I've never played one, but a tech friend of mine told me that the horns that saxophone.com sells are the same as the Kohlert and Blessing saxophones made in China. I wouldn't recommend ANY horn made in China! It's not that the Chinese are not intelligent enough to build a quality horn, but these horns (like so many products made in China) are mass-produced using sub-standard equipment and assembled by workers who are poorly trained, over-worked and under-paid. You might get a guitar made in China that plays decent for under $200. Saxophones are a different story. Saxophones require more precision and skill when assembled. If you're looking for a cheap sax, here are a couple suggestions. Check your local newspapers, garage sales or thrift stores for saxophones that a student possibly played in band for a couple years and then decided to play something else. Most people have no idea what these horns are worth and just want to get them out of the closet. I've seen just about every brand imaginable too! Although I have never been so lucky myself, I have even heard of Selmer Mark VI's and other vintage professional horns sold for less than $200 needing very little if any repairs. You just need to look in the right places, and be patient! Sometimes, you may find a good buy on ebay, but if the horn is worth anything at all, someone is going to bid it up! You never have the option of trying the horn first, and you can't always return it either, so BE CAREFUL WITH EBAY! Read the ad carefully and ask lots of questions. Make sure the neck is included, and there are no major dings, dents, etc. BUYING FROM EBAY IS A GAMBLE! Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose! Ask your band director if he/she knows of any instruments for sale cheap! The director may have connections also. I know a repair tech who buys used horns, repairs them, and sells them to schools and students for little more than it costs him to repair them! Possibly your director knows someone who does the same. Post an ad in the newspaper, or in a music store....Wanted: saxophone in good condition for student. Pay up to ??? If you MUST have a new horn, then I would again check with the schools to see what type of payment options and discounts are available. Online companies like Kessler Music, WWBW, and Giardinelli have some decent horns for bargain prices also.

IIRC, Kessler has said that his store-brand models are indeed manufactured in China, and people over at SoTW with some fairly decent collections over of modern and vintage horns report that they're decent. China is, therefore, not a total loss, but He would be the only dealer of Chinese goods I would trust at this particular moment (though the quality is rumoured to be getting better, quickly).

I think that I will stop in China on my vacation. Maybe I will buy a violin, and check out the saxophones. I love to play bamboo flute. I have one from China , and one from Vietnam. Johnson, I have been to Wisconsin many times. Very beautiful place. :)

I think every music store sells a couple horns made in China now. In spite of warnings from people like myself and others, people still waste their money on these poor quality horns. So, if WWBW sells them, Giardinelli sells them, Music123 sells them, and several others, so does Kessler to be competitive. Kessler has a great reputation, and I continue to recommend him. Most of the horns he sells are made in Taiwan, not China. They are made at the same factory were many of the cheaper Conn/Selmer horns are made today, as well as Antigua Winds and Jupiter. Some of the cheaper models are made in China. My honest opinion? They're junk! They're a price point. They're perhaps a better grade of junk that many of the others made in China like Schill, Selmen, Monique, and the crap that idiot Dominic sells, but their quality is very inconsistant. The thing I will say in regards to Kessler however, is that he is pretty straight forward. I trust that if you purchased a horn from him and had problems that he would take care of it. Customer Service is worth a lot.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- The thing I will say in regards to Kessler however, is that he is pretty straight forward. I trust that if you purchased a horn from him and had problems that he would take care of it. Customer Service is worth a lot. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Yep, and it's because of his reputation alone that I would tend to trust whatever he sells. The feedback is just too widely positive about him.

I recently tried two Taiwaniese sopranos (I don't play much soprano); one was junk and one is a winner (as a second, or in my case, 4th). Surprisingly, the junk was a P. Mauriat. The dealer was great and worked with me, but the horn was 1/2 step flat, absolutely could not get it in tune. After seeing all the great feedback on the horns, I decided I'd try a second, but the dealer was having trouble getting one (back ordered). Instead, I had noticed an L.A. Sax, and it had the same case, same accessories, as the more expensive ($500) Mauriat. I took a chance and it's great. It'll probably wear out quicker than a Parisian horn, but at the rate I play soprano, that still gives me several good years and I still have some money in the bank. I've tried a number of Chinese horns (I figure on playing soprano once a night, twice at most) and they've all been absolute swill. Take the $500 you'd spend on once, convert it to ones and then glue them together and you'll have a more in-tune instrument than if you bought one.

on your last comment, you're probably right. I have even tried to make an alto stand out of legos, NOT FUN. I'm also contemplating about making a sax out of them as well, of course, I would not be able to play it.