Jupiter JPS-749-547...500 or 700 Series?

[64sax]

Jupiter JPS-749-547...500 or 700 Series? Any good for a beginner?

[64sax]

Anyone? :)

[Dave Dolson]

64Sax: I am not familiar with the Jupoter line. As far as I know, they are of the better Taiwanese-made saxophones, but if it were me buying my only soprano, I'd probably look elsewhere (like Yanagisawa or Yamaha). Depends on what you can spend. DAVE

[64sax]

Yes, thanks, Dave. The one I'm considering is a black one made in Taiwan. It's claimed to be about a year old and not to have been used. The price would be circa US$400, which is as much as I can pay right now.

[J.Max]

Ask Merlin. He's a Jupiter Artist, so he'd know better than anyone.

[64sax]

Thanks, J.Max. Have PM'd Merlin.

[Merlin]

I'm not thoroughly familiar with the models you're asking about, but I do play the 800 series (Artist) soprano, and love it.

Jupiter is great about constantly improving their saxes. As with any horn, try before you buy, and buy the best you can afford. That being said, with a soprano, I'd lean toward the 700's over the 500's.

[64sax]

Thanks Merlin!

[64sax]

I bought it.

[Gandalfe]

Jupiter JPS-749-547...500 or 700 Series? Any good for a beginner?Yes, these are fine instruments for a beginner or intermediate musician. Even pros play 'em. It's not what I would buy, but then horn selection is a very personal choice. Enjoy the ride.

[saxmanglen]

I bought it.

Bought what?!

[64sax]

Bought what?!

Jupiter Deluxe Series JPS-547BL Bb straight soprano saxophone…

The [Jupiter JPS-749-547] I'm considering is a black one made in Taiwan. It's claimed to be about a year old and not to have been used. The price would be circa US$400, which is as much as I can pay right now.

[saxmanglen]

Jupiter Deluxe Series JPS-547BL Bb straight soprano saxophone…

I'm not that familiar with Jupiter models. I thought the original question was between a 749 or a 547? Assuming those are model numbers.....It wasn't clear to me which one you bought. Now it's perfectly clear!

[64sax]

Yes, these are fine instruments for a beginner or intermediate musician. Even pros play 'em. It's not what I would buy, but then horn selection is a very personal choice. Enjoy the ride.

Basically, it was simply an opportunity to get a decent sop at what seems a very good price, especially in my local context. It's certainly not what I would have chosen if I'd had more money to spend, as I think I'd prefer a curved neck and a more conservative finish, along with a better-respected brand.

Despite some reservations about getting a sop in the first place, I do really like the sound of sop sax, and at the price I paid, I don't really see much downside, because it should be readily resold for at least what I'm paying. Still, I admit that it's arguably somewhat of an impulse buy that's not wholly logical.

I will now take my time looking for an alto, and if nothing good avails itself used in the next six months or so, I'll probably place an order with either Kessler or Hanson.

[64sax]

I'm not that familiar with Jupiter models. I thought the original question was between a 749 or a 547? Assuming those are model numbers.....It wasn't clear to me which one you bought. Now it's perfectly clear!

The model the seller quoted is "JPS-749-547", and AFAICS, she’s not alone in quoting a longer model#, which is why I was confused whether it was a 500 or 700 series.

After consulting the Jupiter website, it seems that going solely by the model number for series designation isn't reliable across the range.

The JPS-547 is listed under the Deluxe/Artist section, whereas for other types of sax, 500, 600 and 700's are listed under various student sections.

So, Jupiter's numbering seems inconsistent and confusing.

In the end, I went more by its relative market positioning, and that the deal seems a very good one.

[64sax]

I spoke briefly will the seller on Friday afternoon when she telephoned to apologise for the delay in shipping it, and she seemed a very nice young woman, and I received the sax today (Monday) by courier.

As the seller had stated, the model# on the sax itself is indeed JPS-749-547 (made in Taiwan, serial# Axxxxx), commonly known as a 547BL (black lacquered body with gold lacquered keys).

[64sax]

The sax was listed on a local auction website as unused, bought new and received as a gift about a year ago. It was made in 1999.

This is how I would assess its condition, but please bear in mind that this is my first sax and I am a complete newbie, and so at this stage these are simply my observations:

- The mouthpiece and ligature indicate prolonged use, though the sax itself arrived in a very clean state.

- I noticed that the sax was rather unsteady when I stood it on my desk, and while not obvious at first glance, the bell appears to have received an impact of some kind.

- There are a couple of other minor dings (only one that’s obvious) and scratches, but otherwise appears in near new condition.

- The mechanism operated by the bottom right-hand “pearl” key (third finger/D?) does not appear to be working properly (the mechanism being operated above is not anywhere near fully closing the pads, as it appears to be trying to).

- The pad operated from the third side key (Bb/Bis?) is sticking slightly.

Overall, the black lacquer job seems quite good, but is most noticeably let down where the black lacquer ends, before the gold-lacquered bell-tip and internal gold lacquering starts.

All the keys appear to work as they should (smoothly and well cushioned), and apart from what I’ve noted above, the pads appear to be seating well (without sticking), though the keys/pads aren’t perfectly centred over the holes (at least for the most part).

[64sax]

The Jupiter wood-frame case is in very good condition. There are no smells inside. It does have some marks on the exterior, but nothing that couldn’t have easily been gained moving/storing around the house, etc.

It came with a padded neck strap, silk weave cleaning cloth, and cork grease, which are all the accessories I understand it comes with new, and a couple of reeds.

The mouthpiece is marked Jupiter, but not 4C and Germany. It appears to be plastic too, not hard rubber, as I understand the ESM-made 4C to be. I also understand the current 547’s are sold with a Riffault mpc, so I guess this mpc is per the sax's older than expected date of manufacture.

I paid less than a quarter of the new price, and expected to have to pay a tech to adjust it and set it up properly.

What do you guys think?

[64sax]

Here's an update:

I took the sax to this country's leading wind instrument technician, and he's just finished working on it.

Despite it being an 'A' serial number (1999), which should fall into Jupiter's supposedly better quality period, it is reportedly very cheaply and poorly made, so it seems that all but the Artist Series Jupiters must still be judged on a very individual basis, just like the current Chinese instruments. Consequently, it was described as a particularly nasty instrument to adjust.

The good news is that it has been able to be put into good playing condition for a modest sum. The tech said it now played very easily.

The bad news is that the tech described the work as being mainly ‘band-aid’ in nature, and that it would cost a fair bit more to attend to some of the things that would increase reliability into the future. But, he said he didn’t think it was worth doing/spending more at this stage, and felt it would be better to just fix things as and when required. It seems he is increasingly unimpressed with the regular (non-Artist) Jupiters.