[Oric Muso]

Was looking for a cheap sop on Ebay when I came across this.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/STRAIGHT...rentrq:635a7a561620a860ecbedff3fffd1232|iid:1

The pic showing the low Bb & B pads looks bad. Some kind of stuff on the pad. Is it mold?
Seller tells me it is light reflecting off the metal - mmm.

Then they have this one
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/STRAIGHT...rentrq:635a7a561620a860ecbedff3fffd1232|iid:1

It looks greasy and finger prints all over it. Doesn't look nice to me.
What do you think ?

 

[dlrsax]

What do you think ?

I think they are cheap Chinese sopranos and you shouldn’t expect much. They may play ok, they may not.
Personally I wouldn’t go through importing one from Italy.

 

[Dave Dolson]

I'd rather buy a new Kessler-branded soprano for about the same price (well, I did the exchange from pounds to dollars loosely, but you get the idea). With Kessler, you know they will shop-check it and adjust if necessary before shipping it to you. And, I've played them at their shop - they are good. DAVE

 

[Oric Muso]

I was a bit taken aback by the condition of these 'new' instruments. One looks oily, the other has some dust or mold on the pads. Not good!


I got rid of my soprano - and now miss it of course, so I've been looking out for a replacement. These guys do various shapes - straight, straight with curved bell, curved. And in various finishes and colours, so it peeked many interest and I started looking to see if I could tell what kind of springs they had etc.

I wonder if these are Pakistani made. I've had emails from more than one company trying to get me to flog their instruments. Usually it's something like bongos, accordions and saxophones. Very strange!

I guess I'll look elsewhere. Buying from the US would cost me extra so I guess it won't be a Kessler.

 

[squawk]

If you look for the Taishan brand of Chinese instruments, the quality is better than the random Chinese instruments. I bought a venus soprano 10 years ago which was pretty darn good for what I paid. But I recently bought a Taishan that was an order of magnitude better than the Venus. Typically a $500 horn with consistent quality.

 

[JayeLID]

The pads in the first one have mold on 'em, actually. Pretty hilarious considering it is supposed to be 'new'. If a seller isn't even clued into what he is showing n pics, not a good sign.

Oric, you are a tech..I am a bit befuddled as to why you'd waste your $ on a cheapie chinese horn ??? You always get what you pay for with these.

(And FWIW...in my experiences witha few of 'em...Taishans are not anything to ooh and aaah over. I have had a few on the table...the 'buzz' they had a year or two ago is unwarranted from this repair person's point of view, IMHO).

 

[Oric Muso]

I was looking for something at the cheaper end of the market as I don't want to spend a lot. (Sometimes I spot things I can do up and sell on.)
I would probably go for an Elkhart or Jupiter or something like that. But in looking I came across these things and was amazed by how grubby they looked.

I tried asking the seller and they claimed it was light reflecting off the metal !!!

 

[Dave Dolson]

I don't know if they are still being made but a jazz-fan gifted me an ARBITER dual-neck soprano a while back. He was English and bought it when he lived in the UK. It was made by the same folks who make Jupiter. It was a good soprano. I ended up gifting it on to our local high school after he passed away, but it impressed me as being a choice for anyone who wanted an inexpensive soprano.

I THINK ARBITER is a known brand-name in the UK - I have one of their curved soprano stands I bought on line from a UK store several years ago. DAVE

 

[JayeLID]

I tried asking the seller and they claimed it was light reflecting off the metal !!!

Fuzzy light only exists in the Italian Countryside...and it's way prettier than that !!!