Unison model 2000 alto...

[DaveKessler]

I was recently contacted by the Unison factory in Taiwan. They are looking to sell me horns direct from Taiwan instead of having to deal with the US distributor.

They actually have another model alto called a Unison 2000... looks like a dead knock off of a Yanagisawa A991 almost. They are saying it uses the same bell that the Steve Goodson horn did.

Has anyone here ever seen or tried a Unison 2000? They claim that Unison here in the USA does not carry it at all...

Very interesting. The biggest thing will be the price difference. By buying direct from the factory, I can cut out one of the middlemen on Unison horns.

[Jerry K.]

Talk about one stop shopping! What brand don't you carry?

[DaveKessler]

Talk about one stop shopping! What brand don't you carry?

Good question...

Heres the ad slick I have for this new Unison sax...



The interesting thing is that they claim it is the same body and bell as the Goodson, which frankly plays good... new Yanagisawa cloned keywork and their goldplated "Masterpiece" neck... which are also good.

Lastly, it would be about $1599 (customer sale price)... all of it is very tempting...

[Jerry K.]

Dave, I guess it really comes down to where this horn fits into your product mix. At $1599, is this horn better in your opinion than all of your other horns at or below this price point? If you feel this horn is better than what you have available for less, and that it challenges the higher priced horns, probably makes sense to pick it up.

[DaveKessler]

We will see. The owner of the factory is coming to the US in the next week or two and will be stopping by my shop with both of the new altos, the 2000 and 300II.

Based on the fact that it is essentially the Goodson horn but without the extra funky mechanisms and with Yani keywork (and I believe completely gold plated), I think the horn may very well be worth the price. The Goodson horn plays very well... but were too expensive in my opinion, hence the reason I never dealt with them.

[jgill2000]

Dave-

If it's really good, have them rebrand it for you, and you can sell it as the new 'Kessler Custom Pro' line!

And ask if they have a comparable tenor model.

[DaveKessler]

Dave-

If it's really good, have them rebrand it for you, and you can sell it as the new 'Kessler Custom Pro' line!

And ask if they have a comparable tenor model.

Won't Rebrand it personally... mainly from the aspect that since they have made their own horns and they have built a reputation based on how their horns play, they should only use their logo on it, in my opinion.

Rebranding can lead to bad things, look at what happened to B&S...

[Jerry K.]

"Rebranding can lead to bad things, look at what happened to B&S..."

Very true, and isn't Unison the only Taiwanese manufacturer that only makes horns under their own brand?

[altoist]

We will see. The owner of the factory is coming to the US in the next week or two and will be stopping by my shop with both of the new altos, the 2000 and 300II.

Based on the fact that it is essentially the Goodson horn but without the extra funky mechanisms and with Yani keywork (and I believe completely gold plated), I think the horn may very well be worth the price. The Goodson horn plays very well... but were too expensive in my opinion, hence the reason I never dealt with them.

What's the difference between that and the S300, besides the Yani keywork?

I have an S300, and I love the sound. Quite a few key pearls came out, and
others have had similar problems, so they must have been using some substandard adhesives or had poor QA. Otherwise well made, but no Yani.
Came noticeably out of adjustment after a year, after almost twice that long
my A991 still plays perfectly (but has lost lacquer around the octave key and thumb rest). Still, I got it for $1K, less than half of what the A991 cost, but I had to negotiate. What is the expected customer price of the S300II?

I'm looking forward to reading your impressions.

[Jerry K.]

From Dave's comments above:


Lastly, it would be about $1599 (customer sale price)... all of it is very tempting...

[altoist]

From Dave's comments above:

I was curious about the price and differences for the S300II, which I assume is more
like my S300, price and build-wise.

[DaveKessler]

Met with him this morning.

He only brought the 2000 model alto so I have not yet seen the new 300II.

The 2000 alto is really quite impressive. HUGE sound. Tone color similar to a Reference, rich and big. Not quite as big as the Reference but not too far off either.

Overall, plays better then a Yani A901 thought the A901 is more stable intonation in the upper register.

I will be posting pictures of the horn this afternoon.

