hmm, monique saxaphones

[JackThe7th]

Unfortunately to say, I used to use a monique saxaphone. Maybe you have seen these things on ebay. But I do have to give them credit. The key layout I prefer over any saxaphoen made by any well known company I.E. Yamaha, yanigasawa, Rampone Cazzani, Keliwerth, Selmer. But the tonal production I was noticing was lacking in the low register. Fixed the problem by buying a new mouthpiece (Otto Link super tone master, not great, but I get what I can afford). But even still, the F seems to sound out of tone, along with G. Otehrwise, a supisingly good sax. I now use a YTS 875, and still take out my monique to play around, all around good.

What do you think about Monique saxapnones?

[Martin Williams]

Yeah, I have a similar opinion of my monique, but the Super 20 Ive just got is awesome. Its actually not a horible horn for the money.

[paulwl]

I do have to give them credit. The key layout I prefer over any saxaphoen made by any well known company
When the Moniques all go to the Junque pile, maybe the key hardware should be saved and used to upgrade klunky vintage horns.

This takes custom work, but get a shop tooled up for volume conversions and it might be a real business someday if name brand vintage axes get prohibitively expensive.

[saxcop]

I have one and love it. I think its a bargain. I paid $325 for a silver plated alto...real silver, not nickel or laquer.
I have a Gardala Tenor. I wish I'd bought the monique tenor as well.

[Jerry K.]

I have a Gardala Tenor. I wish I'd bought the monique tenor as well.
I don't know for sure, but I bet if you sold your "Guardala" tenor you could probably buy like 3 or 4 new Monique tenors. Seriously, a Guardala tenor in excellent condition would probably fetch $2000 or something close to that. I must say though that you are probably the first person I know of that said they would rather have a Monique than a Guardala tenor.

[saxcop]

i wasn't really saying that I'd rather have a monique than a guardala. Its just that people beat up on them and my alto plays quite well. The DG cost me $2600 new. Your right I could buy 4-5 of the moniques for the cost of the DG.
I think some of the taiwan horns are quite good, but maybe inconsistant from horn to horn.
I consider guitar my primary instrument and dont play either for pay, but do some playing mainly in church 2-3 times a month.
I could honestly afford any alto I want and I play a monique, but its low on my list of instruments guitar, tenor, sop, alto.

[pepesax]

Well,
just to bias things: I've read so many bad things about Monique saxophones that I feel embarassed to say I bought a Monique alto recently. I knew about its bad reputation, but as I'm not a pro and alto is not my main instrument, I thought I could risk and have a try, considering its low price. Not quite sure if my Monique is from Taiwan or China. The look is nice (white silver satin with gold laquered keys and shiny silver bell and inlays), not perfect finish, but solid material and good keywork. What I immediately noticed and had to fix was the crook which I filed to make it fit properly. Then some of the keys didn't close correctly, making the intonation terrible at first. Well, after some adjustments, the sax sounds good. The tone is quite powerful and warm, easy to blow in the upper register. Of course, what you said about intonation is true, so that you have to think on how to blow to get the correct intonation for each note. I think the low price of the sax is because of its eastern make and also because of the lack of final set up after assembling the parts. I wouldn't suggest to buy the instrument if you are an absolute beginner and know nothing about saxophone mechanics, but if you are able to work on it for a while, you can get a relatively good instrument at a very low price.
I don't regret the purchase as my expectations weren't very high and I was aware of the risks. Of course if you look for a pro horn you wouldn't go through Moniques...
pepesax

[JackThe7th]

Hmm interesting posts so far, I decided to see if the keys werent closing completely. I did like they do at Yamaha, they shine a light (orange in their case, easier on the eyes) down the saxaphone, and press down the keys, and checked to see if the light was still visible after closing. What i was amazed to find, was that only low B didnt close all the way, but which I could tell already. When you get that low, you dotn really notice anyways, but ALL of the other keys completely closed and let in no visible light. i admit, the gus at yamaha have training to do that, but hey, Im not blind or anything, so I could tell to a small degree at least. But interestingly enough, I find myself playing my Monique more than my 875. The 875 looks better of course though. Hmmm, what is it about the Taiwan made saxaphones....

Dont get the chineese ones though

[jnewmann]

My suggestion for anyone looking for a horn is to be able to play it first, or at least have a return option. I found out about Monique horns while on tour just looking for reeds at a mom and pop music store when I was in the Midwest. I purchased a soprano on the spot.

There are several models of Monique horns done by various factories. There is a PRO MODEL that was put together in Taiwan that sings. The fit, finish, and durability of these horns are amazing. The keywork is fast and light and fits an adult hand well. The eveness of the tone throughout the horn compares to any top model. I have one that is 4 years old that other than the cordless mic scratches under the bell, looks and plays like new.

The current models are from China. They are heavy and are plated. The new key work is not as quick as in the past and placement of palm and pinky keys is awkward. The tone is not as even. I got a new tenor a few months ago and have had finish problems and cork problems. My suggestion for anyone getting the new models is to send them to a technician for a once over and replace all the corks. The manufacturer and sales rep have been pretty easy to deal with on the warranty, giving me a cash allowance to get it fixed until a replacement came from the factory. That is pretty good, considering if I had lost a gig or had to rent a horn until the replacement came, I would have lost money. The purchase price for the 2007 models are low, so put extra money into setting up the horn. These are great second horns for doublers and a horn that will take a serious student into college.

These can be the easiest playing horns that breathe to the bell tones when properly set up. The intonation is workable. The tubes are a little short on both horns, so the E, D, low c, b, and b flat get progressively sharper. The middle e and d are dead on while holding down the low b key when holding the notes. Altissimo pops on both horns.

Horns are as unique as the people playing them. I use two different mouthpiece and reed set ups to get the same results between the alto and tenor. I use a Meyer 5m with hemke 3 reeds on the alto and a Runyon 5 with La Voz medium strength on the tenor. My sound is big, semi bright, and well rounded on both horns. Both are flexible enough for different uses.

[Al Stevens]

I heard John Newmann (whose post immediately precedes this one) play his Monique saxes Saturday night. I did not play any of them, but I can say that the horns project quite well, and John gets a very nice tone with them. I heard some minor and infrequent intonation issues on the alto. (I'm an expert on alto intonation problems.:) ) The other horns were spot on. There was a lady singer sitting in who had some serious intonation problems—it was to cringe at times—and a piano player with unique and interesting chord changes, and those factors might have pulled John up trying to compensate. I don't know.