Largo Australia

Ok Because of the number of PM's i am getting here are my first impressons

I have the tenor and my first impressions are that it is very good for the money. it was very well packed and the keys where held closed with small pieces of soft foam (Not wedges)
it did have some problems like loose pivot screws and the engraving is very basic and not well done at all in fact a child could probably do better. Some of the springs are not curved but have sharp bends instead.
But it has no leaks and plays well straight out of the box.
the pad seating is not very deep (A good thing) It is heavy and the keywork is solid and i don't think it will bend easily (the neck octave vent opening needed to be adjusted and i had to bend the octave lever on the neck and that was not easy and required a lot of force).
in general a well made solid instrument.
I will post a full review after i have spent some more time with the horn ( I am an Alto player). i don't think it is fair to do a revue until I have got used to it.


Cheers
Bernie

Hey all, I just bought a Largo alto off eBay to replace my old cheap one which I lent to my younger sister (subsequently took a trip over a second story balcony at her school and now resembles a silver banana... lessons learned).

I checked this for a review on the Largo, and thought I'd add my two cents.

I'm a tenor player, have a JK SX-90 Series II, but like having an alto there just to muck around on - hence the old (and absolutely crappy) Chinese knockoff I had that I lent to my sister. That one had many an air leak straight out of the box.

The new Largo alto arrived this morning, so here are my first impressions after a couple hours playing.

First of all, I was impressed with the case. I was expecting one of those cheap cases that come with most cheap ones (you know, the eggshell-thin plastic that half the time is already broken?). The Largo came with a half decent zip-up one with backpack straps, much to my surprise.

Opening the case, everything was wrapped up nicely. Pulled the body out of its bag and noticed, as Bernards above did, that the keys were held closed with the soft foam. Pulled all of that out and had a good look over it.

First of all, the lacquer is complete and looks good, unlike some others I've seen which are quite patchy. The engraving looks fine, basic but not bad. The serial number stamped on the back appears to have a small amount of tarnish or even rust just around the numbers, but I suppose I can live with that.

Checked the springs after reading the post above but mine all appear to be curved as they should.

The horn itself is nice and heavy, feels quite sturdy. Has a good action, no air leaks, and I get a good response throughout the entire range.

No complaints with the sound, and it is fine to play - not outstanding, not disappointing, it's just... fine.

Comes with cork grease, cleaning cloth, handling gloves, neckstrap, backpack straps, lightsaber, and a couple reeds.

For AUD$389, I'm happy enough.

As time goes on I'll be sure to post some more - namely if it self-destructs or has any other problems; or on the other hand, if it turns out to be a good little horn I'll let you know.

At this early stage, I can recommend this if you're just looking for a second horn to muck around on.

Cam

Some of my keys where also a little stiff but some oil and playing soon sorted them out.
Odd that your upper register is muffled mine plays great except middle D but it is middle D
Mine has engraving, the inside of the bell is polished and the logo is laser engraved
Hmm different horns from different factories Probably.

OK so we can now say that Largo horns cannot be trusted to be consistent there's a surprise:shock:

My advice to anyone getting one of these is check it out thoroughly and take advantage of the return policy.

Mine has developed a problem with the octave mechanism which i am pretty sure is an easy fix (cork fell of i think)

I still think they are good for the money, my tenor was less than $400

I might alert Largo to this thread in the hope they improve the consistency.

I bought a Largo Tenor in November 2007. I am just a beginner - a late in life beginner, I'm 43 - so take this review for what it's worth.

I already play several instruments but no woodwind. I bought the Largo because I wanted to try saxophone, and didn't want to spend too much in case I didn't stick with it. Nearly 3 months later, I enjoy playing it more than ever and will keep on learning sax.

I agree with most of what Bernard's review said - except with mine there were a few minor leaks which my teacher fixed without much fuss. Within an hour of playing it one of the rollers for the low C/Eb keys actually fell out, the screw must have been loose. Luckily I found the screw, re-inserted and tightened it (and all the other roller screws) and since then haven't had a problem so this must be down to either poor work in the factory or loosening during transit from China.

