TromboneChat

Does anyone know anything about these two companies working together? The Giardinelli horns say "by Eastman" but I cannot find anything else about the connection of the two brands.

The Giardinelli company (on 52nd Street in New York City, from 1946) that we old-timers remember is long gone. It was a fine music store, founded by Robert Giardinelli as a repair shop. He then made brass mouthpieces, and sold music and Giardinelli-branded instruments.

I believe that the Eastman Music Company (founded by a Chinese immigrant with headquarters in Pomona, CA) purchased the rights to the Giardinelli name after the closing of the NYC operation. Eastman has become a large conglomerate, with their own manufacturing facilities in Taiwan (and perhaps China?) and instruments of their acquired brands often still made in their original factories. Some of their brands: S.E. Shires (trombones, trumpets, euphoniums), Haynes (flutes), Backun (clarinets), Eastman (guitars, strings, saxophones), and Giardinelli (made by Eastman along with their saxophones).

So in any case, it's not "two companies working together" but one company manufacturing with a brand name that formerly belonged to another company.

See:
http://giardinelli.com/
https://www.eastmanwinds.com/vision

So does that mean the trombones are basically Eastman stencils?
Isn't Eastman considered one of the better quality imports?
I have no idea if its any good or not (since I have never played a Giardinelli), but that Black Nickel Series looks kinda cool.

That’s what my thought is. I’d be all about them if I knew for sure they were still the same horn different name.

Can't speak to the relationship between Eastman and Giardinelli but the store I work at has a lot of Eastman instruments and seem to sell well and people are happy with the quality of them. We have an Eastman ETB-428 on hand, and if I was in need of a large bore tenor I would consider it.

Eastman tubas are the real deal!

Giardinelli's moved around a bit in NY - I believe their last address in NYC was on W46th St. Then they moved out of the city to upstate NY, and did most of their sales as phone/mail orders. They were based there for about a decade(?). I thought that Woodwind & Brasswind bought up that version of the store when they were in trouble financially. Maybe the Eastman stencils came from that era? They were still selling some Giardinelli mouthpieces then, but as 1-piece versions.

Jim Scott

The information is actually on the website it's just not explicitly stated. The Giardinelli brand is owned by Music and Arts/Guitar Center/Musicians Friend. I'm not sure who makes the student Giardenelli instruments but Eastman makes the ones labeled Made by Eastman.

http://giardinelli.com/for-the-advancing-intermediate/
http://giardinelli.com/retailers/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_Center

If you google around you'll find business articles and forums posts on Sax and Trumpet forums about the various mergers.

Eastman makes the best Shires branded trombones in the world.

greenbean wrote: ↑Thu Mar 04, 2021 4:25 pm Eastman tubas are the real deal!

They most definitely are that! I've had my eyes on a particular model for a while.

Anyone have any hot takes on their student models?

Yes the Giardinelli is basically a stencil brand today, which includes trumpets and clarinets, saxes too I think. Jin Bao was pretty much the stencil king until eastman showed up.

Giardinelli moved from NY in early 1990... I had an appointment and Giardinelli moved one week before I was in the city....

I heard from friends in NYC back then that some employees actually showed up for work and discovered that the store was closed and movers were removing items to be shipped to the new location.

Jim Scott