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Phil Barone, in his eBay ads about his saxes, has written perhaps the most honest, open and informative narrative about Taiwanese saxes I have yet to read from any merchant. Grumps should be especially warmed by this openness. 
I am posting this here not just as a kudo to Phil, but because I think it will answer many questions people have about Taiwanese saxes. With Phil's permission I have edited his writing. Enjoy!
WHY YOU SHOULD BUY MY SAXOPHONES AND THE TRUTH ABOUT TAIWANESE INSTRUMENTS
About twenty years ago some musical instrument distributors began importing Taiwanese saxophones to the US with some success. A few of them were multi-colored and while this was an innovative concept the quality of workmanship was poor. Some repairman disparaged their quality. Frequently, these instruments played out of tune, broke down, and worse, were difficult to repair. The metal was soft causing stripped threads and other problems such as bent posts. The primarily reason for the poor quality control was inexperience. That has drastically changed.
I have been in the saxophone mouthpiece business for over twenty years and in the first few years my workmanship and concepts were not what they are now. After ten years I got better but I still had a lot to learn so I went back to school and studied engineering. As with any business there is a learning curve and I peaked out after about being in the business for about fifteen years although I am still learning but in smaller increments. Experience is paramount in life and a great contributor to my success was the fact that my saxophone playing improved and I was exposed to more extremely high level saxophone players. Toward the end of Michael Brecker's life he was playing a mouthpiece I made called a Hollywood but long before I worked for Michael many top level players were using my mouthpieces and custom mouthpiece work. I understand what saxophone players want.
In the manufacturing process, there are two main components, technology and the quality of the finished product. With saxophones in particular, it took many years for companies like Selmer, Yamaha, and Yanagasawa to acquire this expertise and find the optimum tone hole placement and size. While this was achieved through trial and error, it still falls under the category of technology. Optimum tone hole size and placement is important for good intonation and an even scale. There may be some things you may not like about a newly acquired saxophone, however, they do play more in tune and the scale is more even. Wisely, the Taiwanese were able to duplicate all of the technology and nuances of Selmer, Yaanagasawa, and Yamaha.
A LITTLE ABOUT CRAFTSMANSHIP
After acquiring a reputable name in the business, I began receiving offers from saxophone manufacturers in Taiwan and China to private label a saxophone with the Phil Barone name. But, having heard so many negative opinions from numerous saxophone players I refused these offers. I knew that the quality of the horns would not be of quality standard deserving to bear the Phil Barone name. That is, until recently. A small company sprang up bearing a French name but with a quality product that surprised, even shocked me. Upon investigation, I found that the company was based in Taiwan. These saxophones are superb and of such superiority that many professional players are using them.
ARE ALL TAIWANESE SAXOPHONES EQUAL?
In Taiwan the various brands of saxophones are all coming from the same region. The parts of the saxophones are made at different companies by families that specialize in making a specific part or parts. One family may make the neck, another family might make the keys etc. Then, they purchase all the parts they need to assemble a complete saxophone and there are others who don't make any parts but just assemble the saxophones. Then, you have individuals that are brokers that sell the saxophones on eBay or by other methods and some of them sell other products too such as car parts. So, are all Taiwanese saxophones created equally? Yes, with some minor differences.
In some cases you may have two families making let's say a key guard so there will be a cosmetic difference or since they are assembled by different people there may be some differences in key height and other variables as a result of the assembly process. Sometimes a company buying the saxophones has a lot of buying power so they have more leverage in having the manufacturer make changes. But provided the people assembling them are qualified then the saxophones are the same. This is called repeatability in manufacturing but where hand-work or the use of organic components are used like pads repeatability is compromised. To date, I have purchased enough of these horns to say that the repeatability is superb. I have decided to put my name and reputation on the line and have begun importing these instruments, made to my specifications.
With some minor exceptions, most saxophones manufactured in Taiwan are referred to as "private labeled". Private label products are those that companies make for individuals, distributors, or companies that don't want to or can't make their own products. There are many advantages to private labeled products for both parties. A principal advantage which immediately comes to mind is that the sellers can focus their entire attention on selling, thus enabling the product to be marketed at a far more economical price than would otherwise be the case. This is also referred to as outsourcing.
