Have you read this review?

[ferrim]

Hi all,
I am waiting my new soprano A590-SPC but this review

http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk/Buying/Antigua_soprano.htm

doesn't encourage me, which are your opinions?

Marcello
ITALY

[stevesklar]

Interesting review. A buddy asked me about my 582 when i first got it and I had some comments about the keywork and potential swedging issues down the road. Now i'm gonna have to look for that and look at my 582 again.

But dollar for dollar the horn plays great. And you can buy multiple 582/590s for the price of a top 4 horn.

The Taiwan horns aren't perfect yet but they are getting there. A couple years ago the Antigua's were okay but no where near as good as they are now.

[Fred]

This reviewer is the same guy that seems to be on a crusade against the Keilworth's rolled tone holes. Read his reviews on those. Then read Keilworth owners' comments here and elsewhere, along with AW owners' comments. Personally, I don't really care what the guy says . . . I love my 590 and would gladly do it all over again.

[Russ]

Oh boy... I was waiting for this one to come up and rattle a few cages.

The horn in the review was MY horn. When I presented it to Steve, he played it and was encouraged , but as far as the keywork was concerned, it looked a little suspect. This E key he speaks of has clearly missed quality control. The other keys don't really concern me because I don't play the horn hard or long enough for this to be an issue, Nor the springs but the E key is certainly defective and I intend on speaking to the store I purchased it from in a bid to have it addressed.
Personally, I have issues with the silver plating as marks on the horn will not polish out - In addition, despite cleaning and drying the neck after playing, it is prone to discolouration on the joint more associated with the colour of rust. This may be normal, but my Yani, Selmer and Buffet horns don't suffer from it. They, of course, are FAR more expensive and superior horns.

As far as the Keilwerth issue goes, there is no crusade. If you read that thread again, I have posted Steve Howard's response.

There is CLEARLY an issue with MY Antigua horn, but seeing he has only reviewed MY Antigua horn, he can only comment on MY Antigua horn. Whilst Antigua owners may not like what they read in the negative review, the fact remains that these problems are there and a DARN GOOD TECH is just highlighting this issue.

I look at my Antigua horn as a price comprimise because I play it less than 1 hour a week whereas my Alto and Tenor horns are played daily. They cost more than 3 times as much therefore cash / time played it's not worth me spending SERIOUS cash on a sop. I still think it plays better than my old Yamaha 475 though :)
Steve Howard looks at my Antigua for what it is: A musical instrument with some obvious flaws.

Would I buy Antigua again ?? Yes, as long as the key issue was addressed. Look what I payed for it ! Had these problems been visible on a horn three times the price, we'd all be screaming at the manufacturer, not shooting the messanger.

[DaveKessler]

The point he brings up of the E key is valid. Basically, every one of these horns has that issue. However, they are basically mounting it with the key cup centered over the tone hole instead of simply pushing it into that gap (lesser of 2 evils) which is what makes sense (the centering).

Keep in mind though that the pressure applied to those keys is not pivoting at that joint, and unless you plan on squeezing with a kung fu death grip, this should never cause a problem. These have been out on the market for approx 3 years and I have literally sold hundreds without even 1 horn having a problem that was a result of this design issue.

However, eveyone is entitled to their opinion. In theory, that could cause a problem... but many theorys never pan out past that theretical (sp?) standpoint.

[Russ]

Hi Dave.

It does make me wonder why they don't just make the key arm longer, therefore, closing the gap entirely and still leaving the cup centered.

On the other hand, many of the key cups on my horn are far from being centered. Ah, the great debate. Don't you just love it ?

[Brendan Muse]

A screwdriver, a soldering iron and some sheet brass would render it a moot point, though.

[DaveKessler]

Hi Dave.

It does make me wonder why they don't just make the key arm longer, therefore, closing the gap entirely and still leaving the cup centered.

On the other hand, many of the key cups on my horn are far from being centered. Ah, the great debate. Don't you just love it ?

You are absolutely right... however, keep in mind that for the most part, Antigua is nothing more then a wholesaler. They do not own the factory that makes the horns.

The factory in Taiwan would most likely retort back with, it has not caused any problems. And that would be correct, I have yet to have a single person tell me of a problem that this was the cause of.

As for the springs, I think they are steel wire which I do not think is a problem at all. As long as it is of a decent grade of wire, there will be no problems. Again, we have yet to have a problem in that regard either.

I would love to see the key mounting fixed... that would be great... but in the end, I dont see it causing a problem. If it did, it would have been fixed years ago.

Right now, we are still desperately trying to convince the factory (and Antigua) of the need to update their alto into a Yanagisawa copy.

[Dave Dolson]

In MY opinion, this is petty. After reading all of this about poor construction, I pulled out my Antigua 590LQ and my Yanagisawa S992 and examined them side-by-side under a magnifying glass. I did not remove the whole stack to compare.

I could see no essential differences in how the key cups were attached to the key arms, especially on my stack E keys (both horns). True, and I've said this many times before, the S992 feels better under my fingers and the keywork seems to be aligned better for me on the S992.

But both horns are nice players and if I had to pick one over the other for tone alone, I'd probably go for the Antigua. And I sure would pick the Antigua if money was an issue. But I don't have to pick one over the other and I end up playing the S992 more because I like the way it feels and plays.

Still, for the money, the Antigua continues to be a strong bargain in the new-soprano world. I can only imagine that the writer of the article got his hands on an Antigua that wasn't up to standards. All the ones I've seen and played (of the new models - the ones with YS in their serial numbers) have been good horns. DAVE

[Russ]

I took my 590 into the dealer and we compared it with an LQ that had been bell damaged in a demo, but still playable. I preferred the sound of my silver plated model. When he saw the finish on my horn, he whipped out a silver cloth and showed me that being shy with it was the reason for 80% of the 'flaws' I saw in the finish. He put the rust coloured residue down to poor housekeeping too.
The other 20% was indeed down to plating anomolies. Not enough to worry about. I was offered an exchange if I was really concerned about it, but considering how well my horn plays, I declined.

[jgill2000]

My key cups needed some soldering to strengthen the joints, on the F, E, and D keys. I discovered this particular problem right before a Christmas Concert I had a BUNCH of solos in last year, a few months after buying the 590BC. I'm not a good enough repairman to know that I had a bent key. The E was badly bent. It closed, but barely.

I limped through the concert, and was off to the repair shop that week. The local sax repairman instantly spotted the problem, and I had the joints stregthened. No problems since.

I guess for the price, I didn't expect perfection. The $30 repair job wasn't a big deal. Had that happened to me on a Yani 991, I'd have been more upset. But I took this risk when I made the decision to go with the 590. I'm still happy with my choice, and I'd do it again.

But yes, it would be nice if the maker of the 590 would fix that.

jgill2000