Jupiter bari

[Buescher Playr]

Hello,

I'm going to soon be looking to buy a new bari. Any recommendations?? I've been looking at the Jupiter Artist model.
Whatcha think???

I've still got my old but good 1914 Holton Bari sax. She's still honkin' but I want a new horn. I've played vintage stuff all my sax playin' life. I just want a new one for a change.

Buescher Playr

[rcwjd]

I can appreciate the new horn thing, and mechanically the new horns have got some great improvements. If your are going to invest in a new one that might be a lifelong investment, why not go for the real quality? I recently had an opportunity to play test the top Keilwerth, Yamaha, and Yanigasaw baris. I was impressed with all of them, but the one that stood out was the Yamaha. Great intonation up and down the horn, quality construction, and a great sound on the low end. The Keilwerth might have been better if it had been in adjustment, but I really liked the sound on that Yamaha. I was impressed with the quality of construction on the Yanigaswa, and it sounded great too. It just didn't quite have that "extra something" that the Yamaha did. Having said all that, I plan on keeping and playing my Mark VI until one or the other of us falls apart. :lol:

[john]

Baris from the big 4 will all be good but very different. I recently replaced my SX90 with another B991. The sound of the Keilwerth was incredible but the ergonomics of the JK were just too painful. The Yamaha 52/62 I've played were very comfortable but the sound was non-descript and didn't respond as well to mouthpiece/reed changes. I haven't tried the Selmers.

I now own 2 B991s and couldn't be happier. Great keyboard. Great sound.

Just my $0.02

john

[Spidercomrade]

My Yamaha 52 is great. I would recommend a Yamaha as well.

[MojoBari]

I'm a Yamaha fan. I've heard some great playing on the Jupiters. I tried one but it did not turn my head.

[SaxyAcoustician]

Yeah, I've got a silverplated Yamaha 62. What a horn. The quality is superb.

john, you have TWO B991's???

[MPL]

Last summer I test drove a Yamaha 52, a Vito VSP (the Yanagisawa 901's twin brother), and a Jupiter Artist series baritone. All three horns were within a price range of interest to me at the time. Here's the quick and dirty:

Yamaha 52: Best ergonomics of the three. Good sound but sounded thin to me, especially after...

Vito VSP: Surprisingly good. Rich, dark, centered sound. Good ergonomics for me and my smaller hands.

Jupiter Artist bari: Also surprisingly good, especially after so many people said the Jupiter would be awful. Dark, centered sound, not as "thick" or with as much presence as the VSP, but definitely better than the Yamaha I tried out. I didn't like the ergonomics on the RH stack.

Bottom line: If $2500-3500 is your price range, I'd say give a serious look to the Vito VSP, followed by the Jupiter, and then the Yamaha 52. The Jupiter will be the least expensive but will have the lowest resale value down the road. The Yamaha will hold its value quite well.

If you can afford to spend more than $3500, than take a good long look at a Yanagisawa 901 and work your way up from there. I borrowed a friend's Yani 991 for a few days and liked it a lot, but it really sounded kind of bland when compared to a vintage Bb baritone. Beautiful horn, though, with magnificent ergonomics and superb intonation form top to bottom.

[Storamin]

My parents bought me the Jupiter Artist Bari a few months ago. I really like the Jupiter. For me, it's a perfect fit as I never intend to play more than for my own enjoyment/odd gig.