Zulu: No harm in asking about particular brand names out there. Someone may actually HAVE one!!
But I'm thinking that there are a TON of new brand names out there, most coming from folks who have enough funds to connect with a Taiwanese or Chinese maker and arrange for a dozen gross antique-finish altos with their own house brand on them. When those horns hit the market, the marketing MBA's take over and the stencilled altos become pro-level with German (or French) engineering and a pair of whjite gloves are included.
Could someone pick up a decent saxophone with one of these house-brand names? Maybe - I did when I bought two Kessler Custom saxophones a while back. But I trust Dave Kessler to make sure that what he orders is made well, have the features he requested, and then are tweaked in his store before delivery. I can't say the same for Brand X or Brand Y.
A friend of mine who used to own a store in SoCal bought a bunch of MONIQUE brand altos from China, then re-padded them all and did other tweaks before selling them. His profit margin was so good he could do that. I played one and it was remarkable for the price.
Bottom line? I think you need to raise your budget a bit and look at known brand names. DAVE
But I'm thinking that there are a TON of new brand names out there, most coming from folks who have enough funds to connect with a Taiwanese or Chinese maker and arrange for a dozen gross antique-finish altos with their own house brand on them. When those horns hit the market, the marketing MBA's take over and the stencilled altos become pro-level with German (or French) engineering and a pair of whjite gloves are included.
Could someone pick up a decent saxophone with one of these house-brand names? Maybe - I did when I bought two Kessler Custom saxophones a while back. But I trust Dave Kessler to make sure that what he orders is made well, have the features he requested, and then are tweaked in his store before delivery. I can't say the same for Brand X or Brand Y.
A friend of mine who used to own a store in SoCal bought a bunch of MONIQUE brand altos from China, then re-padded them all and did other tweaks before selling them. His profit margin was so good he could do that. I played one and it was remarkable for the price.
Bottom line? I think you need to raise your budget a bit and look at known brand names. DAVE
