Cheap Amazon Soprano Sax VS Professional Instrument | Unboxing + Review
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- Опубліковано 6 лют 2025
- #bettersax #saxophone #amazon
Jay Metcalf compares the soprano saxophone on Amazon versus a professional Yanagisawa soprano.
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These videos have made me a firm believer that the majority of the sound is the musician not the horn
much of the time but not always. these cheap horns tend to play ok at first then fall apart fast. then there's old abominations like the mexiconn. i wouldn't wish that horn on my worst enemy.
It's always been like that.
The thing is, to get to a good level you need a good functioning instrument, one that you don't have to fight. Once you reach a good level, yes, you can make anything sound good because you can overcome the instrument shortcomings. A fine instrument is a great teacher!
@@ricardonascimento1928 China horns do not stay functional for long. They are beautiful looking junk. Shoddy knockoffs of pro brands. They do not stand up to the abuse of a beginner student. Taiwanese horns are much better. KHS makes Jupiter and a lot of other solid brands. Don't buy anything out of commie China, you will regret it.
@@reednut2091 Taiwan is part of China.
The soprano saxophone...or as I call it, the "b-flat Armored Clarinet."
BW Acuff Imma start calling mine that.
😂😂😂😂😂
clarinets b flat anyway, so it's just the armored clarinet
XD
Multi-keyed trumpet w/ reed
Dude...if this company ever makes a bari sax of atleast somewhat equal quality for a proportionally reasonable price...review that too.
Yeah, I would love to be able to purchase a reasonably priced Bari. Hard to find them used, not in need of expensive repairs
Totally agree dude
maybe even a bass sax? I would love to own one of those!!! :-)
I bought a Taishan bari from ebay several months back. It's holding up well, but I keep it in my studio and don't carry it out for gigs. Good for a second horn, for sure.
Mike Robinson I purchased a Taishan Winds Bari off eBay it was $1599. And an awesome horn a great deal !
Thank-you for your videos! When I was younger, I was a proficient alto sax player. Now at 55 yrs old, I wanted to try a soprano, call it a winter hobby. After watching this and your video comparing altos, I bought an Ammoon LADE curved soprano sax from Amazon and got a Yamaha 4C mouthpiece for it. Similar to your experiences, so far, mostly good! It arrived in one piece and tightly in its case. All of the keys are tight, no loose screws, springs or rods, however, it would not play low B or B-flat due to a leak. I took it to a local experienced repair man who has a 1928 curved soprano Buescher in very good condition that we compared it to (he was pleasantly surprised at how the LADE played)! The LADE actually sounds pretty decent (he made the adjustment so that the LADE can play all notes now). I left it with him for some fine tuning. Similar to your experience, some of the keys have too thin of cork, so those keys open wider than a european tolerance (playable but inefficient). The lower B and B-flat keys have too thick of felt. The pads are seated deeply, so they may not last as long as a higher quality-controlled sax. But, for me to fiddle around with, its a keeper. Thanks again for your videos!
Thanks for sharing this info.
Took a while but it became very evident, when moving into the higher register, that B, was the king. Much more resonant. Musically beautiful. Claranet sounding almost! Just lovely!
I chose “B” immediately because, as a clarinetist, I could hear air escaping from the tone holes in several parts of the instrument’s range, and could also detect much more effort on your part trying to make the comparison as fair as the instrument’s lower quality allows. A very, very helpful video for those who may be choosing a beginning instrument for lessons.
bruh i chose A, this is so interesting
I chose A as well …d’oh!
I came to comment the same, this is also the reason I chose "B". The escaping air at 13:39 - 13:40 wasn't the first thing I heard but was a direct factor, considering the first difference I heard was the crispness on each note change, it sounded like it was much more manipulative and easy to play.
I am also a clarinetist and saxophonist and the air was a let factor in deciding, however in the end I was confident in my answer and was correct
Listen to the end on Yanaga air its the player. Reed not worn in.🐊
TOTALLY cracked up at the "That's odd... this saxophone only plays Kenny G!" lolol
So did I!
If you're buying a $240 soprano sax from Amazon, you're only allowed to play Kenny G.
