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by sax_maniac
(984 posts)
20 years ago
Re: Between these four brands for Tenor Sax (Maxtone, Monique, Helmke, & L.A.) which is best?
Of all of them, L.A. might be your best bet - if only because your local musician repair tech might be willing to fix it. A lot of shops aren;t fixing the sub-$300 horns anymore because they're mostly crap and they break too easily. The brand L.A. has been around the longest (I think), which can be a sign (if only a slight one) of what confidence that they will be around for a while.
As soon as enough Maxtones, Moniques, and other "FRENCH ENGINEERING!!!" horns have saturated the market, a new name will be put on the horn - comnig from the same factory.
If you want to save some money, buy a good used horn. My Bundy II has been through the ringer and still plays wonderfully after 24 years.
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by golferguy675
(600 posts)
20 years ago
Re: Between these four brands for Tenor Sax (Maxtone, Monique, Helmke, & L.A.) which is best?
Yeah...Basically all of those kinda suck, but I would go with the L.A. Sax too. But don't. They're basically a commercial brand and the people who make them just don't care much about quality and don't know a whole lot about what they're doin. I'm guessing you're finding these Moniques and Helmkes on Ebay, that's usually where they sell the most, they aren't what they say. If you're trying to stay in the same basic price range though, I would go with what Sax Maniac said. You can find really good used horns for great prices. Local Dealers have them, there's tens of thousands out there on the internet, they aren't hard to find. Another thing to try is get someone who really know's what they're doing at cruize pawn shops. I know it sounds cheap, but I remember when one of my college buddies pulled a mark VI with original everything out of one for 400 dollars. The bastard turned around and sold it on the net for 4500 though.
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by SaxMan2.0
(13 posts)
20 years ago
Re: Between these four brands for Tenor Sax (Maxtone, Monique, Helmke, & L.A.) which is best?
I know for a fact that only Helmke is sold online, and it doesnt have a website so I don't pretty much trust that. Many people saw it sucks because it's easy to break, but few say it's better than a Yamaha.
I know Maxtone is sold online and is sold in some majorand minor instrument companies and also in local music stores in Cali (I think), but doesn't have a website. Some people say Maxtone is really made my the Selmer company.
I know Monique is sold in a local music store in Las Vega, Nev, and there's a site called DominicsMusic.com or something like that to prove it, it is also sold online. Not sure if it has its own site. The thing is there are 2 makers. China's Monique sucks, they will break and bad intonation. Taiwan's Monique is good, pretty much intune. If I buy this one it's a risk because it might turn out a China one instead of the Taiwans.
I know L.A. Sax has a website and it is sold in L.A. (of course). This is my best choice out of the 4, but don't know whete I should trust this. I read review saying its intonation is good.
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by SelmerParisPassion
(59 posts)
20 years ago
Re: Between these four brands for Tenor Sax (Maxtone, Monique, Helmke, & L.A.) which is best?
From my experiences, Monique is crap. When it comes to repairs, ha! forget about it, you'll get laughed at.
Maxtone; I've got a trumpet by them that's half decent, so I can't really say too much
Everyone around here seems to hate Helmke, but in my personal experience they're excellent cheap intermediate sax. They're sturdy, and surprisingly have a good intonation.
However, I've heard some good stuff about LA Sax, and if I had to choose from the four, I'd probably stick with them.
Good luck!
Christie J
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