Making your own product is very expensive because it requires machinery, materials, rental space, employees, and many other variables that are unseen and cause tremendous overhead. Companies such as Nike and Reebok are examples of companies that are marketing organizations and choose to avoid the manufacturing process. The company making the product also benefits since it needs not to spend time and energy that goes along with selling and distributing a product. The manufacturer and the distributor each specializes in their own area in their own specialized area. In Taiwan the various brands of saxophones are all coming from the same region.
WHY YOU SHOULD BUY MY SAXOPHONES
The saxophones I am offering are easily on a par, if not superior to ANY produced by Selmer, Yanagasawa, or Yamaha, but without an exorbitant price tag. I have eliminated distributors and dealers, enabling me to offer a very high quality instrument at rock bottom prices. A saxophone of this quality, at this price, has, until now, been unheard of. AND GET THIS! You will also get one of my custom necks AND one of my professional hand-made hard rubber mouthpieces in your choice of any facing you want worth over FIVE-HUNDRED BUCKS! Now, you no longer have to buy a student model saxophone, get a Phil Barone saxophone and go pro!
WHY YOU SHOULD BE CAREFUL IN THE MARKET
As I mentioned earlier, products that are made by companies new to a specific area take time to evolve and able to produce a high quality product. The learning curve is long and lasts many years. This is why I have decided to sell these saxophones. Currently, China appears to be very early on the learning curve. In order to verify my judgment, I purchased one in order to verify its playing properties. I was very disappointed by both the quality of the workmanship and extremely poor playability. In addition, the scale was uneven and played out of tune. However, the sax cost only $200.00 and I stood to make MUCH more profit on each sale had I decided to source my instruments from China. Needless to say, I was unable to compromise my integrity and reputation for the sake of mere profit. I've have observed my competitors selling saxophones from China but priced comparable to those coming from Taiwan. So, BEWARE, many of the saxophones on the market today originate from China, not Taiwan. Be aware of the fact that there is a huge difference between a Chinese saxophone and one from Taiwan.
I am posting this here not just as a kudo to Phil, but because I think it will answer many questions people have about Taiwanese saxes. With Phil's permission I have edited his writing. Enjoy!WHY YOU SHOULD BUY MY SAXOPHONES AND THE TRUTH ABOUT TAIWANESE INSTRUMENTS
About twenty years ago some musical instrument distributors began importing Taiwanese saxophones to the US with some success. A few of them were multi-colored and while this was an innovative concept the quality of workmanship was poor. Some repairman disparaged their quality. Frequently, these instruments played out of tune, broke down, and worse, were difficult to repair. The metal was soft causing stripped threads and other problems such as bent posts. The primarily reason for the poor quality control was inexperience. That has drastically changed.
I have been in the saxophone mouthpiece business for over twenty years and in the first few years my workmanship and concepts were not what they are now. After ten years I got better but I still had a lot to learn so I went back to school and studied engineering. As with any business there is a learning curve and I peaked out after about being in the business for about fifteen years although I am still learning but in smaller increments. Experience is paramount in life and a great contributor to my success was the fact that my saxophone playing improved and I was exposed to more extremely high level saxophone players. Toward the end of Michael Brecker's life he was playing a mouthpiece I made called a Hollywood but long before I worked for Michael many top level players were using my mouthpieces and custom mouthpiece work. I understand what saxophone players want.
In the manufacturing process, there are two main components, technology and the quality of the finished product. With saxophones in particular, it took many years for companies like Selmer, Yamaha, and Yanagasawa to acquire this expertise and find the optimum tone hole placement and size. While this was achieved through trial and error, it still falls under the category of technology. Optimum tone hole size and placement is important for good intonation and an even scale. There may be some things you may not like about a newly acquired saxophone, however, they do play more in tune and the scale is more even. Wisely, the Taiwanese were able to duplicate all of the technology and nuances of Selmer, Yaanagasawa, and Yamaha.