It was much easier to play once I replaced the "mouthpiece" and reeds that came with it with a selmer C*, and Rico Royal 2 1/2 reeds. Since I'm only a new student I don't feel I'm qualified to talk much about the sound of the sax except to say that with practice I am getting better and better tone, and when my teacher plays it (with his mouthpiece) it sounds great. Yes, middle D is slightly stuffy sounding but from what I hear this is common with many saxes. There are times when it doesn't sound stuffy so it must be down to my playing. I do love the sound lower down, it's really quite punchy.

Overall finish is good, the only area that lets it down as Bernard says is the engraving, and the "Largo" logo is laser engraved in a yukky font. They would be better off leaving it plain.

The action feels good now that I've worn it in a bit. I'm not sure though how much of that is due to me getting used to it and/or compensating.

Overall, considering I paid $460 AU for it, a good deal. If Largo improve the quality *slightly* and are consistent then as a beginner's instrument it seems OK. Certainly for the money you wouldn't complain about the quality, but if like me you don't understand much about saxes it would be best to get a tech to go over it if you buy one. If anything bad happens with it over time though, I will update this review.

And yet despite all the fun I'm having with it, I am saving for a better instrument. Until I get something better (and several times more expensive) the Largo is keeping me happy, I play it at least one hour each day and can't wait to pick it up the next day.

cheers!

Hi all.

I bought a Largo soprano sax off ebay a few weeks ago, and so far am thoroughly impressed with it. It has a really nice silver plate, two necks, and only cost me $200.

No foam was used to hold the keys shut, but maybe that was just because it was only getting shipped within Melbourne. It was however, still wrapped up within the case with little fabric bags. After pulling it out of the bags, I found two bent springs, one loose cork and an excellent surface finish. Also, despite claiming it had a high G key, I am yet to find it. lol.

Being an alto player (about to sit my grade 6 sax exam) and never having played a soprano before, I had no soprano reeds lying around at home, so tried the no-name brand reeds that came with the sax. The ligature on the mouthpiece is terrible, and sort of mangled the reeds when tightening it. It mean, the reeds were still playable, but using the mouthpiece and reeds it came with sounded quite disgusting, and prevented me from playing notes lower than E or higher than the high D. I could hit from B-flat to high F# when replacing the reeds with Rico Royals, but it still didn't sound very pleasant.

Last week I tried a friends Selmer Paris C80 F mouthpiece, which sounded pleasant, but did make it hard to go back to my Meyer 6M on my alto. Today I have been playing with a Meyer 7M on my soprano, and that also sounds nice.

When I took the sax into my lesson, my teacher was a little alarmed to hear I had just bought a soprano sax off ebay. However, after hearing it with the Selmer C80 F mouthpiece, he was impressed with the tone and intonation, but mostly impressed with the price.

So my summary of these saxophones are, they are great for the price, but do not expect to buy one and use the mouthpiece/ligature/reed setup it comes with. So far I like the Meyer 7M best as a mouthpiece it has by far the clearest notes in the upper register (middle D is a little stuffy though).

Hope this helps someone!

First of all, excuse my poor written English...:|

I am a beginner in the Sax World, so I can't give you more than I will below about my new sax.

On Monday, I received (after 11 days from shipping!) my new beast from Australia: a Soprano Largo, brand new and in stunning red!

First glance at it: it is beautiful and really shine!

But, is it playable, does it play in tune, is it a good instrument for the money spent (AUD$220)?:?

According to my sax teacher, where I went the very evening, It closes all the holes well, no leaks, plays in tune et is a good sax fot what I'll expect to do with it. In fact, I was astonished that the long air trip didn't cause any damages to my new sax (coming from almost the half of the earth). I wanted a soprano not too expensive, but with a good quality, for bringing anywhere with me, by car or by plane, in order to never be a long time without playing with my favorite instrument. In particular, I thought about my next trip in Morroca; an entire month without a sax: What a pitty! So, I find the solution!

Shortly, it does seem to be of a good quality, well built and strong, and for me, it has a super sound, bright and warm.

The only possible negative point is that my teacher worries that I couldn't put another mouthpiece on it than the one provided in the box, because, he thinks, the opening of the neck would not be compatible... they will not fit together. I'm waiting a brand new Yanagisawa 5. Somebody wants to comments on this point?:?