Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance

Cosmo Music's Quality Assurance Tag

Few Instruments are Ready to be Sold Right Out of the Box

In spite of all the precautions taken by manufacturers, few instruments are ready to be sold right out of the box.

You can take peace of mind knowing that every stringed, brass, and woodwind instrument has been unboxed, set-up, and tested by one of our in-house professionally trained technicians.

This is a timely process that is not undertaken by our competitors, and how we are able to guarantee excellent playing condition. Also included in this assurance is a complimentary in-store instrument check-up within 1-year of purchase.

Cosmo Music Quality Control Process

From the time an instrument is manufactured and the time it arrives at our store, it may well have travelled half way around the world several months since it was born. Although manufacturers take this into account by packaging appropriately, there are still issues of temperature, humidity, and handling which require attention once the instrument arrives at its destination.

The reality is most retailers only open up the box and put the product on display… this is far from adequate!

From the moment your instrument arrives at our warehouse every effort is taken to ensure you are getting a quality product in perfect playing condition. At our receiving dock, boxes are examined for any signs of damage, and either refused or opened for an initial inspection. We are not shy about returning any instrument at this point if it has been compromised in any way between the factory and our store. Once the instrument is received into our system it is staged to go through the repair shop to be examined by a qualified repair technician. Included in the preparation are the following (where appropriate) and action taken to remedy if necessary:

Quality Assurance Process Badge

Stringed Instruments

  1. Tune to pitch
  2. Play to test that action meets factory specifications; listen and feel for any buzzing, intonation issues or uncomfortable playability
  3. Feel for sharp fret edges
  4. Inspect finish
  5. Confirm all electronics, pots, and switches function appropriately
  6. Confirm all mechanical operations work properly including whammy bars, fine tuners, and built in tuners
  7. Inspect construction
  8. Inspect condition of the strings
  9. If powered by a battery, confirm it is at full strength
  10. Humidify if necessary
  11. Technician signs the tag to confirm that all details have been completed
Quality Assurance Process Badge

Wind Instruments

  1. Unpack instrument removing all corks used to stabilize keys during shipment
  2. Leave the instrument to allow the pads to "relax"
  3. A visual inspection is done to ensure the finish is at factory standards
  4. Lubricate corks with factory approved grease
  5. Check and adjust the fit of components to ensure a firm, but not excessive pressure is needed to assemble; out of the box many corks are too tight and the player could easily cause damage to parts by having to apply too much pressure
  6. Inspect the key action
  7. Check pad coverage and adjust where necessary
  8. Check all key combinations for proper adjustment
  9. Play-test each instrument throughout its entire range to confirm all adjustments are correct
  10. All instruments are played with the technician's own mouthpiece or head joint, unless it is not appropriate (in the case which the mouthpiece or headjoint is unique to the instrument, they are thoroughly cleaned after play-testing)
  11. The case is checked for proper fit
  12. Factory supplied accessories are inspected to ensure all are present
  13. Large saxophone keys may be refitted with shipping corks to increase stability for transit
  14. The instrument is repacked as it was received
  15. Technician signs the tag to confirm that all details have been completed
Quality Assurance Process

Brass Instruments

  1. Unpack the instrument and inspect the finish to ensure it is at factory specifications
  2. Lubricate valves and slides with factory approved lubricants
  3. Play-test with technician's own mouthpiece to confirm everything is functioning at factory specifications
  4. Factory supplied accessories are inspected to ensure all are present
  5. The case is checked for proper fit
  6. The instrument is repacked as it was received
  7. Technician signs the tag to confirm that all details have been completed