[DaveKessler]

Heres a link to pictures of the sax:


http://www.kesslermusic.com/html/sax/Unison2000/sax.htm

We have not yet decided what we will be doing in regards to these. We are very interested and will keep on talking with them about it. We will of course want to see a sample of the tenor as well.

We also talked to him about the spread on the right hand for the bari. Gave him some tips on what we would like to see done.

We will see. The alto played like a million bucks. It was really impressive.

[MikeCa]

Here's a quick question. In the ad slick it listed several cities/ countries that I wasn't aware had any connection to Unison except for Taiwan of course. On the horn itself it says New York. I have no idea what the NY connection would be with this co.? It also says Unison Group which is a new designation. I know they have changed their US distribution rather dramatically so this looks like it might get very interesting! Did they say where this horn was made?

All this industry consolidation and expansion is driving me nuts!

LOL!

[DaveKessler]

Here's a quick question. In the ad slick it listed several cities/ countries that I wasn't aware had any connection to Unison except for Taiwan of course. On the horn itself it says New York. I have no idea what the NY connection would be with this co.? It also says Unison Group which is a new designation. I know they have changed their US distribution rather dramatically so this looks like it might get very interesting! Did they say where this horn was made?

All this industry consolidation and expansion is driving me nuts!

LOL!

Mike... this is not out of the blue for them. I have seen New York on their ad slicks in the past... but do not know why.

Yes, UNISON (Taiwan) is changing distribution. Basically, from what I have been told.... their previous distributor has developed another brand name... and is telling the dealers that they are made by Unison... which is not true.

So Unison in Taiwan (who owns the USA Trademark and rights to the Unison name), is looking to sell direct to dealers in the USA.

All Unison branded saxes are made in Taiwan.

That being said, the factory owner will be back in my shop tomorrow morning with the 2000 Series Tenor sax to try out.

Reviews coming soon...

[MikeCa]

Can't wait to hear about the tenor the Unison's have always been amazing for the price! The tenors especially have had a really warm full sound and feel and look very professional.

THANKS for the update!

Mike

[bradshawm]

Dave, It's been two months, and haven't heard back from you on the test of the Tenor. I love my SG300 alto, and am anxious to here what your thoughts are on their tenor.

[DaveKessler]

Dave, It's been two months, and haven't heard back from you on the test of the Tenor. I love my SG300 alto, and am anxious to here what your thoughts are on their tenor.

Sorry, forgot about this thread! The tenor was every bit as impressive as the alto.

I have ordered the following horns from them:

2000 Alto in Lacquer
2000 Tenor in Lacquer
2000 Alto with black body, silver keys
2000 Tenor with black body, silver keys
5005 Low A Bari Sax Lacquer

Supposely should have lacquer alto and tenors in a few weeks and the rest in about 45-60 days.

[MikeCa]

Oh I forgot (almost) about that Bari. They had the regular one at Namm (again kicking myself for not bringing a bari mouthpiece to the show). I can't remember if they had the 5000 (Pro model) there or not. Is that the pro model? The regular bari they were making is also pretty cool for the price (between 2-3000) especially in black nickel. I sold quite a few of those (for being a bari, you just don't sell baris all the time).

The other colour option I remembered them having is the black with gold which I like better, the sandblasted gold and silver, but the black with silver has been a better seller for us as well.

[DaveKessler]

Oh I forgot (almost) about that Bari. They had the regular one at Namm (again kicking myself for not bringing a bari mouthpiece to the show). I can't remember if they had the 5000 (Pro model) there or not. Is that the pro model? The regular bari they were making is also pretty cool for the price (between 2-3000) especially in black nickel. I sold quite a few of those (for being a bari, you just don't sell baris all the time).

The other colour option I remembered them having is the black with gold which I like better, the sandblasted gold and silver, but the black with silver has been a better seller for us as well.

They have 2 models, a 5002 & a 5005. I think they had the 5005 at the NAMM show and it played and felt great.

I think that I can sell them to the public at the $2595 price range. If this is the case, then I will be discontinuing my Kessler Custom bari as we like the Unison better.

I used to sell a great number of them years ago when C&L Music was the distributor... but once they instituted their MAP policy (max 30% off retail), sales disappeared for me on the entire Unison line.

So we are more then happy to order these FOB Taiwan for the price.