[thegregus]

RSR (Richard Sax Ross) saxophones. There's not much on SOTW about these instruments. I am really intrigued by the cantante soprano. Any experiences with these out there. Thank you.

 

[Saxtripper]

Never tried one, but here is the sax designer himself playing one live on stage...

 

[fredbart]

I have not tried one but am also considering one. Have you noted that it does NOT have a high F# key? Richard Ross claims that the reason is that the key compromises the sound of the sax too much. I wonder how hard the altissimo F# is on this instrument.

 

[milandro]

the term " designer" implies that someone does something else other than asking a Chinese company to put a name on a saxophone and chooses some options like abalone pearl touches or black nickel finish.[rolleyes]

 

[BrianMitchellBrody]

At least he is not hiding the fact they are from Tiajin China.

I think he sounds good on the instruments and there was a favorable review here on sotw about direct personal business with RSR at his home, and a Mercury Tenor he sold to a member.

B

 

[milandro]

Mercury are indeed good Chinese saxophones. There is nothing wrong with selling Chinese made saxophones under your name if you say so. Iwas just responding to the use of the term " designer" in this context

 

[BrianMitchellBrody]

Mercury are indeed good Chinese saxophones. There is nothing wrong with selling Chinese made saxophones under your name if you say so. Iwas just responding to the use of the term " designer" in this context

Sorry if my post seemed to indicate your "designer" statement offended me which in fact it did not; i agree. B

 

[milandro]

no problem, I just further clarified what I meant but I wasn't thinking that you got particularly offended by my remark

 

[thegregus]

the term " designer" implies that someone does something else other than asking a Chinese company to put a name on a saxophone and chooses some options like abalone pearl touches or black nickel finish.[rolleyes]

In this case milandro, you are right about my implication. If you have a moment or two of time, take a look at his facebook profile and ebay profile. Not only does he perform professionally, but also is a sax technician. He also speaks Manderin (sp) Chinese, so I would assume he has an advantage in communicating to the company in China that makes his instruments. Again and I repeat, I am intrigued by his saxes (especially this Cantante model soprano). I'll do some more digging and let you all know what I find.....Peace

 

[milandro]

Well, I know quite a bit more than you might think about dealing with Chinese and Taiwanese saxophone companies. I don't speak MANDARIN though.

 

[thegregus]

Well, I know quite a bit more than you might think about dealing with Chinese and Taiwanese saxophone companies. I don speak MANDARIN though.

Very good to hear Milandro. I for one, sincerely and greatly appreciate your expertise. The manufacturing world of saxophones is getting so convoluted and confusing. Out of ignorant curiosity, does an American company even exists that makes a pro-level saxophone anymore ??

 

[fredbart]

Ok, I went ahead and got one of Richard's RSR Cantante sopranos. I have had a few days to try it. I am definately not the best person to review this as I have never played a soprano before, but I can tell you what I have observed both pro and con with my limited experience. On the pro side I was able to play with a characteristic soprano sax sound right out of the "box". Also I found that the intonation was better than either my 1955 Conn 10M tenor or my 1971 Buffet SDA alto. I checked the intonation against a tuner and also played for about 3 hours with a piano. It was a joy to play and I couldn't put it down. Casual listeners all agreed that it sounded good. ..here is a biggie....my wife said it sounded good (she likes to normally leave the house when I am playing sax.)....It is attractive and comes in a stock case with RSR logo . I say stock because it has compartments for straight and curved neck, though the Cantante is one pirce and has no removable neck........Now for the mechanism...I like the way it feels...it is fairly ergonomic, though my left thumb/index finger cramped a bit after that marathon session. Oh,I didn't mention that I was using the stock plastic #5 RSR mouthpiege and supplied 2 1/2 reed...(sorry for the regress)....I found 2 keys which wanted to stick, they were the left habd Bb and the low C#. I did the dollar bill thing with no luck and then repeated after wetting it with water. This had no immediate effect but the next morning they didn't stick anymore and have had no problem since then. I checked how well the keycups were centered and most were centered well, but I found 3 which were quite off-center..I then checked the rods for play and found that the shorter rods were generally good but that the longer rods generally had more play in them than I want to see. I will have my tech look at this sometime later. the play hasn't affected the pads seating yet. I think some of the cork glue probably isn't the best, I saw one thin cork curling up on the edge. It comes with abalone pearls on the keys instead of the usual plastic you see on these Chinese saxes. That is a nice touch......oh, and did I mention white gloves (haha) they werent mentioned in the add but I now own a new pair of white gloves. ....ok, so this isn't a perfect instrument but not a bad bang for the buck IMHO. I plan to keep this (he does offer a money back satisfaction guarantee.) I like the way it feels and sounds, as well as the intonation. After what I have read about other's experiences as beginners I feel good about this sax........Oh, I took this out to a car show gig and a wedding gig with my oldies band last weekend and it seemed to play in tune quite well with the electric instruments also.

 

[milandro]

............does an American company even exists that makes a pro-level saxophone anymore ??

Well the world of saxophone is living in hope to see the professional American saxophone being brought back to life by Powell, otherwise known to be a flute maker ( they made a very special sax in the past........) . There are threads on saxontheweb about this. There are some delays with the project though.

http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?148137-Plans-For-An-American-Made-Saxophone.

 

[saxyn]

RSR (Richard Sax Ross) saxophones. There's not much on SOTW about these instruments. I am really intrigued by the cantante soprano. Any experiences with these out there. Thank you.

Yes, I own one. Clunky, heavy, awkward under the fingers, hard to play in tune. The good news? Lovely lower register. All his hype is just that. Sorry.