Antigua Winds soprano (one piece)

[lnauman]

Hello,
I am getting an Antigua Winds soprano sax, s/n 972117
Does anybody know what model that is, the year of prodution and approximate value?
It is suppossed to be in excellent condition.
Thanks!

[xuanvu]

Does it have the "YS" on the serial? If it's, then it's the new line of Antigua saxes. For the price of the new line, look at www.kesslermusic.com and you'll find the approx. price.

[lnauman]

I found the rest of the posts about these horns. (THANKS!)
Since I'm getting s/n 972117 without the "ys", then I'll have one of the "inferior" or less desirable models. I'm wondering if it will be a piece of junk or just not as good as the newer models. I'm hoping it will at least be a good starter instrument.
Would it still be a model 582 (one piece) or are there other models of older Antigua sopranos?
Is there information about the serial #'s of older Antiqua Winds Sopranos out there?

[goodsax]

The Antigua 582 I owned had a YS in front of the s/n. I believe the earlier model was 580 and I was advised to avoid them if possible because they were not made with the same quality standards as the "YS" models and may have intonation issues. This was merely advice from another party, I have no personal experience with pre-582/586/590 Antigua sop's.

[lnauman]

Thanks Rob,
I'm getting it for about $275, shipping included, and it is suppossed to be in mint condition. The seller referred to it as having a "dark chrome" finish.
I'm trying to hook up with a new sax teacher here in E.PA Once I get an opinion from him about the intonation, etc. of the horn, I'll repost.

[gsaxman100]

sounds just like one I recently bougth at a pawn shop for about $300, came with a very nice case, same dark finish. Mine actually plays really well and I think it's a very nice horn for the price. I have trouble hitting anything above high Eb but that could be me more than the horn, and the notes I do hit seem to be in tune. I'll be interested to hear what you think of it, if it's in good shape I think you'll be really pleased with it for $275.

[DaveKessler]

what you are getting is an Antigua model 570BC. It is their previous entry model in Black nickel plate (lacquered) keys.

The build quality on these is fine. The main thing is that they are like your typical Taiwanese soprano. Are the newer models better? Yes... but they arent $275 delivered either.

If you are just messing around with soprano or just wanting to learn, then that horn is fine and will play decently enough until you are willing to upgrade.

Biggest piece of advice, get a Great mouthpiece for it. That will make all the difference on that horn.

[hetg]

Dave: What would you consider Great mouthpieces for the Antigua sopranos?

[DaveKessler]

Dave: What would you consider Great mouthpieces for the Antigua sopranos?

Any good professional calibur mouthpiece really. On soprano, we are real big fans of the Yanagisawa Metal & HR pieces, the Ralph Morgan Jazz facing pieces, & the new Selmer Super Session is very good as well.

[goodsax]

Dave makes some very good suggestions. I would just add that you should try to find a dealer who will let you try before you buy. The problem is, even when you know the brand name of an excellent piece, you then have to contend with which opening/facing is best for you. It gets very ugly at that point. That's why, the best thing to do is try all the mpc's you can at a local dealer and get the one that works best for you on your sax.

PS: I also find a Yanagisawa HR to be an excellent mpc for my sop. But, that's just my preference, so far.