[ConnorTsax]

Hey all! I was wondering if anyone has any experience with the Rampone and Cazzani Performance Tenor! It seems like this is a newer release from them, and maybe occupies the same tier as the Yamaha 62 and Selmer Axos tenor in the entry-level professional range? Only reviews I’ve seen so far were released by R&C themselves.

Thanks for any help!

 

[BrianMitchellBrody]

Hey all! I was wondering if anyone has any experience with the Rampone and Cazzani Performance Tenor! It seems like this is a newer release from them, and maybe occupies the same tier as the Yamaha 62 and Selmer Axos tenor in the entry-level professional range? Only reviews I’ve seen so far were released by R&C themselves.

Thanks for any help!

What?! What ?!? I need to know more about this right now. 😅 I’m just now getting into R&C and sounds exciting.

 

[BrianMitchellBrody]

 

[BrianMitchellBrody]

Here is the official video

 

[BrianMitchellBrody]

Not one hit on this thread! Wow
C’mon peeps this is exciting news

 

[Eulipion2]

All I can say is if they play anywhere close to my R1 Jazz tenor, soprano, or sopranino, then they'll be a good buy!

 

[BrianMitchellBrody]

All I can say is if they play anywhere close to my R1 Jazz tenor, soprano, or sopranino, then they'll be a good buy!

Smaller bore is all I’ve gleaned from the video.
Are they still made by hand or are they using OEM parts from Taiwan and assembled by R&C. So many questions so few answers🙃

 

[buddy lee]

Smaller bore is all I’ve gleaned from the video.
Are they still made by hand or are they using OEM parts from Taiwan and assembled by R&C. So many questions so few answers🙃

Guessing these are not made in-house due to price point

 

[guidocreo]

I bought one last summer; it is a good sax, very in tune and precise but with a less rich sound than the R1 Jazz (R1 is very different), which I prefer.

Anyway, I used it in 4 concerts with my Pop and R&B band and it went very well.

Here is a take on it:

Ciao.

 

[JayeLID]

I bought one last summer; it is a good sax, very in tune and precise but with a less rich sound than the R1 Jazz (R1 is very different), which I prefer.

Anyway, I used it in 4 concerts with my Pop and R&B band and it went very well.

Here is a take on it:

Your playing is enjoyable as always.

@guidocreo ....Since you have experience with an R1...can you tell us....soes this model horn seem to look similar in keyweork/construction/neck/etc to the R1 ? Looking particularly at things such as the bow-to-body ferrules, the neck receiver, the neck tube swoop/shape, the shape of the posts, the shape of the side key touches and spat touches, the octave mechanism design....just as a few examples.

@buddy lee points out the price would suggest this is subcontracted from another factory. If it is...it would not have telltale R&C design/construction details. I would also be interested in knowing.....

...because if a NEW R&C model is BIG news.....and it might be...then equally big news would be that R&C has actually gone the way of putting their name on horns which are made elsewhere....

 

[BrianMitchellBrody]

Your playing is enjoyable as always.

Since you have experience with an R1...can you tell us....soes this model horn seem to look similar in keyweork/construction/neck/etc to the R1 ? Looking particularly at things such as the bow-to-body ferrules, the neck receiver, the neck tube swoop/shape, the shape of the posts, the shape of the side key touches and spat touches, the octave mechanism design....just as a few examples.

@buddy lee points out the price would suggest this is subcontracted from another factory. If it is...it would not have telltale R&C design/construction details. I would also be interested in knowing.....

...because if a NEW R&C model is BIG news.....and it might be...then equally big news would be that R&C has actually gone the way of putting their name on horns which are made elsewhere....

I was wondering the same thing. Having gotten into R&C by luck via straight soprano I am so entranced by its warm big bore geometry of my R1(that is prior to being sent off for overhaul) ]. The price and the fact that the demo video from R&C says its smaller bore makes sense that maybe just maybe they are having parts built somewhere else.
It makes sense that a company known for it exquisite luxury status would want to have a horn that would be closer to the price points of the manufacturers coming out of Taiwan so they could compete.

 

[BrianMitchellBrody]

I bought one last summer; it is a good sax, very in tune and precise but with a less rich sound than the R1 Jazz (R1 is very different), which I prefer.

Anyway, I used it in 4 concerts with my Pop and R&B band and it went very well.

Here is a take on it:

Ciao.

