Saxophone.com experiences and mouthpiece recommendations [Archive]

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BrianG

05-20-2003, 01:16 AM

Hi everyone,

I won a used saxophone.com sop off of ebay for $300 a couple days
ago, and i'm expecting it sometime this week. I realize it's a cheap sop and by no means do i expect it to play like a Yamaha, Selmer, Yani, etc, but I was wondering if anyone else had any experiences with the horns, especially the sop. And out of curiousity, has anyone tried their new 'nino?

Also, the guy is sending me a Vandoren S35 with the horn. From the description of the piece on Vandoren's website, i'm expecting it to be pretty bright. Provided the horn I receive is good and worth keeping, I really like a dark, mellower sound for all around playing. What kind of piece could help me attain this? Thanks in advance

P.S.: Here is a pic from the auction:
http://users.chartertn.net/sbgib/saxdotcomsop.jpg[/img]

Nebber

05-21-2003, 02:32 AM

DaveKessler

05-21-2003, 03:14 PM

Brian,
I took my Saxophone.com to my local tech to check out. One minor leak was all he could find. He was very impressed with it, and was floored by the cheap price tag! He told me that this horn was better made than the Antigua Winds that he sells. I am very pleased with my sax. The action is smooth and light and I think the tone is just fine. After daily playing for 18 months now, still no problems at all. As far as mouthpieces- I've tried Yamahas, Otto Link (HR), Selmer Super Session, Yanagisawa (HR) and Rovner Wilkerson. Believe it or not, the Rovner works best for me. I use Rico Royals or Fibracell reeds. I think you may be very pleased with this purchase.
Nebber

I would agree that they are better made (and play better) then Antigua Winds' previous line of sopranos (Selmer copies) but disagree in comparison to their curreny (Yanagisawa copied) sopranos.

The Saxophone.com instruments are decent horns. At $300, you got a steal. I would probably recommend putting like a Morgan mouthpiece on it, even the basic Pro-Tone.

You should be very happy with it.

BrianG

05-22-2003, 11:04 PM

Well I received the horn yesterday, and it played as perfectly as it can play in my hands out of the box. It plays pretty sharp in the higher register but that's probably mostly me. The Vandoren S35 has a nice sound but the tip opening is really starting to put a hurt on my lips. Overall I'm really really happy with the horn for my first sop.

The only problem i have now is getting it serviced, because one of the only 2 music stores that does repairs in a 30 mile area said that they wouldn't work on it because it's not one of the big 4 basically. It doesn't need any service right now, but it's not a nice feeling to not know where i'm going to get it fixed if it does need anything.

Overall I'd say i lucked out for $300 and even at full price a saxophone.com horn is worth the money.

DaveKessler

05-23-2003, 12:54 AM

BrianG

05-23-2003, 01:34 AM

Wow, then the repair people are idiots.

As long as they dont have to replace a part, they shouldnt have any problem whatsoever servicing your horn. Heck, even if the need a part, a good tech can modify another part to work if absolutely needed.

I would recommend that you talk to the repairmens boss.

Yes, I agree with you on that. The problem is that in this area (northeast TN), the only band/orchestral resources are almost directly aimed at school band, and people in school bands almost always do exactly what they're told. However, even when I was in school bands, I never followed instructions on equipment as per "recommendations" by directors, etc. I was told to get a Selmer USA, I bought a Yamaha. I was told to get a Selmer S80, I bought an S90 instead (real rebelious there), Rovner lig, got a BG instead. The directors and the music stores work hand in hand to make sure they get the best deals off of each other, and if you have to burn people who dont blindly follow everything they're told like me, well that's ok. Another unfortunate problem is that the repair tech is the boss, so whatever they say goes.

I really dont see why they couldn't replace a pad or something for me, but the excuse is "well if something breaks we cant fix it and we can't be responsible for that" so they turn it away. I'm sure if something did break i could get a part from Saxophone.com, at least for the time being, though I certainly hope they arent going anywhere. I'm so happy with the sop that if I was older, had a good job, and had everything i needed and could spend the extra money, i'd have a full set of their horns, starting with that neat little Sopranino they have for $895...

zgatt

06-05-2003, 12:47 AM

How's it holding up, Brian?
I have an identical one I got when I was first experimenting with sops. I still like it and keep it on the stand to grab, though it's nothing like the sound of the chu I later acquired; if I ever got seriously into soprano I'd be working more with that. But still, the sound is very good and the playing feel is excellent. The intonation on my .com is very good with the straight neck, but somewhat odd with the curved neck, I've found, the curved neck never comes out anymore. I ran it by a very experienced player once, and he was pretty amazed at the value. His reaction to the curved/straight necks was "it's easier to play in tune on the straight" - sort of a backhanded way to say it's not completely primo either way, I guess.
I haven't tried many sop mpcs, but I bought a Barone vintage that gives me a sound I like on both horns, dark and (maybe) diffuse(?).

