Just got a Maxtone Soprano from Ebay (review/thoughts)

[secretasianman999]

In either a moment of complete brilliance (or stupidity-- no judgements!), i put a bid on one of those brand new Maxtone nickel-plated soprano saxes for auction on Ebay and won for the low price of $192.50 ($212.50 after shipping). I got the horn via UPS ground less than a week after I won the auction.

To be honest, I had no idea what to expect. I have a Mark VI tenor 83,xxx using a (surprise surprise) Brecker mpc and have been playing the saxophone for almost 2 decades on and off, but I've never owned a soprano nor played one in a long, long time.

The case is dark forest green and looks like it's a toolbox. Opening it up, the sax looks like it's a "pro" model horn, complete with engraving, high F# key, the hinged left hand pinky keys. The emblem says "Maxtone, by French Engineer". (real professional, eh?)

The cork on both necks looks like it was carved a bit at the factory, so it's one thing that I may end up replacing sooner rather than later. The curved neck I received maybe defective, but I don't know--- have you ever seen an octave key mechanism slightly offset to the side on a curved neck? It plays fine, but I wonder about it. It's not a big deal, since I was planning on using the straight neck anyway.

I guess the big question is how does it play? Well, as I said, I'm not an experienced soprano player, but with the stock mouthpiece and stock reed, it sounds good and the action is smooth and fast. It took a while to get used to producing sound on soprano, but after a little bit of playing, the low notes sound full --- though I'm still unable to hit high D-F# consistently.

The mouthpiece is probably the worst thing about the horn-- it's got a cheap, slightly soft plasticy feel about it. It's another thing that I'm planning on replacing ASAP (probably this weekend). The again, other than new Selmer horns, who gives a second thought about stock mouthpieces?

So, while most saxophone enthusiasts (myself included) generally would recommend brand name horns, for around $200 I feel that these horns are good values-- it seems to play well as far as I'm concerned. The cost is practically nothing compared to anything name brand (a "cheap" YSS-475 should cost around $1000) so it's not an investment to worry about.

The funny part about all of this is that I could arguably buy a soprano mpc costs more than the horn itself!



This weekend I'm probably going to stop by Roberto's (in NYC) and pick up a better mouthpiece and some harder reeds--- they'll probably snicker at me when I pull out this horn while I try out some mouthpieces. Hopefully I'll have some time to play a "real" horn for comparison testing.
So far so good.

(I've gotten a sore right wrist from playing on the horn--- I'm going to need to do a little research on finding a comfortable position for playing soprano. I'm also going to play around with the plastic thumb rest. (this isn't a new problem for me--- I've gotten the same type of pain from the clarinet))

[dingfelder]

so, you have now had this horn for several months. did you ever get a new piece?

I bought an identical horn on ebay yesterday for 130$ and am planning on also getting a new piece for it...

I just want to see how it is holding up and whether you are still happy with it.

[larry]

Me too! I actually bought a "Moss" soprano for just under $300 on ebay and immediately replaced the crappy stock mouthpiece with a Meyer. Like you, I can't really hit D3-F3, but I tend to blame myself rather than the horn. Especially for the wacky intonation all over the range.

I feel like I should try the mouthpiece on a good model soprano so I can figure out which of the problems are the horn's and which are mine.

How's it working out for you?

[secretasianman999]

I got a new Selmer mouthpiece for a it. While my intonation has improved, the times I've tried playing by ear with it I've found that I have no idea what key I'm in. I guess part of the problem is my inexperience on Soprano--- but perhaps the big problem is that the horn itself has intonation issues, and my untrained soprano chops are having a hard time compensating for that.

As they always say... you get what you pay for.

[Bill08690]

I have found that the mouthpiece and reed have a lot to do with sounding the palm keys on the soprano sax. Paul C. was kind enough to advise me to sand the tip of the reed which made all the difference. I have found that the facing of the mouthpiece can make a big difference in a players success with high notes.

Finally, key heights and mouthpiece chamber volume can play a big part in the horns scale and intonation. I think that these low end horns can be made to play fairly well if all these parameters are tuned to perfection. The soprano sax is a horn that requires more attention to detail than the bigger brothers in the family.

Good luck.........

