Are Jupiters bad? [Archive] - Sax on the Web Forum

JfW

07-25-2003, 09:13 PM

..the reason I'm asking is due to the fact that I'm having no small amount of lust for their 889 Artist tenor I playtested against a Yani 991 Tenor in a local shop. I liked both immensly, but liked the Jupiter a little better. I was most enamored at the measly cost of around $1600 at the local shop that I am quainted with versus $2700 for the Yani.

I didn't notice any big intonational differences between the two, and the construction of the Jupiter looked sound enough with no noticable play in keys. Mechanics were sharp and the finish was pristine plated silver with a solid sterling neck.

Jupiter seems to have a bad reputation for their reliability. Does anyone know or think that applies to the artist series as well, or is it more of a student level thing?

Andres

07-25-2003, 10:06 PM

The bottom-rung Jupiters were rather shoddy in the past, but I think that they're halfway decent nowadays. Their Artst series is a solid horn, on par with the top end of the Taiwanese made brands.

Merlin (where are you?) plays them and/or endorses them.

Merlin

07-25-2003, 10:47 PM

I do indeed endorse and perform on a complete set of Jupiter Artist model saxes. I'm an artist/clincian for Jupiter Canada, along with my teaching and performing gigs. The only sax I use now that's not a Jupiter is my 1921 Conn bass.

I've literally had no serious issues with the reliability of my instruments. I play daily with my students, tote them back and forth between home, school and gigs, perform a few times a week in various settings and they've never let me down.

The only slight (and I mean VERY slight) issue I have is with the tendency of the pads to get sticky. Given how many new horns this happens too, I'd probably not even consider it an issue.

As for the sound and intonation, I get a real kick out of playing these horns - not just because they perform so well, but because I frequently get other players coming up to me marvelling at how good these saxophones sound.

DaveKessler

07-26-2003, 01:23 AM

JfW,

Definately not bad horns anymore. About 15 years ago all Jupiter made was trash shaped like musical instruments.

Currently, they make REALLY good horns in their Artist series.

phathorn

07-26-2003, 01:30 AM

It's amazing to me that companies (eg, Hawk, Maxtone, Monique, etc..) can still get away with producing crap when even many of the taiwanese 'stencil' horns (jupiter, antigua) are starting to get REALLY good! Oh well, the more ignorant people that buy the crap horns, the more good ones for us to choose from=) BTW, Dave, nice double bracing on the bell keys of your horns!

JfW

07-26-2003, 04:36 AM

Thanks for the response. Damn, I wish I had $1600 free! I just don't want to put any more on the old plastic card.

Randall

07-26-2003, 04:38 AM

Jupiter horns are so good now, I wouldn't have the first hesitation to play one on ANY professional gig.
My student bought an alto that plays rings around the Selmers I have played....as hard as that may be to believe.

TheChristianSax

07-29-2003, 06:58 PM

I actually have an old Jupiter Deluxe 767 alto that I purchased a year ago. It looks like a vintage sax, as a good amount of the lacquer is worn off, but has no dents and is mechanically solid. I have played an "Artist" alto and really liked it. It is a really well built horn with an outstanding finish. As soon as I sell my tenor, a YTS-52, I will purchase the alto. Anyway, I think some of these companies are truly trying to make good horns.

Sincerely,

Matt

Dogsjill

07-31-2003, 06:25 AM

Yeah, I've been playing sax for 6 years now, and my Jupiter is the only horn I've ever had. It's a 767 alto, and it works wonderfully. I get great tone from it. It's also durable as it's still in good condition. It has worked very well for me, and that's probably why I haven't even looked into upgrading until just recently.

robbieg

11-25-2003, 12:59 AM

I'm currently playing a Jupiter Artist Bari, and it out plays 99% of the horns I've played. The only problem I have is, I have things sometimes come unscrewed and fall off, but once I screw them back it seems fine.

John Laughter

12-02-2003, 10:21 AM

I have been playing a low Bb Mark VI bari for several years but have given a lot of thought to getting a low A bari.

I noticed a Jupiter bari (student model) on display in the local music store and gave it a try last week. Talk about being blown away with the ease and response! I just ordered the Artist model from Musician's Friend for $2500. I will let you know how it goes.

I have a question for those who own the 893SG bari (robbieg and Merlin). Since this one will be unused and probably untested, will I need to look for anything to adjust when it arrives?

I mainly play alto and tenor (Selmer M7) and am curious about the other Jupiter horns. For those who switched horns, what did you play before going with the Jupiter? I like the VII's because of the volume and tone as a result of the larger bore. I play pop/rock/funk so projection is a must. I look forward to your imput.

Merlin

12-02-2003, 01:36 PM

I have a question for those who own the 893SG bari (robbieg and Merlin). Since this one will be unused and probably untested, will I need to look for anything to adjust when it arrives?

I didn't have to have anything adjusted on mine, but I picked mine up from the local dealer, rather than having it shipped. I've found that when I get a horn shipped, there's almost always something that needs to be tweaked.

