CE Winds Omega Curved Soprano

[Al Carter]

I recently received my new CE Winds Omega curved soprano and thought I'd post a couple of comments. First, the horn was advertised here with a several other CE Winds saxes in this thread:

http://www.saxontheweb.net/vbulletin...ighlight=winds

I have been aware of the good recommendations CE Winds has been receiving on SOTW, and I had been looking to upgrade my soprano. I had an older Antigua curved sop (10 years old). So, on a lark, I e-mailed Mark Wigginton and asked him if CE Winds takes trades? What they offered was to take my Antigua and list it on ebay, and then they would subtract the difference from the purchase price of the Omega sop. So, I thought about that for a while, and figured, why not? Although the Antigua played pretty good, I felt like I wanted to step up a bit.

CE Winds does a very nice job of presenting horns for sale on ebay and on SOTW. They took my Antigua, which was in very mint condition, photographed it, recorded a video of it being played, and listed it. It sold on the third day for the BIN price, which surprised me a little, but obviously made my day.

Now I have the Omega soprano. I suppose you could ask just how much of an upgrade this is, since they are both Tawainese horns. The Omega is built like a tank! It is heavier, for sure. The arms to the bell keys are very substantial, as are all the rods, and the bell-to-body brace. The horn was well packed and very playable right out of the case. I think I might have my tech loosen one or two of the springs - a couple are a little heavier than I like.

They included a CE Winds metal mouthpiece (as well as the rubber one that comes with all horns). I haven't tried the rubber mpc, but the metal (a #6) definitely plays very well. It is finished very nicely, and seals good. The intonation on the horn appears to be very good. I say "appears" because I'm really not a sop player, so I'm still experimenting with different reeds and emboucher position, but the horn blows easily and sounds sweet, not nasal at all.

I'm pleased with the horn - to me it feels like an upgrade, for sure. I'm mainly a bari player, and just fool around on soprano, and it certainly fills my needs. I hope to work on my technique more and maybe eventually drag it along to a gig.

Oh, and the case is outstanding - like a Samonsite type case.

I have no affiliation with CE Winds, just a very satisfied customer. Communication with both Mark and Brian was outstanding. These guys really do want to take care of their customers!

[rdeeno]

Picked up an Alpha curved Soprano for my 13 yr old daughter. I am no sax player, but, I have played guitar for almost 40 yrs, so I know a little about instruments in general. The sax sounded well from top to bottom with no flat or sharp keys like her old soprano had. All I can say is she has a big smile on her face after playing it. Thanks to Brian from CE Winds, great customer service.