Was it on the old forum that Goodson gushed about how good he thought the saxophone.com horns were? (for the money, I presume)

FWIW I decided to buy the sop after playing a friend's sax.com tenor - which is a *very* good value, IMHO.

BrianG

06-09-2003, 07:37 PM

It's holding up pretty well. Some of the corks are sub par and I've had to reattach a few of them, but I'm still very happy with the horn for what I payed for it. I've looked at the toneholes, and quite a few of them have some noticeable defects, but they seal and the horn plays fine, so i dont really care. I'm by no means a pro player, or even an amateur, just a hobbyist, and the horn suits my needs for a soprano for the time being.

I've adjusted to the Vandoren S35 pretty well, and now the tip opening feels just fine to me. The horn feels fine with both necks, but I can notice a difference in how resonant it feels with the straight neck versus the curved neck.

The palm keys are insanely sharp if you're not careful with them, but I've learned to compensate and i can play the horn pretty well in tune, minus the bell notes which are sharp, too. I have a feeling that a larger chamber mouthpiece would help that out somewhat, since the chamber on the Vandoren is tiny by their own admittance.

Overall I'm still happy, especially for $300. One day I'll hopefully be able to buy the sop of my dreams, a late serial Buescher in silver :)

budice007

07-16-2003, 01:00 AM

BrianG,
I 'm the one who sold you this soprano! I'm glad to hear that you like it. I bought it on eBay from a University student in CA who was saving for a curved Yani. I also had problems with techs not wanting to work on the horn due to what is likely a Taiwan origin. Eventually I got on their good sides and they went ahead and did the work! I practiced this horn very little to begin with and after awhile began to expeirience pain in my right wrist and forearm as I played it. I had to begin using the curved neck and neckstrap. After I became more familar with the horn I decided that the straight neck was benificial in terms of response. But all of a sudden a horn I'd been looking for on eBay a long time became available: a Buffet S1 tenor in silver plate. Maybe the horn will be passed on yet again as your dream soprano becomes available. Glad your happy with it!
Joel

madsax

07-26-2003, 02:53 AM

Yeah...I was looking at saxophone.com soprano's but then I realized that its the exact same design as the Winston that I play at school...so instead I looked to Yamaha...but then...I found out that Antigua saxes were much better then the YSS-475 I had my eyes on...and got a soprano from Dave. :)

Dweeg

09-08-2003, 05:39 AM

I've done some play testing on a few horns lately...the Kessler big bell and the saxophone.com horns.

First, let me say that I really think it's great that these guys are offering a lower priced alternative to the big companies. Which is why I want to support them in their business.

Second, I believe that price being a factor, any horn that I recommend to my students needs to be a horn that I would purchase myself. And a new horn should be flawless! No trips to the repair shop as soon as you get the horn just so it will play----know what i mean?

I found the Kessler horn to have a deeper, louder sound, but an awkward feel and worse, it played flat. I tried the bronze alto and tenor. I had the mouthpiece shoved on all the way, and I was still lipping up to stay in tune. After a while, it seemed to be OK, but it threw me. That was the alto. I played a few notes on the tenor and immediately disliked the sound. It was thin up and down and all around. I know this is their flagship, but I just didn't like it. Just my opinion---it seems some people are very satisfied with this axe! I wish I had a Yani to compare against. Definitley NOT the same or better calibre as my Silver Sonic or Mark VI. Not even close.

The Kessler horn also had braced bell keys which were cool, and a much more solid construction "feel" in general. Evidently Chuck play tests them and I think that is definitely the way it should be. Kessler gets the construction award.

The Saxophone.com horns I've tried are a gold-plated tenor, silver-plated alto, and silver alto with gold keys. I have a gold lacquer this week to try.

I found the tenor to be very good. It's sound was fat, nice and dark. I play tested it againt my VI and it held it's own for the price. It lacked the core of a vintage horn. Mechanically---So far so good on it... . . .

The silver plated alto had GREAT feel. The action was fast and easy. The sound was a little softer, and thinner esp. down low compared to the Kessler, but it was sweet. I liked this horn. Then the neck cork came off. That was day one. Something else was vibrating around too by day 3, but not sure what cuz it had to go back. A nice touch is the pearled octave key thumb rest...like butta... and also a metal right hand thumb rest.

The silver/gold key alto arrived NEW with an octave key that wouldn't close and a low B rod that was grinding against it's post, producing friction felt and heard. Key oil did no good.

