Orsi curved sopranino

[Joe Jazz]

Anyone played one of these yet? I can't believe they're around $3,000, which is more than I paid for my Yani several years ago!

[Morry]

A curved 'nino huh? I'd have to check that one extensively against a quality tuner before buying.

[Mike Ruhl]

http://www.orsi-wind-instruments.it/saxophones.htm

[Dave Dolson]

I've never played one but a family-member has one and I've been there when he played it. He played it well and except for the usual sopranino issues, there was nothing untoward about it. It was SO cute!!! (said all the ladies). DAVE

[Joe Jazz]

So Dave, it's a $3,000 Babe Magnet?

[Dave Dolson]

Joe Jazz: I won't go THAT far . . . DAVE

[singlereed]

And I would prefer the babe to say 'Isn't that BIG', not 'Isn't that cute'.

Reminds me of the ultimate put-down line, heard second-hand of course: "Oooh, it's like a p*nis, only smaller!"

[Joe Jazz]

So, the words we want to hear at Dave's parties are, "Is that a bari in your pocket, or are you happy to see me?" . I mean come on, for $3,000 I'm going for the YBS(YoBallsain'tSmalleither)-52 vs the "cute small package" every time!

[TooSaxy]

I just got a curved soprano not that long ago. I brought it to school to show my band teacher. All the girls who saw it said it was so cute and oh a baby sax. I got more hugs and kisses from the ladies that day than any. LOL Im thinking about bring it again. LOL 8-)

[Adam]

I actually have one of these... I got it years ago. It took some getting used to, but it actually plays pretty well. It's a little "toy" sounding, but the intonation is better than some sopranos I've played. This gives you an idea of it's size:
http://members.cox.net/sideman7/Altsopnino.jpg

[Jorns Bergenson]

When I first saw and heard the video on their site, I noticed that the sopranino sounded a half step lower than the gentleman was playing and assumed that the sax was that far off. Maybe it is just the recording.

[Joe Jazz]

Adam,

What is that middle sax you have pictured next to the Orsi? My eyes aren't what they used to be......

[Adam]

It's a curved soprano... Taiwanese variety. It's not my horn, I was doing some work on it for a friend...

As far as the clips go on Orsi's site, I really think they should have found someone else as an example if they are really trying to sell horns with that...

I've played their contra-bass as well, and it's a beast (and I'm primarily a bari player)! Not the most practical instrument. It's big enough that there is a serious lag in response... Not to mention that when I tried it in '90 they cost $32,000...

[Joe Jazz]

Geez! In 1990 you could buy a nice car for $32,000! :shock:

[bruce bailey]

You could but a HOUSE!

[Joe Jazz]

No, that was in 1970! :D

[bruce bailey]

$32K could still buy a decent house even in FL. That house today would be worth 10X however!

[rhysonsax]

I bought one of these Orsi curved sopraninos off ebay for about £750 (say $1600 these days). When it arrived it was OK ish but in need of a service.

I took it to Steve Howard [http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk/] who found lots more wrong with it than I had guessed, mostly down to poor original manufacture. He basically re-manufactured it and made it play a lot better. Oh, and he reckoned that all the women who came into his workshop really loved the cute "baby sax" !

The mouthpiece that came with it (not marked Orsi but probably is) and a replacement Yanagisawa rubber were OK. But the thing that really turned it into a musical instrument was getting a new mouthpiece for it from Dr Ed Pillinger in London [http://www.pillingermouthpieces.co.uk/]. The tone is now good throughout and the intonation very good, except for a dodgy D.

Ed doesn't advertise a Sopranino mouthpiece on his website but he does make them, although interestingly he gave it a soprano facing and recommends they should be played with a Bb clarinet reed. They seem to work fine with Vandoren sopranino reeds.

There is no way that I think the Orsi is worth its advertised new price as my example is not very well built. Having said that, now it has been rebuilt and got an excellent mouthpiece I think it's pretty musical and worth what I paid. Certainly one to keep and get lots of comments on gigs.

All the best from the UK