Hi all,
I finally took the plunge and purchased a straight sop from TaiShan via topeseller on eBay.
I had it custom made to the finish I want, and I must say I was pleased with the communication and speed they got that done it. It does look pretty awesome! (Satin nickel plated with mat gold keys and abalone pearls if anyone is wondering. They usually only make this in Saxello with gold inner bell.)
Arrived in Australia 8 days after they sent it, and it was well packed.
My evaluation so far
-Ergonomically, the left hand pinky table is the nicest sax I've played. I HATED the intermediate Yamaha I played in store - it was too far off to the left for me, so I was nervous of this one, but it's good. Action is a bit high but that's expected for factory set up and easily fixed. Rollers work well, right hand pinky rollers and in a natural position and overall everything is pretty cruisy except D palm key (see below.)
-Case is excellent - lots of storage room, multiple strap options, stands on end or flat - really good.
-Tone is lovely - not too thin but not trumpety like my curved sop.
-Pads appear to be high quality and are well seated.
-I put a leak light down it and there is only one very tiny leak on Aux F which looks like a seating issue, and I will have adjusted. Doesn't seem to affect playing. I saw the same leak in the same spot on a brand new curved yani that had been professionally set up, so I know this happens.
-Engraving is really nicely done, and finish is very good.
-Neck joint is solid as a rock - both curved and straight necks are the firmest joins I've ever seen (have only played 2nd hand saxes previously - but lots of them!). Definitely no leaks getting out of those babies.
-Low notes are quite easy to reach, and I'm impressed with how easily I can jump to the high G and other top notes without having to work too hard.
-Intonation is quite good once you hit the right mouthpiece location. I find that there is about a 5c difference between middle and high C, which can easily be lipped down. It could be better, but I've also seen far worse.
-They included a proper suede pull through, not one of those awful fluffy push in things.
Not so good points:
- The ligature doesn't work. Like not at all! It won't go around a reed on a mouthpiece - it has no bend in it. Had to remove screws to open it wide enough to accept a reed, which bent it. Bent it back and now it barely goes over a reed. Very bizarre.
-Mouthpiece is I think a good design, but not well made - the tip isn't smooth - various lumps and bumps in it easily visible when you attach a reed. Thankfully I said I didn't need a mpc or lig so I wasn't counting on these at all.
-D palm key is perilously close to the webbing on my thumb when I play and I keep slightly bumping it. It's also sprung very loosely so that slight touch from my thumb is opening the key a little and all of a sudden I get no sound. Will take some getting used to and I will tighten up the spring to make it harder to accidentally open.
-Sadly they haven't used proper point screws. Previous post about a factory tour said they do, but not on this sax. Pseudo points it is. (Anyone have any opinions on whether I should get these replaced now before there is any wear in the key barrels??)
The bizarre:
-The octave pip is on the right hand side of the instrument, not on the back, so you position the mouthpiece almost 90 degrees to the right of the octave pad on the neck. This is no problem on the straight neck, but on the curved neck, your mouthpiece will not be straight up and down but will curve over to the right. Very weird and really not suitable!
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I finally took the plunge and purchased a straight sop from TaiShan via topeseller on eBay.
I had it custom made to the finish I want, and I must say I was pleased with the communication and speed they got that done it. It does look pretty awesome! (Satin nickel plated with mat gold keys and abalone pearls if anyone is wondering. They usually only make this in Saxello with gold inner bell.)
Arrived in Australia 8 days after they sent it, and it was well packed.
My evaluation so far
-Ergonomically, the left hand pinky table is the nicest sax I've played. I HATED the intermediate Yamaha I played in store - it was too far off to the left for me, so I was nervous of this one, but it's good. Action is a bit high but that's expected for factory set up and easily fixed. Rollers work well, right hand pinky rollers and in a natural position and overall everything is pretty cruisy except D palm key (see below.)
-Case is excellent - lots of storage room, multiple strap options, stands on end or flat - really good.
-Tone is lovely - not too thin but not trumpety like my curved sop.
-Pads appear to be high quality and are well seated.
-I put a leak light down it and there is only one very tiny leak on Aux F which looks like a seating issue, and I will have adjusted. Doesn't seem to affect playing. I saw the same leak in the same spot on a brand new curved yani that had been professionally set up, so I know this happens.
-Engraving is really nicely done, and finish is very good.
-Neck joint is solid as a rock - both curved and straight necks are the firmest joins I've ever seen (have only played 2nd hand saxes previously - but lots of them!). Definitely no leaks getting out of those babies.
-Low notes are quite easy to reach, and I'm impressed with how easily I can jump to the high G and other top notes without having to work too hard.
-Intonation is quite good once you hit the right mouthpiece location. I find that there is about a 5c difference between middle and high C, which can easily be lipped down. It could be better, but I've also seen far worse.
-They included a proper suede pull through, not one of those awful fluffy push in things.
Not so good points:
- The ligature doesn't work. Like not at all! It won't go around a reed on a mouthpiece - it has no bend in it. Had to remove screws to open it wide enough to accept a reed, which bent it. Bent it back and now it barely goes over a reed. Very bizarre.
-Mouthpiece is I think a good design, but not well made - the tip isn't smooth - various lumps and bumps in it easily visible when you attach a reed. Thankfully I said I didn't need a mpc or lig so I wasn't counting on these at all.
-D palm key is perilously close to the webbing on my thumb when I play and I keep slightly bumping it. It's also sprung very loosely so that slight touch from my thumb is opening the key a little and all of a sudden I get no sound. Will take some getting used to and I will tighten up the spring to make it harder to accidentally open.
-Sadly they haven't used proper point screws. Previous post about a factory tour said they do, but not on this sax. Pseudo points it is. (Anyone have any opinions on whether I should get these replaced now before there is any wear in the key barrels??)
The bizarre:
-The octave pip is on the right hand side of the instrument, not on the back, so you position the mouthpiece almost 90 degrees to the right of the octave pad on the neck. This is no problem on the straight neck, but on the curved neck, your mouthpiece will not be straight up and down but will curve over to the right. Very weird and really not suitable!
