Prodigy Student Sax

[Gretchen]

Hi all - I am a band director/clarinetist... I have a 5th grade student whose mom found him a "Prodigy" Alto saxophone, "Educator- Approved" instrument, new for $200. I'm suspicious of the quality because I don't know this brand. Anyone know it? Thanks.

[sarajlim]

I would assume that is an Asian made horn, for that price, it was probably one of the $200 horns on eBay. These saxophones are hit or miss. I have an Asian made alto that plays great except for low Bb (probably a leak) right out of the box. However, the finish isn't very even. Also, the intonation can be a bit wacky in the lower register. I also have an Asian made soprano. It plays fine, but has intonation problems (but that could be because I am new to soprano). I was lucky, but I have heard stories about Asian made horns (particularly a Cecilio saxophone) falling apart in days. There is a kid in my band that plays a no-name saxophone, and it works okay for him (I'm not sure about intonation, though). Just a note, I've heard that the only difference between a student saxophone and top-of-the-line pro model saxophone is the build quality and attention to details (if that makes any difference). I hope that helped.

Sara

[ericdano]

Just because you don't know the brand doesn't mean it is going to suck. Hey, if the kid likes it and it plays fairly well in-tune, then that is fine with me. In this economy, $200 towards music is a great thing.

[kfoster]

Make sure that the vendor has a good rating and a decent return policy. These instruments are really hit-miss. If you can return it at little or no charge that will make the real difference.

[milandro]

sure, cheap is not bad but 200$ is really scratching the bottom of the barrel very very thin indeed ! If this kids finances (or his parent's really) won't stretch any further than that .......in Dutch they say , one has to row with the oars that one has .........if, on the other hand, the family funds allow for a little more slack.........perhaps investing in a second hand Vito Yamaha won't be a bad thing at all.

[pengore]

We actually got one of these for my son, brand new, last year and it worked great. He has since decided to drop band and we are trying to sell ours as well.

[milandro]

.......... It worked great........ We are trying to sell ours as well.

ah!...........

[SuperMadHatter]

I hope when kids drop band it's because they are really bored with it and not because they got frustrated learning on a bad horn and gave up. I started out on a (cheap for the era) Buescher 200 that I had to learn to play over the leaks until I found out what adjustments were. I almost quit thinking it was me causing all the squeaks and squaks after months of practice. A properly adjusted sax and one that can hold adjustments is a good start.