A LITTLE ABOUT CRAFTSMANSHIP
After acquiring a reputable name in the business, I began receiving offers from saxophone manufacturers in Taiwan and China to private label a saxophone with the Phil Barone name. But, having heard so many negative opinions from numerous saxophone players I refused these offers. I knew that the quality of the horns would not be of quality standard deserving to bear the Phil Barone name. That is, until recently. A small company sprang up bearing a French name but with a quality product that surprised, even shocked me. Upon investigation, I found that the company was based in Taiwan. These saxophones are superb and of such superiority that many professional players are using them.
ARE ALL TAIWANESE SAXOPHONES EQUAL?
In Taiwan the various brands of saxophones are all coming from the same region. The parts of the saxophones are made at different companies by families that specialize in making a specific part or parts. One family may make the neck, another family might make the keys etc. Then, they purchase all the parts they need to assemble a complete saxophone and there are others who don't make any parts but just assemble the saxophones. Then, you have individuals that are brokers that sell the saxophones on eBay or by other methods and some of them sell other products too such as car parts. So, are all Taiwanese saxophones created equally? Yes, with some minor differences.
In some cases you may have two families making let's say a key guard so there will be a cosmetic difference or since they are assembled by different people there may be some differences in key height and other variables as a result of the assembly process. Sometimes a company buying the saxophones has a lot of buying power so they have more leverage in having the manufacturer make changes. But provided the people assembling them are qualified then the saxophones are the same. This is called repeatability in manufacturing but where hand-work or the use of organic components are used like pads repeatability is compromised. To date, I have purchased enough of these horns to say that the repeatability is superb. I have decided to put my name and reputation on the line and have begun importing these instruments, made to my specifications.
With some minor exceptions, most saxophones manufactured in Taiwan are referred to as "private labeled". Private label products are those that companies make for individuals, distributors, or companies that don't want to or can't make their own products. There are many advantages to private labeled products for both parties. A principal advantage which immediately comes to mind is that the sellers can focus their entire attention on selling, thus enabling the product to be marketed at a far more economical price than would otherwise be the case. This is also referred to as outsourcing.
Making your own product is very expensive because it requires machinery, materials, rental space, employees, and many other variables that are unseen and cause tremendous overhead. Companies such as Nike and Reebok are examples of companies that are marketing organizations and choose to avoid the manufacturing process. The company making the product also benefits since it needs not to spend time and energy that goes along with selling and distributing a product. The manufacturer and the distributor each specializes in their own area in their own specialized area. In Taiwan the various brands of saxophones are all coming from the same region.
WHY YOU SHOULD BUY MY SAXOPHONES
The saxophones I am offering are easily on a par, if not superior to ANY produced by Selmer, Yanagasawa, or Yamaha, but without an exorbitant price tag. I have eliminated distributors and dealers, enabling me to offer a very high quality instrument at rock bottom prices. A saxophone of this quality, at this price, has, until now, been unheard of. AND GET THIS! You will also get one of my custom necks AND one of my professional hand-made hard rubber mouthpieces in your choice of any facing you want worth over FIVE-HUNDRED BUCKS! Now, you no longer have to buy a student model saxophone, get a Phil Barone saxophone and go pro!
WHY YOU SHOULD BE CAREFUL IN THE MARKET
As I mentioned earlier, products that are made by companies new to a specific area take time to evolve and able to produce a high quality product. The learning curve is long and lasts many years. This is why I have decided to sell these saxophones. Currently, China appears to be very early on the learning curve. In order to verify my judgment, I purchased one in order to verify its playing properties. I was very disappointed by both the quality of the workmanship and extremely poor playability. In addition, the scale was uneven and played out of tune. However, the sax cost only $200.00 and I stood to make MUCH more profit on each sale had I decided to source my instruments from China. Needless to say, I was unable to compromise my integrity and reputation for the sake of mere profit. I've have observed my competitors selling saxophones from China but priced comparable to those coming from Taiwan. So, BEWARE, many of the saxophones on the market today originate from China, not Taiwan. Be aware of the fact that there is a huge difference between a Chinese saxophone and one from Taiwan.