I liked the .com case better. Rounded, modern, set-in latches, plastic exterior. Kessler's were more traditional.

In conclusion, I would like to say that both of these guys are great to deal with. Very accomodating, lightning fast delivery, and very complimentary of each other's business---no bashing here which is nice to see. I received my refund as soon as it entered their doors. Nice packaging too.

The .com horn has a 30 day guarantee which says a lot in my book. I think that it's a quality horn, esp. for the price, but they need to play check the horns more thoroughly, and use better cork glue. Garrett is very willing to make things right though if you have a little patience. My biggest worry is that here seems to be a really nice, inexpensive horn that falls apart. The horns DO come with a one year warranty, and as long as a price is agreed upon, can be repaired by a local repair tech. Otherwise, you have to pay to ship it out there--$25 from IL to Vegas. Keep the box...

I also compared the .com silver plate to a Yamaha 475. The Yamaha had a sound comparable to the Kessler, a little bigger, rounder, darker. But the feel was awkward, maybe it's designed for kid's hands...I don't have really huge hands fyi... I'm sure it's something that could be gotten used to . I don't know what kind of springs it had, but they weren't tapered blue steel.

Next week I will have sound tests on the other .com altos. :D

My favorite horn? The silver plate .com. Sweet and easy is better than loud and awkward in my book. Plus it looks reeeally sharp. Course if it was a little darker, shook the room when you played low Bb sub-tones, and more core like a VI, that wouldn't be bad either. And if it had braces like the Kessler, or an underslung octave key, or triple octave key vents, oh, and a better spatula mechanism, and let's not forget a cool engraving of my cat.... I know what you're gonna say, but are the Cannonballs or the Goodson Unison's less than $1000? Exactly.

BrianG

09-09-2003, 03:02 PM

I thought I'd update on my sop. I've had to do... absolutely nothing to it, and it still plays just fine. After spending a lot of time with it my intonation is much better, especially up high. Down low is still pretty sharp but I'm using small chambered mpc's (S35 and Bari Esprit) so that is probably part of the problem.

I still love the horn and I play it almost every day as my hectic schedule permits, it gets more play time than my Yamaha tenor and my Olds alto.

Oh, and if anyone ever sees budice007 selling anything on eBay, he's an awesome, honest guy. Thanks again man.

pknight

09-11-2003, 05:36 PM

The repair tech's refusal to work on these, and other, models is a concern. I ran into the same problem with the Jinyin soprano that I purchased from Jason Dumars. It needed a neck cork replaced, and I took it to the only place in town that does repairs. When I picked it up, the shop owner told me that they had made a mistake in accepting the sax for repairs. He said "We aren't careless, but if something were to break we could not get parts."

Well, he is certainly correct that this sax has very little in common, part-wise, with anything else I have seen, and I am sure that he would have problems if something were to break. However, if I am willing to take that risk, I would hope that the shop would accept the horn for things like replacing pad and corks, adjusting for leaks, etc. The message was clear, however: "We don't want to see this thing in here again." And, this is not just a matter of the shop only wanting to work on what it sells. I have taken several Yamahas and Vitos in with no problems, and this place only sells Selmer (Paris and USA) and recently the new Bueschers.

BTW, the Jinyin sax plays fine for what it cost me, and for as much as I need/want to play the soprano.

Andres

09-11-2003, 06:41 PM

this is not just a matter of the shop only wanting to work on what it sells. I have taken several Yamahas and Vitos in with no problems, and this place only sells Selmer (Paris and USA) and recently the new Bueschers.

I've seen this behavior from shops that have been soured by a "shoddy Taiwanese sax" repair experience from 5+ years ago. You'd think that they would understand that the new Buescher is also a clone. Point this out to them, and I'll betcha they'll hem and haw about how it's from Selmer and therefore "better" than any other clone. I betcha :)

Also, in my experience, these shops don't want to bother putting in a whole lot of effort on a repair unless it's a for a pro. They stick to cookie-cutter repairs, and maximize profits. Shame on them.

Bill Mecca

09-11-2003, 07:18 PM

FWIW, My advice on repairs: find out who the local pros use, it's doubtful they go to a music shop. SOme of them may be talented repair techs in their own right. Ask questions, the same name will start popping up.

Unfortunately I didn't do that and wound up getting ripped off big time (detailed on the old board) that guy has since closed his doors (at least at that location) :twisted:

I finally took my horn to the tech who does work for a long time friend of mine. It was a trip to North Jersey but the service was excellent, as was the price. When it came time for a check up, he even let me drop my horn off at his beach house, and he brought it back a week later, saving me the drive. Now that wins big points with me.