I mainly play alto and tenor (Selmer M7) and am curious about the other Jupiter horns. For those who switched horns, what did you play before going with the Jupiter? I like the VII's because of the volume and tone as a result of the larger bore. I play pop/rock/funk so projection is a must. I look forward to your imput.

Immediately before switching to the Jupiters, I was playing a set of Conns. Chu alto and tenor, 12M bari. My sop was a Yanagisawa (the MkVI copy).

The Conn alto in particular was m/p sensitive. I can play whatever piece I want to on the Jupiter. I use mine for jazz/big band/classical playing, but I'm sure you'll be able to get the sound you want for pop/rock/funk playing.

John Laughter

12-02-2003, 11:27 PM

Merlin, I appreciate your reply and look forward to playing the bari. It appears that I might want to try the others as well. Thanks.

SAXISMYAXE

12-03-2003, 12:45 AM

I'm getting in on this rather late, but I would say if you like the horn, and you know enough about the instrument to make a fairly sound judgement call, go ahead with it. Ultimately, the most important person you must impress is yourself.

tommyboy

12-03-2003, 01:36 AM

I recently bought an alto version of the Jupiter Artist model.

So far it's been a pretty decent horn, it's really hard to find fault with it.

Keywork is good, sound is good, and it plays very effortlessly and evenly top to bottom. Intonation is good. (although I'm still adjusting, much better intonation than the student Jupiter I was playing before) This particular horn had a top notch setup job (local music store) that made it play better than a A9930 yani I played at another store. (They actually sounded very similar but the yani needed some setup work done) It also beat out a Selmer Series II, a III, a Cannonball, and the Deluxe Jupiter. All of this at a very reasonable price.

The only fault I can find is that the sound is a little bright for my taste, but I'm still getting used to it. I really think that Jupiter has found a real niche by offering a very good horn at an intermediate price. (They must be selling tons of these things)

saxbeginner

12-03-2003, 08:29 PM

saxbeginner

12-03-2003, 08:30 PM

P.S.: What does it mean that the 767 has a detachable bell - I mean, is it a good thing apart from a repairs point of view? Or can it pose problems with leaking or whatever?! thanks!

frobig

12-03-2003, 11:55 PM

The detachable bell is strictly a repair feature, and it might leak at some future date, but there isn't a horn worth playing that's made today that doesn't have a detachable bell. It won't leak if you don't abuse the horn, and whatever abuse could cause a leak at the bow-to-body joint would probably also need the bow and bell removed to be fixed.

Merlin

12-04-2003, 03:59 AM

Merlin, + anyone else!

I was really glad to read what you said about the Jupiters. I've just decided to take up the alto sax (I play the flute), toyed between that and the soprano which I love...anyway, I don't want a bottom of the range one, I want one that will do me for a few years and that I won't outplay in 2 yrs. Would you recommend the 767, and how is it different to the 500 series?
Please help, as I am a complete novice, and my husband wants to hire me one in time for Christmas!

Thanks all!

What does anyone think of the Keilwerth JK21008 ?

I play the Artist Series (800) saxes. I've played the other models at show demos and been suitably impressed with them as well, the 500's in particular. I have several students using 500 series horns that work Quite well.

I'm guessing you're in the UK...(hire is a giveaway to those of use in NA).
You might just check that the models are the same there...but it's worth going to Jupiter's site to check the particulars on the various series'.

www.jupitermusic.com

saxbeginner

12-04-2003, 09:38 AM

thanks merlin,
yes i'm in the uk!!!

so are you saying that the 500 is better than the 767??

there's a hardly used 767 on ebay bidding at around £200 roughly...what do you think?
(ex. condition)

Merlin

12-04-2003, 02:52 PM

I think the thing I found really impressive about the 500 series was that it didn't FEEL like a student horn; key placements were much like a pro horn. Yamaha's model 23 always bugged me, since the octave key pivot was on the opposite side from their pro models.

robbieg

12-04-2003, 07:23 PM

I just want to say, I'm still loving the Jupiter Artist Bari I'm playing on. The more and more I play the better and better it sounds. There were a couple of screws loose when I got it, but now that they are in tight everything is working fine and I'm having 0 problems with it.

John Laughter

12-05-2003, 08:04 PM

Merlin, this "Artist" bari really responds. I have worked with it for 2 days and the more it is played the better it sounds.

The only problem I have found is that the 2nd line G# activates the low C# pad to open and then the C# pad is staying open (just a little) after going to G. I put a rubber band on the low C# arm so that it will close when going from A to G# to G. Is the C# pad supposed to open when G# is pressed?

I will have my repairman look at it in time. Probably just a matter of bending a spring.

It is a pleasure to play this bari. One last question. What is the main difference in "tone" between the Artist bari and the Deluxe model? The reason I ask is that the Deluxe (student) model that is in the local also responds real well. I do not want to take this one in to compare side by side so I was wondering if there is a significant difference between the two models other than appearance and the silver neck.

Thanks

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Merlin

12-05-2003, 09:54 PM

John, that sounds like something in the LH cluster may have gotten slightly bent in transit. The situation you describe shouldn't happen.

As for difference between models, the silver neck is the biggest difference. My perception is that the response of the horn is much more immediate with the solid neck.