Comparison of inexpensive saxes

[altoist]

Hi,
I have a decent sax already for home and lessons, but I'm thinking of getting a backup
to leave in the trunk of my car, which I won't cry over if it get's abused or stolen.

Of the cheap Asian saxes, I notice that Antigua, Jupiter, and Unison get mentioned. How do
the models in the $600-$1000 price range stack up against each other? I realize there is
some controversy concerning the high end Unison's, but how are the lower end models.

Any major cheapie brands I missed?

[Stencilman]

I've played very nice horns from saxophone.com and Jinyin (didn't buy either one, though).

[DD3]

The low price leader may be Saxophone.com and Antigua. Both have had good reviews here and both companies are easy to work with. Antigua soprano models have been covered extensively here, and the Saxophone.com Baritone is supposed to be excellent. Good luck.

[Bloo Dog]

If you aren't interested in status but want a very good saxophone as a backup or as your primary instrument, I recommend the Jupiter brand of saxophone. I own the 547 soprano, the 789-787 tenor and the 767 alto. All are excellent saxophones and represent excellent value in the new instrument market, but in the used market they represent even greater values--- no, ridiculous values. I paid less than a total of $1,000.00 for all three (in separate bids) on ebay.

The tenor plays very well in all registers and is quite compatible with my hard rubber link and berg ss mouthpieces. The Alto is the same.

The soprano seemed like a bad cr*pshoot when I got the instrument and remained so until I modified the link 7* HR mouthpiece that I use with it. The instrument was wildly out of tune in the palm keys until I inserted a fairly long baffle into the mouthpiece. Response is much better now too.

The ergonomics on the soprano is lacking. I have long fingers and find that g through b are a bit too tight a fit .

I played Mk VI alto and tenors in the mid seventies through the mid eighties. I owned a borgoni soprano. I changed careers in the late eighties and sold all three horns. In MY OPINION, the mkvi's can't hold a candle to the late model Jupiters. The jupiters are much better made and have some features which the mkvi's didn't have. Of the three instruments I sold, I miss only the cheapo Borgani. It was a great instrument .

When i got back into playing a few years ago, i was horrified by the prices of Selmers and other top-level saxes--- new AND used. I shopped at several music stores and saw many similarities among the Jupiter and many of the other more-esteemed Asian horns. I concluded that Jupiter was probably the primary manufacturer of some of the higher-end Asian horns.

If you have been considering plunking down serious cash for ANY asian saxophone, check out the Jupiters. That $4,000.00 horn you're considering might actually BE a Jupiter!

If you practice regularly and gig regularly, you SHOULD own a backup horn. I recommend that you check out a used Jupiter in ebay. You can get one in excellent condition for about $300.00. The altos and the sopranos also fetch about $300.00-350.00 for instruments in good cosmetic condition.

[PaulNYC]

I shopped at several music stores and saw many similarities among the Jupiter and many of the other more-esteemed Asian horns. I concluded that Jupiter was probably the primary manufacturer of some of the higher-end Asian horns.

Are you serious?

I do not mean to offend, but the Japanese horn makers typically copied selmer, and then the Taiwanese copied the Japanese, etc. etc. etc. That is the explanation for the similarities. Really, How different are saxophones going to be. Does it make sense that a company known for spotty quality control is responsible for machines with well regarded quality?

[Dave Dolson]

PaulNYC: Please don't be too hasty in quetioning Bloodog's comments. While I revere (and own) several Yanagisawa saxophones and think they may be the best of the newly manufactured horns these days, I've been told by a reliable source (someone who is well regarded in the business and who is marketing Taiwanese instruments) that some of the Japanese market may be subbing out parts and even horns to other Asian manufacturers. Plus, the Taiwanese makers are improving their work daily and are quickly approaching credibility in the world market.

I would imagine that a lot of the end-quality is in the assembling rather than in the fabrication anyway. Could it be that Yanagisawa and Yamaha tubes and key-cups (etc.) are actually being made in Taiwan or China, then being assembled elsewhere? Who knows? It IS possible given the worldwide market.

Would I buy a new or used Jupiter or Antigua (or whatever)? Probably not because I love vintage horns and have a brace of new Yanagisawas already, but for someone just starting out or needing something newer, those marques may be okay - and even just as good as the higher-end products we all love. DAVE

[Bloo Dog]

I am dead serious.

