of work and time to run all by myself… but the satisfaction of helping my fellow musicians re-home or purchase instruments they love makes it all worth it. I really enjoy making connections with my clients and learning about their musical stories too, some of whom have become very close and dear friends over the years.
I’ve made a video series on how to pack instruments to avoid damage during shipping.
Please watch them here:
How To Pack Brass Instruments for Shipping
The ideal box size for a trombone is usually a 12x12x40 “lamp box” which is a common size at any box store, uhaul also has them inexpensive in their stores. Larger bass trombones are better in 15x15x40″ boxes.
Packing in a case: Most important will be packing the trombone well inside the case so that it can’t shift or move during transit and get wrinkled or dented. I like to put foam cones in rare thin bells to keep the rim from contacting the edge of the case but you can also cushion the rim by putting bubble wrap inside the bell throat. Foam cones are available at a craft store for a few bucks and it makes a huge difference. Once the bell is secured, use bubble wrap to make sure the body of the instrument can’t move side to side.
Put the case in a trombone box and fill with foam peanuts. Compress the peanuts to make sure the case can’t move around.
Packing without a case: More wrapping is involved. Take a long piece of bubble wrap and cocoon the main body of the trombone. I usually wrap 2-3 times fully around. Then take another long piece and fold it in half, wrap the rim with this piece. Tape those two sections together. Lastly, bubble wrap inside the bell and seal with tape, I sometimes put an extra pad around the tuning slide too. If you are shipping the slide, it should get a single wrapping of bubble and go in some sort of cardboard sleeve for the slide(USPS postal tubes work great and are available for free at your post office) You don’t need a lot of tape, just enough to secure the wrap.
Fill it with packing peanuts. Then compress the peanuts to secure the case or wrapped parts. Top off the peanuts and seal the box. Nothing should be moving inside the box.
Remember, shipping costs are calculated on weight and dimensions, if you can cut down the box to a safe smaller size it will save you money.
Please only ship to me via UPS or USPS. FedEx is always an issue delivering to my address. Signature required is not needed as my storefront is default for a signature, save the extra fee.
www.pirateship.com is a great place to get a commercial freight discount on UPS, and will save you a ton of money and can be setup in a few minutes. Please use UPS, they are the most consistent for me.
Shipping address:
The Brass Ark
Attn: Noah Gladstone
3542 Foothill Blvd
La Crescenta, CA 91214
For packages shipping via US Postal Service, 3544 Foothill Blvd. La Crescenta, CA 91214 is our registered address with USPS
Yes!!! Part of my mission at The Brass Ark is to preserve the historical aspects of great makers, companies and instruments. As such, I’m always looking for special instruments and antiques or historical documents to purchase, restore and showcase in my museum. If you think you have a special brass instrument that might be a good fit for the Brass Ark Museum, please do send me an email.
Yes I do. I charge $50 per instrument appraisal. If you have an instrument you’d like me to appraise with an official document, please send me an email along with detailed photos of your instrument, serial number and any other pertinent information (like original invoices, bill of sale etc).