I have a Jupiter Artist Series alto and find it to be a suprisingly decent sounding horn. It has a high f# key and all the bells and whistles. My parents bought it with me (split the bill) in my freshman year and has done very well for me as a senior. It is definately an upgrade from the YAS-23, but it cost just a few hudred dollars less than the YAS-62II. I wish that I had the patience to wait for a few more months to buy the 62, but I am surprisingly impressed by my jupiter. It's intonation is fairly accurate, but it works wonderfully if you have the patience to figure out what notes need a little help. It has about the average action of a student model horn. it is very similar to the YAS-23 in terms of feel and sound, but with improvements in the intonation and overall playability. Altissimo pops right out. great tone throughout the whole range. Verdict: A very good upper middle grade saxophone, but definately not a pro. If you intend on making it your main saxophone (instead of doubling on it), I'd personally spend a little more money on a different make/model. The soprano is famous for having horrible intonation on some of the lower priced models, but more consistent in the higher end known models (Yanagisawa and Kielwerth are common names brought up when talking about great quality sopranos). For cheaper models, I have heard almost nothing but good things abou the antigua and EM Winston lines (SaxMom can vouch for Winstons i believe). In the end, however, the best soprano you can buy is the one that you discover and love. Go to different music stores and try every soprano you can get your hands on. It doesn't matter if you have to drive an hour to get to a store with a great selection if you end up finding the horn that works best for you, regardless of what anyone tells you

i havent played the soprano, but i played jupiter altos and baris. i dont know if they were the "artist series", but they were straight silver with some gold. and really overall, they sucked. the action was the worst part. they didnt react well and the keywork was shotty. . and overall the sound was not too impressive. they are good, for beginners, where these factors dont play as big of a role, but if you want something of quality, go selmer or P. Mauriat. i heard the big craze about yanagisawas sopranos, and as big of a yani fan i am, they were not that great, especially for the price.