Jean Baptist sax

[atola]

Hi, I need some help on this. I am a beginer player and want to buy a new alto sax, I want to know if somebody knows the Jean Baptist saxophone... I can have a fairly good price but I don't have any reference of this brand... who are the makers, where, etc... :?: :?:

Thank you guys :D

[Joe Jazz]

I think Jean Baptiste saxes are made in Taiwan for Sam Ash......I'm afraid I'm not a fan of Taiwanese saxes. If you feel like you HAVE to buy one, best bet would probably be a Cannonball. Unless you just want a cheap sax, then just buy anything what the heck!

[darryl]

i recommend looking for a good vintage saxophone...i feel that you'll probably get something of better quality for the price you pay


if u must get something new, i believe yamaha 23's are good for beginners and easier to sell off after you're good enough to move up

gl!

[FrankB2]

Jean Baptiste is a Sam Ash store brand. I know the people who work at
my local Sam Ash well, and they do NOT like either of their store
brands: Jean Baptiste and Carlo Robelli.

If you're interested in a good student sax for little money, there are
LOTS of Yamaha YAS-23 saxes on ebay right now, and most sell
for less than $400. Some are pretty beat, but others appear to be
hardly used. I bought one from ebay last September for $385, and
it was virtually unused. The seller was local, and I picked it up in
person, but most people seem honest in their descriptions.

Frank

[GaryLee]

I have a friend that bought a Jean-Batist for their son and have had to bring it back almost every month to have something fixed (bent keys, pads falling out etc). It seems to be a very fragile horn and not very well made. I have not played the horn but his teacher has and suggested that they return it to Sam Ash (on thier buy back deal) and get a Yamaha.

I bought a used Yamaha 23 recently for $500 which looks virtually new and plays great. Plus if I decide to upgrade I should be able to easily sell it for about what I paid for it. The resale value of the Jean-Batist from what I have seen locally is practically $0!!!.

[Joseph Boucher]

I haven't heard anything good about Jean-Baptiste saxes. But Sam Ash Music does sell some good brands such as Selmer and Yamaha. They also sell Unison which I've heard good things about.

[msgrock]

I played a used Yamaha 23 and a new Jean Baptist Tenor at the local Sam Ash.

Buying the used Yama was a total no brainer... it's head and shoulders a much sturdier and better sounding horn.

[iceman]

I used to play on a Jean-Baptiste Alto. It wasn't the best saxophone in the world, but for what it was it lasted long and sounded pretty nice. I ended up getting a Yamaha YAS23. I currently play a Jean-Baptiste Soprano Sax which I feel sounds pretty nice. After a while I plan on moving to a different brand soprano. My point is that even though they are cheap saxes they serve their purposes pretty well for what they are.

[Dtshock]

JB is a good sax. I played them and they are smooth, clear, and have pro features for half the price. Be gentle with special laq finishes. Good luck

[iceman]

You guys are not giving the Jean Baptiste horn enough credit. Yeah for the most part you guys are right. If you are looking for a cheap horn to start with it will last. Like every horn it will have it's problem. I had a Jean Baptiste Alto and had it for about 6 yrs out of the 8 yrs I have been playing. I sold it due to the fact my parents got me a Yamaha. It was still playing wonderful, even though it was not looking to pretty at the time. It was still fully functional. Now the bad things is that it might give you more trouble than most horns, but you get what you pay for.

[bruce bailey]

I sold one a few months ago and it was decent. IT wasn't a Yamaha equal but for $250 almost new, it got a kid on the right track.

[Jazz House]

I own a curved sop Jean Baptiste, BEST SAX I HAVE EVER PLAYED!!!

[Shirish]

I was researching this site a month or two ago to see what they were saying about the various "affordable" saxophones... some people liked the JB so I thought they couldn't be that bad. Then I struck an amazing deal on ebay, and at that price I can't lose much. A JB 350GL straight soprano for 150$ 8-) (which includes shipping to India and the 2 bribes I had to pay to get it out of customs... pah:| ) First it wasn't playing below Eb cos of a dent that affected the Eb tonehole but I got that fixed for nothing, and it plays really well now. Intonation is really even. The right hand notes first seemed a little sharp, then I put some paper under the felts to lower the key height and everything's fine. The tone didn't suffer either, in fact it sounds really nice. Then again I can't really compare it to a "good" soprano cos I haven't tried one yet! But it happened to come with a Otto Link tone edge 7 mouthpiece (nice!) so it was a killer deal. I really like the key action too, it feels good, and the ergonomics are great. I like the fact that the C# tonehole is designed to be only partially closed for high C sharp, obviating the need to lip it down as I had to on my alto, I think this is a feature copied from yamaha on many eastern saxes... not sure though. The high f sharp and 2 necks are an advantage too, and I'm really happy with the sax, can't really see any downside of my deal!
I was just thinking the chinese/taiwanese aren't exactly gaining anything by offering a horn with bad intonation, so why would they do it? Especially since it should be relatively easy for them to just copy the design of a high end saxophone. Perhaps a lot of people don't give them a fair enough chance, because the setup is usually bad. For example mine had very tight neck cork, uneven key height, and a loose fitting original mouthpiece (which was crap of course) and there was no way you could squeeze a normal mouthpiece on it enough to play in tune.
Your thoughts anyone?

[Jonathan C.]

Their is a difference between Soprano and Alto. If you are just starting out, then you might want to consider a Yamaha, which I built and usually sound better than Intermeadiate horns. So if you want to upgrade you will have to go to the Pro of the Pro horns to do it. Also something I would like to point out is the Vintage post idea. Their is nothing wrong with buying a vintage sax, but their are more ways to get screwed getting one then you can imagine, and I will list a few.
1) You got High Pitch and Low Pitch instruments
2) C-mel
3) Resale
4) Keys
I will start with number one. Back when these horns were made they built the horns to low (United States pitch) or high to (European pitch) Simply saying that the High pitch horns will not play with any ensemble today.
2)C-mels were built to play with Paino. And they also can not play with ensembles today. Unless they are in the key of C.
3) Fortunatly the resale value is about the same which is something very good about them.
4) The pinky table of vintage horns is different from that of mordern horns. This innovation happened I believe around the 1970's.

I am not saying don't go vintage, I play on a vintage horn and love it. I am saying that as a begginer you may very well get screwed when you buy one. Their are less favorable models as well, where the construction turned shoddy. All that to say if your going to go vintage be careful.

I personally have never played on a Jean Baptist Sax. SO I can not say on how they are built, or on how they sound overall with Tunning. One day you will want to resale this horn. And when you do it, you will be better off with a horn that is Widely known then one that is unknown. Also buying a used horn will mean that you don't suffer the loss in value that new horns suffer.

I would simply have to say to go with the premire Begginer horn on the market a YAS-23. As a begginer through intermedatte this horn will serve you well.

Good luck with your Choice

~Carbs