JPS-547GL

[Al Stevens]

I bought this horn a few months ago from a fledgling sax player who has several brand new Jupiter horns.

The fellow I bought it from seemed to have trouble playing it. No wonder. The octave key spring was off its notch and the Bb key pad was not seating properly on the tone hole. You could see light through it without a leak light, and Bb1 was somewhere between Bb and B. He bought it new and didn't play it much. So what I got was a new Jupiter sop that needed some work.

I am not a soprano player at all. I fixed the spring and honked on it a while. Last week I took it to a tech and had the Bb thing fixed. It plays better than it did, but it still doesn't sound good to me when I play it.

A friend of mine is a classical saxophonist. He has a Mark VI soprano. His college major was as a soprano soloist. Yesterday he played my Jupiter using the stock mouthpiece that came with it. It sounded wonderful. He proclaimed the Jupiter to be a fine horn that blows freer and better, he thought, than his Mark VI. (Which had him resolve to have his VI looked at.)

Now I feel good about having bought it. I still don't play it any better, but at least I know it's not the horn.

[renegade]

During the recent holidays, I dropped by a musical instruments dealer and Hong Kong and tried a Jupiter soprano and a Yamaha YSS 475. Though I could hit all the notes in the Yamaha, I find it hard to dive into the lower notes in the Jupiter. I really do not the problem as it was my first time to try a soprano, being an alto player.

[Al Stevens]

It probably needed some setup as mine did.

[Bloo Dog]

I've played this instrument for about four or five years. I played a Link HR mouthpiece on it and the intonation was not very good. When I customized a baffle for the mouthpiece, response and intonation improved remarkably.

[SaxyJ]

I have been using my 547 for 6 years now and it has only needed a minor retuning and a few pad replacements (both one time). The tech who adjusted it stated that," it is a solid horn...you should keep it."

I recently replaced my former mouthpiece (vandoren s27) with a vandoren s35 and it has given my sax a "personality boost." Unfortunately, although many love the new sound of my sax, a few number of them say it is too loud. I will stick with the mouthpiece, for I love the sound it gives, however, I may search for a thicker reed to darken the sound.

Although I love my sax, I am still searching for one that can give me a better offering than the 547. However, even if I find a better one, I will most definitely hold on to the 547.

[Bloo Dog]

Although I love my sax, I am still searching for one that can give me a better offering than the 547. However, even if I find a better one, I will most definitely hold on to the 547.

What else are you looking for? What I find most lacking on the 547 is ergonomics. The left hand keys are just too close together-- and my hands are not terribly large. Have you considered the Artist series?

[SaxyJ]

What else are you looking for? What I find most lacking on the 547 is ergonomics. The left hand keys are just too close together-- and my hands are not terribly large. Have you considered the Artist series?

Having tried a properly built and setup Selmer III soprano some months ago, I was hooked on the sweet, centered sound it has. On the other hand, I tried an "average" Selmer III, and the 547 was clearly a better player than that. Of course, my 547 also has it's problems as well. The C# key is extremely flat and even the tech could not properly get it tuned. :|

The Artist series looks superb, however, I want something that has a sweet, centered sound like the Selmer I tried out. From reading several posts on this site, it seems like the Kessler soprano is a copy of the Selmer III, so I am a bit tempted to get that. On the hand, from the tremendous positive feedbacks of the SOTW members, the Antigua seems to be another "best-bang for your buck."