I've done simple things like replacing neck cork for years, somethign every player should know how to do. I've even replaced a couple springs, nervewracking as it was for someone who doesn't do this all the time.

Back in my TV days the guys in master control used to say, if you don't know how the deck works, you have no business pushing the play button. A bit extreme, but there is some truth and advice in there. My father is an auto mechanic by trade, he tried to teach me, but at least I learned enough not to be ripped off...too bad he didn't play sax. :wink:

Stencilman

09-11-2003, 08:04 PM

he is certainly correct that this sax has very little in common, part-wise, with anything else I have seen
And if you brought in a 1925 Martin Handcraft, would they accept that horn? If they stick by their stated standards, they shouldn't accept any horn more than a few years old since the parts would be hard to find. They're nuts!

Jerry K.

09-11-2003, 10:39 PM

Dweeg, how did you get a chance to try all those horns?

Dweeg

09-12-2003, 03:51 AM

I bought them, and then returned them. Plus I have a bunch of students who have other types of horns like Keilwerth, Yamaha 475 and 52, even a Martin, and soon a THnC. Mostly student line mind you...

Update...

The most inexpensive saxophone.com horn ($750) played fine. No problems. Two students of mine ordered the new silver platd with gold keys. BOTH of them have bell misalignments. Apparently all you do is knock the bell back one way or the other. A little scary, but it kind of worked. Only problem is that I couldn't get it just right. After a couple of hours, I decided that it's really too much trouble, and I may never ever never ever ever never get it right. Our repair shop guys are SO busy, I don't even want to bother them.

SO. Garrett was more than willing to have a loaner shipped out for the players to use while the horn gets fixed on his expense. Which proves what I said before about how he will make things right.

Final opinion on this is that they are good horns, especially for the price, but you need to take them in to the shop as soon as you get it. I don't have much time under my belt with these horns, but apparently others on this forum have no problem with the horns once they are fixed up by the local repair sax expert shaman.

Another thing...you can order these any way you like, which is very popular with my students. You can special order without the engraving if you want to have a custom engraving by someone like jason dumars or whoever. Engraving comes AFTER plating, btw. Plating is mirror silver, satin, gold, brushed gold, nickel...even bare brass if you want. So you can get a gold or silver plated horn with pro springs/pads for $1000 that feels great. Just make sure someone looks at it.

Jerry K.

09-12-2003, 01:54 PM

Dweeg, it sounds like you bought like 5 or 6 horns to try. I'm surprised that you didn't find a horn you were satisfied with among all those horns. Man, you must have spent a fortune to ship all those saxes back and forth. Didn't you also have to pay a restocking or cleaning fee for each horn returned? I would think that it would have been cheaper just to fly to Vegas where both Saxophones.com and Kessler Music are located. That way you could have checked out several examples of each of the models you're interedted in. Did you find a keeper yet?

Dweeg

09-12-2003, 03:58 PM

Dweeg, it sounds like you bought like 5 or 6 horns to try.

Only 3. The Kessler's and the sax.com. Some were students horns.

I'm surprised that you didn't find a horn you were satisfied with among all those horns.

Who said I didn't? I was mainly doing it b/c I want to find an inexpensive horn for my students to buy. Unfortunately, there are just too many issues with both horns. In my opnion, mind you.

Man, you must have spent a fortune to ship all those saxes back and forth.

$25 per sax. Knowledge is worth the $75. I needed to know.

Didn't you also have to pay a restocking or cleaning fee for each horn returned?

No.

I would think that it would have been cheaper just to fly to Vegas where both Saxophones.com and Kessler Music are located. That way you could have checked out several examples of each of the models you're interedted in. Did you find a keeper yet?[/quote]

That would've been a little distracting for me, but you're probably right.

The silver alto was my favorite. Unfortunately, it's gone back for someone else to enjoy. I'm going to try out next a YAS 52, and maybe a 62 too. Both altos. You can't beat Saxophone.com's price. But in my experience at least, about half of them are great out of the box, and half need a repairman out of the box.

Go to Vegas! I'm sure you would have a much better selection than what I had, and you could hand pick your favorite. Make sure you try out the different horns in a similar setting though. You know, one in a carpeted practice room, and the other in a wood hall will just confuse you.

Jerry K.

09-12-2003, 05:12 PM

Dweeg, I came up with 5 because you said you played the Kessler Bronze alto and bronze tenor, and the Saxophone.com gold plated tenor, silverplated alto, and silver plated alto with gold keys, and then a gold lacquer you were going to try this week. Sounds like these dealers sent you like 5 or 6 horns to try unless I'm missing something here. I have to say that it looks to me like both Kessler Music and Saxophone.com are trying really hard to earn your business.

Good luck in your seach for good affordable horns. :)