You play very well and the horns sounds like butter. Congrats and thanks for sharing.

 

[Mark R]

Smaller bore is all I’ve gleaned from the video.
Are they still made by hand or are they using OEM parts from Taiwan and assembled by R&C. So many questions so few answers🙃

In the video he mentions everything, keys, body, etc. is made in house by R&C.

 

[Roger R5]

I would be suspicious of that video. He mentions everything is made from scratch by R&C, but at the time he is not talking about that specific horn. He is speaking about his visit to their factory, and in general about R&C as a company which is known for making everything from scratch.

I also notice that neither retailers or the R&C website list it as 100% handmade like all their other horns.

I contacted an official R&C retailer that told me the following: "As far as we know, this instrument is not completely made by R&C in Italy."

 

[asd123]

I asked rampone directly and also a local dealer. And they both said, that the saxes are completely made in the rampone factory in Italy.

After doing some digging on Italian saxophone forums, it seems there was a live stream where they answered questions how could they achieve such a price while still being made in Italy.

 

[buddy lee]

I asked rampone directly and also a local dealer. And they both said, that the saxes are completely made in the rampone factory in Italy.

After doing some digging on Italian saxophone forums, it seems there was a live stream where they answered questions how could they achieve such a price while still being made in Italy.

Finding it really hard to believe this still. Maybe they make the body in-house but I wouldn't be surprised if the keywork was all sourced in Asia and assembled in Italy.

 

[asd123]

Finding it really hard to believe this still. Maybe they make the body in-house but I wouldn't be surprised if the keywork was all sourced in Asia and assembled in Italy.

I'm not an expert on saxophone manufacturing is the key work similar or the same as their other saxophones? Asking since they already making key work for all of their other saxes.

@guidocreo could you maybe give a better comparison?

 

[Alphorn]

I was not aware about the performance series, so I checked on the Thomann homepage for the price point. The description in the shop states „gleiche Mechanik wie bei den R1-Modellen“ which translates either to „the same keywork as the R1 models“ or „the identical keywork…“

Alphorn

 

[Tzadik]

@Alphorn
The overall construcion is very different from any R1 Jazz horn and a Performance horn.

The R1 Jazz have a post-to-body construction (like any Conn, King, Keilwerth... and even Borgani)
The Performance (alto and tenor) has a more traditional post-to-rib-to-body.
The Performance have a detatchable bell. And the neck profile (other than the bore) is very different, very Selmer-like (if not a Selmer-copy).

Keys are different, key cups are very different. Even the key touches are different
According to the pics you find on the internet (on a Performance horn)... the key rods looks larger in diameter (more weight but more stability) on both Performance alto and tenor, compared to their R1 Jazz cousins.

It's hard for me that some "innovation" they have brought out with the Performance Line were not applied to the R1 Jazz before.

I really miss the "R&C identity" from the Performance sound samples.
If you are going to buy a R1 Jazz... it's not for its supreme performance/intonation/ease... it's because its unique sound.

I'd hardly consider a R&C Performance a "best buy" in its price range.



If you own a R1 Jazz... one of the two biggest complain a saxophone technical makes on a R1 Jazz are that:

• the key cups could be less convex (in order to make the pad setting easier and avoiding to use to much glue)
• the key rod of side keys are too thin (clarinet diameter size)... not a problem but bigger rods return a better feeling and a greater sense of solidity.

(- assembling and overall setup can be sloppy sometimes...)
Many reported issues/inefficiencies on R1 Jazz can be fixed by a skilled technician, leading to a solid reliable instrument!

 

[selmertenor3]

I had the opportunity to try Performance Alto and Tenor saxophones a couple af months ago.

They are nice, not as nice as R1/R1 Jazz, I think Rampone made Performance models to compete with YAS62/Selmer Axos or Yani WO1.
The sound of the Performance line is more "traditional", intonation was really good and keywork is a lot lighter than on R1/R1 Jazz.
Also the height of the keys was shorter.

About the country of construction, Performance serie, as I know, is completely made in Italy. They only took inspiration from traditional Selmer keywork, as 99% of saxophone makers do.

There are some reasons that made R&C Performance cheaper than other models, for example, other Rampone models are made with different (and more expensive) materials, and there are a lot of options, while Performance is available only in dark gold lacquer, engraving are different and less particular.
There aren't any options about different necks.