[cantoni]

I'd like to thank OP for sharing his experience. Most of us don't do it and he took his time to present it very well. I haven't tried any tenor from EM, but I like their curvy soprano (bell toneholes to the left, like P Mauriat PMSS 2400 GL, based on the older Yanis) ... the setup right out of the box was unbelievable... IMHO, I agree that today a cheap horn can be a good horn, they are improving and EM is doing a decent job, everyone here at SOTW praises their mouthpieces (the MBII and Fatboy Guardala-like), and the necks as well!

In this thread, I've uploaded a video and below there are some opinions and my replies. So I don't repeat myself here.

Eastern Music Soprano

I agree. Saxophones made in the People's Republic of China are often defective, but horns made in the Republic of Taiwan have a much better reputation. That was established as far back as I can remember but this is an overstated opinion based on all the cheap horns that come out of RPOC. That...

www.saxontheweb.net

Then there is the issue with the reviews. I've been reading very detailed reviews here, for over 20+ years browsing this source of knowledge that I consider SOTW to be, and more often than not, when I get to hear how the reviewer (or some of the contrarians) plays... ouch! I think "wow, how could they? haha... I want a quarter of that self-esteem" 😅

I guess if you were reading a racing car / off-road vehicle review by me (I drive a little car to the supermarket, to my gigs, and back home) it's not gonna be of much use to the knowledgeable ones.

So there's that... I think it's always helpful to upload a video of your playing when you're reviewing a product. But always better to share than not share.

 

[cantoni]

A brief biography would be useful. It is useful to know whether the presenter has any pertinent experience, what kind of music they play, and their baseline setup.

I agree! That adds, but playing for me it's what really. For the discerning ear that tells the story better than anything. If you pay attention everything is there. Words for music and sounds don't do it for me. For example, over the years of listening to some of the Steve Neff mpcs reviews, you get to understand how he plays, how he blows, and that gives and idea of how "I" will sound on that particular piece. Hope I'm making sense here haha

 

[cantoni]

Check Ves’ posts to learn his depth of experience, then you’ll better understand my apparent lack of appreciation for his in-depth review.

Yes, I completely understand your perspective of Steve’s reviews. It’s all the more interesting to me because I have owned and played some of the very mouthpieces that he has reviewed. Steve is good people and a treasure to the community.

Yes, I did some background checks on OP , still better to share and expose himself to bullying/reality check... it's a good conversation starter. Most of the time I'm too lazy to share things that I believe would benefit the community. Neff is a treasure no doubt, and you as well Dr G! almost 40k posts, that's love for all things saxophone above anything else!