Saxophone Forum


by jerryyo
(9 posts)
16 years ago

Chinese saxophones

Ebay is flooded with these hor

Reply To Post [Report Abuse]

Report Abuse

Replies

  1. by allthewoodwinds
    (12 posts)

    16 years ago

    Re: Chinese saxophones

    I bought an alto a few years back, by the name of PARKER. It was absolutely fantastic. The action was smooth and the tone was beautiful. I believe I paid $190 for it. I used an Otto Link STM 6 and a Meyer metal 6 and it worked great....until someone broke into our church and stole a lot of our music equipment - including this alto and my old Caravelle Brittany soprano sax.

    Reply To Post


  2. by AGlimstrand
    (2 posts)

    16 years ago

    Re: Chinese saxophones

    I bought a alto last year a Luther 772A for approx. $1340. I have never heard about it befor but I have never played a instrument so well tuned and good sounding. I have a Selmer SA80 II befor but this horn feel and sounds even better.

    Reply To Post


  3. by wvujazzman
    (48 posts)

    16 years ago

    Re: Chinese saxophones

    try getting one repaired... most repairmen won't touch them. That's a major bummer for a student who likely doesn't know how to treat a horn with the care it deserves... Eric

    Reply To Post


    1. by jerryyo
      (9 posts)

      16 years ago

      Re: Chinese saxophones

      You are correct. However, my students are taught to care for whatever instrument they have before they are taught to play it. My logic is simple...it is more difficult to play a broken instrument than one that is not broken in any way. I only posted this because I am sure there are curious players out there. These instruments, I think, would work just fine as "spares" or even as main instruments should one find oneself working a gig in a..shall we say...lesser establishment...

      Reply To Post


      1. by Tranesyadaddy
        (279 posts)

        16 years ago

        Re: Chinese saxophones

        I'd be less likely to recommend a horn with poor intonation to a student than a professional. at least a professional knows when the horn is at fault. how can a student work on his or her technique if they can't even rely on the instrument they're trying to master?

        Reply To Post


        1. by jerryyo
          (9 posts)

          16 years ago

          Re: Chinese saxophones

          Of course you are correct. It is simply that beginning students often, for one reason or another, quit. This often leaves mom and pop with a horn for which they spent good money. The horns I refer to are, yes, cheap...in pretty much all regards. But they are saxophones and the instrument can be learned on one of these...inexpensively...and the student wishing to progress will naturally progress to a better instrument. This is just another option for people thinking about taking lessons...on anything...can consider.

          Reply To Post


        2. by JBTSAX
          (364 posts)

          16 years ago

          Re: Chinese saxophones

          As a music educator for 32 years and a professional woodwind repair tech, I have a somewhat different view on this subject than jerryyo. My experience has been that young students should be given every possible advantage when first learning to play an instrument not be saddled with the disadvantage of a poorly made, unreliable, and out of tune saxophone. Most music stores rent the Yamaha 23, Bundy II. or comparable well made student saxophones for beginning players at reasonable rates. If the parents find that their student has no aptitude or real interest in music they are not out a large investment. If the student stays in music, they can apply the rental to purchasing the instrument. If the student is very talented that name brand student instrument has a trade in value when it comes time to purchase a more professional instrument. The $200 saxophone is in the same category as the inexpensive CD player. You use it till it stops working then you throw it away and buy another one because it costs more to fix than it is worth. John

          Reply To Post


        3. by Tranesyadaddy
          (279 posts)

          16 years ago

          Re: Chinese saxophones

          Although a cheap CD player usually does what it's supposed to do when you press the buttons. A cheap saxophone is another story.

          Reply To Post


        4. by jamterry
          (573 posts)

          16 years ago

          Re: Chinese saxophones

          I bought my Selmers new in 1966, and I don't like to take them to Asia, as they are irreplaceable. I got some Kohlerts in Vietnam and had them set up. They work fine. If you go to a repairman that knows you, you won't have any problems. There seems to be a Chinese phobia here in this forum. My Selmers will fetch about $7000 each, and I still use the Kohlerts for my Asia work. Terry

          Reply To Post Yahoo! AIM ICQ


        5. by Donnie The B
          (282 posts)

          16 years ago

          Re: Chinese saxophones

          I too have an irreplaceable Selmer Mark VI tenor. I finally got tired of being paranoid about leaving it on the bandstand at certain places. So I bought a fine American/Taiwan brand called E.M. Winston. I was amazed that I still sound like myself. It's so much easier to risk losing a $700 horn than a $6000 horn. (It was used, but barely). You guys might consider one of these for a spare or for students. The only thing I really hate is the reach to low Bb - horrible! Good Luck!

          Reply To Post


        6. by wvujazzman
          (48 posts)

          16 years ago

          Re: Chinese saxophones

          Terry, For me, it's not an Asian or Chines phobia - I play P. Mauriat alto and tenor horns which are fabulous. It's about the cheapness, and yes, I would say I have a pretty strong bias against cheap instruments. As someone (jbt?) already mentioned, it's very tough for a student to figure out if he or she is doing something right or wrong if the horn will not cooperate... Eric

          Reply To Post


        7. by JBTSAX
          (364 posts)

          16 years ago

          Re: Chinese saxophones

          Mine is a poor quality instrument phobia rather than a Chinese instrument phobia. There are a few saxes currently made in China and Vietnam that are coming close to the quality of the instruments made in Taiwan. They typically sell for between $500 and $800 U.S. The saxes that sell for around $200 on EBay are certainly not in the same league. The $200 ones I have seen in the shop have had wavy toneholes with burrs that cut the pads, poorly fit keys. springs that are not snug in the posts, key corks that come off when touched, key pearls that fall out, and octaves that are 30 to 40 cents too wide and these are their good qualities. : ) What angers me is that most of these are advertised as "director approved" or "perfect for school music programs". A lot of well meaning parents are tricked into buying these garbage instruments for their students only to discover that they don't play and that it would cost more to repair the instrument than it is worth. In the repair trade we call these I.S.O.'s (instrument shaped objects) because in no way can they be considered musical instruments. John

          Reply To Post


        8. by chalazon
          (547 posts)

          16 years ago

          Re: Chinese saxophones

          i recently came across a Yamaha "Advantage" alto sax...made in China..it looks like a copy of the'23..I have to admit..for a chinese sax, I found it to be pretty impressive

          Reply To Post


        9. by jamterry
          (573 posts)

          16 years ago

          Re: Chinese saxophones

          the chinese horns are getting good. i have three MK VI'S, and i am happy with my Asian saxes (Kohlerts) too. if somebody jacked my Selmers, i would die. the Kohlerts work fine in Asia. my MKS were purchased new, and they are worth a king's ransom. i won't take them out of the country. there is also a Yani 992 copy that is really nice.

          Reply To Post Yahoo! AIM ICQ