Review on, this time, TK Melody TENOR saxophones

[gary]

Well, this is going to be one of those, "ah, come on, man" type posts. Yes - they are as good as some have said. These are simply great playing saxes.

There is really less to write about these than about the altos because these are kind of "gee whiz" horns at this price. I thought the altos were very good instruments within their price class. The tenors are excellent saxes beyond their price class. I hesitate to compare them to the Big Four because I do not want to have the readers think I am overstating the case. I would just say this. Anyone looking for a professional quality sax should try these out. Anyone looking for a sax within this price range should most definitely not fail to check them out because IMO you get relatively more than what you pay for.

I played saxes from the Harlem Nocturne series, with black and antique finishes. The sound of the saxes is just something you have to hear yourself. They have their own characteristic sound. Their sound is full, and focused. It has a funny mixture to me of focus, an immediate presence, and yet a largeness to the sound as well. Hard to describe, but they offer a definitely viable alternative to anything on the market.

They have a dark, buzzy edge to the sound, kind of what I hear when I listen to Johnny Griffin. My Selmer III blows freer. The resistance on the TKs remind me of what I experienced on Selmer II tenor. The antiqued sax sounded warmer than the other. Black seems a bit darker and more open. For the most part, there is a uniformity of sound and the palm keys do not thin out. There is no shrillness to the upper register. (I don't want to open Pandora's Box or get this thread sidelined, but I have now played two sopranos, two altos and two tenors and each pair had a different finish and each sax in each pair sounded different from the other.)

Intonation is excellent. I did have problems on the Ebs and Ds on both horns. These tones were generally in tune but quite stuffy. I put my Selmer neck on the horns and the stuffiness did not change much, so it's either inherent in the saxes or these notes need to be tweaked by a tech. This would have to be resolved before I would buy one, but these saxes were just out of the box, so a little tech tweaking may be all that's needed.

Ergos are excellent. Like the altos, the finger buttons seem a little on the larger side and more concave than some other saxes. The exception is that LH side D3 is too recessed. I kept hitting the Eb when I went for the D and it drove me nuts. It was more of a problem on the black sax and I kept trying to compare the two saxes and it seemed, eye-balling it, that the Eb on the black sax was just a bit more forward than on the antiqued sax. The designers really need to address this, but a palm-key riser is a quick fix.

Altissimo? These horns are Altissimo City. Downright easy. Better G3, which is an awkward note for me, than on my III. I mean, what else can I say? Maybe I'm getting better too, but it seemed like a baby could play altissimo on these.

Appearances are stunning. I have now seen the regular finish, black finish, antiqued, and bare brass and I can tell you all look outstanding. Whatever model you choose, you can match with minimal or maximum engraving as well as white or blue MOPs. I am not real big on appearances first, but I have got to admit that I really dig the look of the antiqued finish. If I were to buy a TK tenor it would definitely be an antiqued finish with white MOP and minimal engraving. I just really dug the looks of this horn. And it felt different, too, to the fingertips. OTOH, the black plating finish was really elegant and the way the engraving stood out on it will definitely win many fans.

Accessories. These models came in a good, solid Yamaha 23-like case, with plenty of room inside. If you get one of the more expensive model saxes, you get a copy the BAM/Selmer flight case. Also the usual cork grease, cleaning cloth, neck and carrying straps. I didn't try out the mouthpieces. Photos of the cases as well as the saxes are found on the web site.

Well, in summary, these tenors, like the altos, offer an outstanding package of excellent playing, performing and sounding sax with a great choice of finishes. My caveat as in the alto evaluation, is that I have not played the Barones or the Kesslers, two well-liked brands here so I do not endorse the TKs out of hand over these other saxes. What I will do, though, is very highly recommend that, when you are comparing saxes in this price range, you definitely do not overlook these. Like I said above, these saxes exceed the quality one would normally expect from something in this price range and deserve serious consideration for anyone looking for a high-quality tenor.

[terjeo]

Gary, thanks for another excellent review; not just because of the praise ; but for a very thorough and honest evaluation.

As Gary mentioned, these were straight 'out of the box' as they arrive from Taiwan; I always run them by my tech before I ship them out to 'real' customers. The stuffy D and Eb is something my tech has mentioned and fixed on several of the tenors (usually by opening the C# a tad I believe; but I'm no tech!) I haven't heard the palm key issue before, but I will forward that information to the factory as well.

Unfortunately I don't have any baritones in stock at the moment, so this is it for the T.K. Melody reviews for now! Hopefully people who come here for advice what to buy will find Gary's reviews of the sopranos, altos and tenors informative and useful!

And just in case you missed them, here are links to the other two reviews:
Sopranos: http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?t=111516
Altos: http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?t=113577

Terje.

[jmoen3]

Wow... Simply wow ... Maybe if i go stand on the street long enough I can raise up enough funds... Or start a "jmoen needs a TK tenor donation fund " or maybe I should follow society and get a job. Time to start a poll

Anyhow, thanks Gary.

[G-dawg]

Ah, come on, man...

You still have the horns here in town??

[sonnymobleytrane]

Good thread Gary. I am not in the market for a horn, but now I am curious and would pass this review on to students.
Have you ever tried the Mauriats...if so How does this horn compare?

[gary]

Ah, come on, man... You still have the horns here in town??

You know, I'm a jerk. Should have called you. Sorry.
But then . . . I've never liked it when somebody comes over who shines me.

Good thread Gary. I am not in the market for a horn, but now I am curious and would pass this review on to students.
Have you ever tried the Mauriats...if so How does this horn compare?

I've tried to be careful to give my evaluations as stand-alone comments and to make sure everyone knows that I have not played either Barones or Mauriats. (Or Kesslers, for that matter.) I can't compare them. I guess my biggest point is that, if someone is interested in this general category of saxes, they should try as many as they can get their hands on, just being sure to include the TKs on their try-out list.

Don't believe anybody's hype. Give them all a fair, open-minded chance.

[modman]