In Charlotte, before Mars Music went down the old tubes, it had a pretty wide selection of saxophones in cases. The Jupiters were kept at one of the case, with the Yamahas between the Jupiters and the rest. (There is the least similarity among the Yamahas and the Jupiters).

I'm not going to go into naming names and cause a firestorm of controversy. That isn't my intent. My intent is to cause others who, like me, desire a high quality saxophone without the price tag of a high status saxophone to consider an instrument which perhaps their own vanit won't allow them yo consider.

Jupiter saxes are good instruments. Even the older ones (pre-1995) are good instruments. (My present Jupiter alto was manufactured at about that time and it possesses a certain strangeness which the newer ones dont).

I am certain that if one were GIVEN a Jupiter to play and own, the player's prejudices would eventually -- if not quickly--- disappear.

I am a professional photographer. I don't own or use any new cameras. Professionals tend to gravitate toward Nikons for 35mm and Hasselblad for medium format. Me? I own a herd of 1980's era Canon EOS650 35mm cameras with canon lenses. My medium format consists of a 1970's era Mamiya system. My large format system is a 30 year old, beat-up no-name bellows camera with Schneider lenses (generally regarded as the best of their kind).

Can anyone tell what kind of equipment I use by looking at my work? Nope. One of my clients was so caught up in the mysticism of his previous photographer's camera equipment that he told me that he wouldn't accept any work that wasn't produced on a Hasselblad. I told him that i wouldn't consider working with anything except Hasselblads, and I got his business.

My point is that a lot of the issues surrounding the choice of instrument are subjective in nature.

[pknight]

I would imagine that a lot of the end-quality is in the assembling rather than in the fabrication anyway. Could it be that Yanagisawa and Yamaha tubes and key-cups (etc.) are actually being made in Taiwan or China, then being assembled elsewhere? Who knows? It IS possible given the worldwide market.

Could be, although it is more likely with student models than with professional lines. The very interesting streaming video of the Yamaha factory in Japan (viewable from the Yamaha-US web site) makes it pretty clear that their pro lines are manufactured there. (I don't recall seeing EVERY part being manufactured in the plant, but that is the impression one is left with.)

However, some final assembly/setup work is done in Yamaha's Grand Rapids, Michigan plant on the student Yamahas sold in the US. Even those saxes, though, have "Japan" stamped by the serial number. This suggests that, at least for these instruments, the bulk of the manufacturing takes place in Japan, rather than Taiwan or China. However, that doesn't mean that some keys or other parts don't originate outside of Japan.

Mainland Chinese and Taiwanese instruments seldom, if ever, indicate what country they were manufactured in. My tendency is to believe that if the country of origin is specified, then the sax is essentially manufactured there. If there is no country of origin, all bets are off.

[Dave Dolson]

pknight: From what I was told, it had to do with plant expansion. Japan is SO crowded that the two Ys are finding it difficult to expand their production facilities and capabilities. Thus, the move off-shore (which country was not made clear to me).

Yamaha does make student lines but Yanagisawa doesn't (at least as I understand it). Rods, springs, pads, screws, braces, tubes, keycups, etc. - there is a lot to be made and if they want to increase production and add manufacturing equipment, the story just may be true - and we won't know it. DAVE

[Bloo Dog]

With the exception of the Artist Series, all of the Jupiters fall into the "student" category.

I see similarities between my Jupiter 789 and one of the Unison models, but that doesn't really matter. The thrust of my comments is that the Jupiter is an excellent brand. At the going retail prices they represent excellent quality. On the used market (as i said before) they represent unbelievable value.

Regarding the stamping of "Japan:" I am not sure about saxophones, but during the days of Occupied Japan (i.e., post- WWII), many items which were manufactured in Japan were required to alert the American consumer that the item was (cheaply) "made in Occupied Japan." Some items, such as cameras, were even required to bear a sticker indicating that the item had passed an inspection.

As quality met (and exceeded) American standards, the Japanese continued to put the stamps on their goods. This habit continued through the eighties, though the "Occupied" was dropped in the early 1950's.

Whether the stamp on the saxophone indicates that the instrument was really assembled in Japan is dubious. The best way to tell is to look at the manufacturers' and the sellers' import/export duty. Musical instrument parts cost much less in duty in shipment from japan to the US than do assembled instruments--- or any other item for that matter. This is one of the incentives for manufacturers to assemble overseas.


If anyone is interested in swapping digital pics of saxophones in order to perform a visual AB I'm game. Let me know.