[mcleanpe]

In either a moment of complete brilliance (or stupidity-- no judgements!), i put a bid on one of those brand new Maxtone nickel-plated soprano saxes for auction on Ebay and won for the low price of $192.50 ($212.50 after shipping).
<snip>
F# key, the hinged left hand pinky keys. The emblem says "Maxtone, by French Engineer". (real professional, eh?)

The cork on both necks looks like it was carved a bit at the factory, so it's one thing that I may end up replacing sooner rather than later. The curved neck I received maybe defective, but I don't know--- have you ever seen an octave key mechanism slightly offset to the side on a curved neck? It plays fine, but I wonder about it. It's not a big deal, since I was planning on using the straight neck anyway.

I guess the big question is how does it play? Well, as I said, I'm not an experienced soprano player, but with the stock mouthpiece and stock reed, it sounds good and the action is smooth and fast. It took a while to get used to producing sound on soprano, but after a little bit of playing, the low notes sound full --- though I'm still unable to hit high D-F# consistently.

The mouthpiece is probably the worst thing about the horn-- it's got a cheap, slightly soft plasticy feel about it. It's another thing that I'm planning on replacing ASAP (probably this weekend). The again, other than new Selmer horns, who gives a second thought about stock mouthpieces?

So, while most saxophone enthusiasts (myself included) generally would recommend brand name horns, for around $200 I feel that these horns are good values-- it seems to play well as far as I'm concerned. The cost is practically nothing compared to anything name brand (a "cheap" YSS-475 should cost around $1000) so it's not an investment to worry about.

The funny part about all of this is that I could arguably buy a soprano mpc costs more than the horn itself!






Sorry about posting on such an old thread, but I just recently puchased a Maxtone off ebay myself.

out of the box (after removing all key guards), I used the lig and mpc that came with the instrument and was not able to make a decent sound at all. Upon closer inspection, the ligature's screw guides were crooked. So I bought a Rover fab. lig and Vandoren reeds from the my local music store and with the same mpc, the sound is 200% better.

I am not a professional by any means, but I can almost duplicate note for note a few of Kenny G's songs with little or no intonation problems. The only notes that consistently give me probs are high F & G (they just wont play). Other than that, the horn is not bad for the price.

Granted, if I were to perform for anyone other than myself I would definitely invest in a higher end horn, but for the money, you can't beat cheap.

My next step is to change my mpc to a metal Berg to see if I can get a bit more edge. the horn sounds way too dark even playing loud.

peace

[bruce bailey]

If you are handy at repairs, you may want to eliminate the adjusting screws for the left hand . They adjust the B and C/A keys with the C# pad. They tend to loosen easily and I have found that turnig them out and then shimming with paper or cork like a normal sax has can keep things in adjustment. I sell these things for low end and find that the intonation is a bit poor, but for the money OK. They are too heavy for some people and it helps to put some padding on the thumb rest. Try a better mouthpiece like a Selmer D or the ones I put on them, the BARI Esprit which is about $15.

[goodsax]

<skip>Sorry about posting on such an old thread, but I just recently puchased a Maxtone off ebay myself.<skip>

I, for one, am glad you posted on an old thread because I too just bought a Maxtone sop from an eBay seller and I'm looking for posts from those who've played them. I know, it's a bit late to be wondering about what people think of them, but I'd just like to get a better idea of what to expect when it arrives. So far, it doesn't seem to be all negative, and some is actually very positive for this price range. I have a decent Kohlert straight sop for serious sop work, but I wanted to get a curved model without spending a lot of cash.

[Ol Danl]

I got to play one of these this week -- I guy I work with brought it to work, and I brought my Guy Hawkins 7 and some Rico 3s. My feelings were that it is heavy, and the thumb hook ate my thumb. The action felt very nice, though. The lower notes did not sound a full octave below the middle notes -- although when I played D1 to D3, they both sounded in tune, and the D2 seemed flat. So maybe it was the middle octave that is low. The palm key notes sounded okay (easier than on my MK VI) but the high F# was nowhere near a half step above the F. The owner is pretty much a novice, and wanted to know what I thought. I told him I thought it was a good value for the $200 he paid, but that he ought to get a tuner and learn to compensate for the intonation problems.