kryz: Why NOT a Taiwanese-made brand like Kessler or Antigua? You could do a lot worse than a Kessler or an Antigua. My Antigua 590LQ is really a good player - great tone, good scale, and responsive top to bottom. If looking for a good inexpensive soprano, one almost has to buy Taiwanese (or American vintage, but those are going to probably cost you more - my two 1928 Bueschers are superb sopranos).
As to "fake" MKVI clones, yes they exist. I own one (labeled "KUSTOM") and my research lends me to believe it was made by Antigua (or at least the factory in Taiwan that made/makes Antigua). And, my KUSTOM plays just like a real MKVI I once owned (with many of the problems my real MKVI had). My KUSTOM has no other markings on it, to Grumps' dissatisfaction (no country-of-origin).
I received a recent P. Mauriat brochure and it showed a MKVI-clone soprano. When I inquired, I was told that PM dropped that model before bringing it to market. I still have the brochure.
The Yanagisawa-made MKVI clones (S-6, Vito, Dorado 600, and maybe Martin - I don't know if Yanagisawa made a MKVI-style sop with the Martin brand) are good players - maybe more consistently good than even the MKVI, but that is a discussion for another thread.
The Yanagisawa stencils I've seen had either "Japan" stamped on them OR the Yanagisawa trademark. That doesn't mean all of them have those markings, though - I just don't know.
Just when you think you have a handle on stencils and clones, you'll discover that not everything is known about them. DAVE
As to "fake" MKVI clones, yes they exist. I own one (labeled "KUSTOM") and my research lends me to believe it was made by Antigua (or at least the factory in Taiwan that made/makes Antigua). And, my KUSTOM plays just like a real MKVI I once owned (with many of the problems my real MKVI had). My KUSTOM has no other markings on it, to Grumps' dissatisfaction (no country-of-origin).
I received a recent P. Mauriat brochure and it showed a MKVI-clone soprano. When I inquired, I was told that PM dropped that model before bringing it to market. I still have the brochure.
The Yanagisawa-made MKVI clones (S-6, Vito, Dorado 600, and maybe Martin - I don't know if Yanagisawa made a MKVI-style sop with the Martin brand) are good players - maybe more consistently good than even the MKVI, but that is a discussion for another thread.
The Yanagisawa stencils I've seen had either "Japan" stamped on them OR the Yanagisawa trademark. That doesn't mean all of them have those markings, though - I just don't know.
Just when you think you have a handle on stencils and clones, you'll discover that not everything is known about them. DAVE
