Is that your gut feeling? Sounds like someone else I know. Good for you…
Yea, I just don’t see how a synthetic instrument can cost almost as much as wood, that’s how it seems on the surface anyway. On the other hand I recognize that they are hand made, not moulded, so there is a level of skilled labour involved. Plus I bought a synthetic reed for my clarinet. One synthetic reed costs more than a box of 5 cane reeds! To me, who is unemployed, it was an extravagance. But what a difference that one reed made!
You don't stop playing when you get old. You get old when you stop playing.