[sschafi1]

Supposedly, it's a copy of the Yani 992. I know the 992 is a phenomenal soprano, so I'm wondering if the Antigua can live up to the expectations. Does anyone have any experience with these horns, and if so, were your experiences great/horrible?

These horns fit well in my price range, so I want to know if it would be worth buying. Thoughts are greatly appreciated!

 

[Dave Dolson]

I own an S992. I also own an older Antigua (590LQ) which is allegedly a copy of the S991. While the Antigua is a good horn, and well-worth its price (MY opinion), it isn't a Yanagisawa.

The main difference is how each horn feels under my fingers, the Yanagisawas feeling much smoother and sophisticated. And, to my ears, there is a slight difference between bronze and brass (both are clear-lacquered).

So, the Antigua sounds much like my S901, while the S992 has a very subtle different sound to it. I'm not prepared to claim one is better than the other (nor brighter or darker, etc.), just different. If you can't spend the money for a bronze Yanagisawa, the Antigua should work for you. In the final analysis, any well-built and tight soprano should work. DAVE

 

[jazzcat58]

i had a silver, which i recently sold it was a good horn, certainly played well intonation,ergonomics fine!,to me it had a much more modern contemporary sound, yanis have a sound which i think most saxophonists can relate to!..ie you can often tell its a yani!.
I know many say the antiguas are replicas of yanis, and a lot of the keywork will look similar but as far playing and the sound, thats a hard one to follow, although a lot [antiguas sound very good].
I also own a yss62 which is main soprano and the ss4290 i had did not compete with that one for quality in sound or build!..

 

[Enviroguy]

The Antigua 590 is my main instrument. It's never let me down and sounds great. I'm sure the real Yani is better. But the Antigua is really good. Intonation, tone, mechanics are all first rate. And I can play anything I want to on it.

 

[Tom Goodrick]

I would agree that the Antigua 590LQ is a very good horn. I enjoy mine considerably. But I also have a Yani 991 tenor and appreciate its tone, design and build quality. If I could afford one, I would get a yani sop. But not because I am dissatisfied with the Antigua.

 

[RandyJ]

There are allot of threads here on Antigua sopranos for you to research.

Back a few years ago I play tested just about every top soprano and went with the Antigua. If you are a soprano artist only you might want the Yani, in my view the Antigua soprano is right up there with the Yani and above the other sopranos currently available.

As with all horns you have to do your own testing and decide.

JR

 

[sschafi1]

As with all horns you have to do your own testing and decide.

JR

I would love to test some Antigua horns, though I have a feeling that most music stores around here don't keep them in stock at all. Kind of hard to test a sax that you can't get your hands on, haha.

 

[sschafi1]

Anyone know if companies like Antigua would send out horns for people to play test? I'm thinking that they would as long as you provide some sort of collateral, I'm guessing.

 

[Dave Dolson]

I'm betting the folks who make and distribute Antiguas would not do any retailing. They sell to retailers who would be the ones who stock them in their stores, order them for customers, etc. You may be able to find a retailer who has one or more in stock and would allow play-testing on site. And, some retailers will ship one to you if you pay for it with the understanding that you could return it if not satisfied. Applicable shipping and re-stocking fees may apply. Much depends on your credibility, though. You should research Dave Kessler's store in Las Vegas (a site sponsor) and/or WW&BW in Indiana. They may sell you one and ship it to you with the return option. DAVE

 

[sschafi1]

I found only one retailer that stocks Antigua in MI, though it's on the other side of the state. I may have to take a road trip sometime

 

[RandyJ]

I would love to test some Antigua horns, though I have a feeling that most music stores around here don't keep them in stock at all. Kind of hard to test a sax that you can't get your hands on, haha.

Book a cheep turnaround via Southwest to Vegas and play a bunch of all brands and models at Kessler's.

 

[windman53]

sschafi1,

what you are asking is the rare Antigua soprano, i think it is the red brass one. If my friend is correct that "RC" means red copper.

It suppose to sound warmer and had a betetr more unique intonation. ANyway, I never saw one or test one before, so really have no way to prove if this is true.

If you do try it out, please do rememebr to post it on line so we can share on the experiences.

 

[Taffer]

I've been looking at the Antigua sop's and almost everything I've read thus far has been positive, and the few Youtube video's that I've seen, the sound is pretty good, but I'm pretty clueless and have very little training, and i'm probalby half deaf in my left ear. :0)

I was looking on the Antigua Winds webpage earlier and I didn't see the RC option listed under the 4290. The red brass was the SS4290RLQ, and the VC was the vintage copper. If you look under 'finish options' you will not see the RLQ, but it was listed under the 'specs' tab under body materials. They should have listed that in the finish options with an asterisk or something...it's pretty easy to miss. Actually, after looking a little more, the SS4290 is the only soprano I saw on the site that was available in red brass. I apologize, I'm not trying to be a smart-alec, but I still had the Antigua webpage open so I chimed in.

http://www.antiguawinds.com/productDetail.aspx?productId=18

 

[sschafi1]

I found the RC option on the Kessler website:

http://kesslermusic.com/html/sax/a590rc/sax.htm

I looked at the antigua site too and saw exactly what you did. I'm not sure why Kessler has it clearly listed and not Antigua.

 

[Taffer]

I sit corrected, very nice find sschafi1! I don't see the RLQ option on the Kesslermusic site, and I don't see the RC on the Antigua Winds site. I'm assuming they are the same. The only difference I see is the description on the KesslerMusic site says the RC is annealed and the word annealed isn't on the Antigua site. Being the geek I am, I had to look up annealed, and after reading the info in the link below, I'd guess they are the same horn, but them I'm scratching my head now wondering why the code changed on the finish?

Well, have you ever heard if you want the right answer, get the story directly from the horses mouth (the Antigua Winds website)? Apparently that ain't true today! :sign5:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annealing_(metallurgy)

 

[SteveD]

Just an FYI, I'm getting ready this weekend to pull the trigger on a 3286LQ or 4290RC from Kessler. I also spoke with Dave Kessler earlier this afternoon about both horns. He mentioned that the 4290RC was made by Antigua Winds exclusively for his shop.

Steve

 

[GHawk]

I own a 590 that I like better than the Selmer SA80 Serie III that I owned. Here are a couple of recordings made with a cheap point and shoot camera with no mic, reverb, etc. I haven't done anything in the studio with this horn but it's SOOO fun to play.

 

[SteveD]

Nice. That kind of playing certainly clinches the deal for me. Thanks, Greg.

 

[GHawk]

Thanks! Oh...Kessler Music is great. Jan and I ordered it from Kessler and it played wonderfully right out of the box.

 

[sandster]

Lovely sound, GHawk!