@@kd5nrh In other words, Kenny G is cheap🤣
@@akakakakakak3084 do you all think l could play Dave Koz too? Jajaj ups ho ho ho
Same 😅
When I gave trumpet lessons some 48 years ago as a professional musician, a mother of a student apologized for having to buy her son such a cheap trumpet. I picked the horn, put my mouthpiece in the her son's horn and played some golden tone improvs of the tune Laura. She was astounded at how good the horn sounded. I then thanked her for at least buying him a horn to get him started enriching his life with musical performance.
She thanked me and started to cry.
Then everyone clapped
Bigboibobb 420 HAHAHAHAHAHA r/thathappened
Steven Lambert of course that happened
That's good job!
Man, that's like music to my ears.
The sax: *plays well
This guy: huh. That's weird
@@shungite98 It was a joke. Settle
that's right. Lightn' up Francis. A real man can play a soprano & a baritone.
Lmaooo
0:45 turn on captions. You're welcome.
"yo niggas"
Wtf
Oml lmaoooo 😂😂😂
😂😂😂😂😂
N WORD 😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳
B is definitely much Richer sounding. Nice blind test the little differences really stand out.
yes.. more of a difference than in the Alto-sax test.
I guessed right but I would remove the "much" from that statement. Nothing like $4K worth of difference.
More convincing than ever that the greatness of the player can overcome the weaknesses of the instrument 🎷!!! Thanks for the demo of this fact! 😀🚀
"A" sounded good, B was an extremely close second. Amazing.
Just got one for my daughter for Christmas. I've been trying to interest her in learning to play, but she's been intimidated by how big the alto is (she's 12 and petite). She saw me watching another video of a guy playing a curved soprano and said she wanted to try that. For $270 (which includes shipping) I had this LADE on my doorstep. You can't beat that price. I opened it to make sure it was put together right, and it feels really good. I didn't play it because that needs to wait for Christmas day, but no leaks and the keys feel pretty good.
I remember playing a lot of crappy student horns, mostly Bundy and Conn, back in the 70's and 80's that were much worse than this. I'm looking forward to hearing it being played. I might even buy a tenor!
SkylersRants Even if your daughter’s small, isn’t it better to start on alto? I thought people don’t start on soprano because they need to develop the embouchure on an alto, and because the intonation on sopranos are much harder than an alto’s.
@@高宇中 I started on clarinet as a child. The clarinet embouchure is much more difficult than a saxophone of any stripe. I have no expectation that my daughter will be playing professionally anytime soon. This is just to whet her appetite at a very low cost.
SkylersRants Clarinet, I understand. It’s an easier transition from that to the saxophone than vice versa. But you know your daughter better than I do, I was just curious about the tactic. Good luck to your daughter.
I am not a sax player or even a good musician I am afraid to say, but I appreciate your music and reviews they are quite interesting. Thanks for the education.
Picked B after 10 seconds - sound was more "liguid" and smoother as well. That being said I think A is a great starter piece. As for the case slop - 1/4 to 3/4 inch (7 -18 mm) memory foam as required. Works great for guitar and piano cases too.
Also, if he put that mute in, it would fill up the space. But, you're correct. Put some foam in...
I also picked B. I think the overtones resonated better. Bigger sound. You can't really go wrong with the cheap one, though. Especially if you're just a home player who's just dabbling in Soprano in your spare time. You won't be traveling the world with the case anyway.
@@JohnPrepuce yep, I picked B too. A more well rounded timbre.
If you're just starting out, get the cheap one. My only concern would be 1) if it's actually harder to play, which might lessen its appeal to the beginning player.
Also, if the cheap horn just sounded so bad and so ugly that it was far less appealing, I would recommend saving up for a better model.
Killing ourselves play is a huge part of why we play music. And if your instrument just sounds bad, it's not nearly as much fun playing.
It's like the difference between an out-of-tune spinet piano and a well-turned baby grand. Just hearing one sustained note on thst baby grand is an experience!
Same
OMG my voice dictation actually thought I said "killing ourselves play" ?
🙄
At this point you might as well play the tenor they have
Phil McPhilsalot I swear lol
Please!
I would like to hear the tenor also!
Chances are the tenor will only play Plas Johnson.
haha, Pink Panther...
They both sound good. I knew A was the Amazon sax though. I felt like I could hear your breath more with A. Plus B had a fuller sound.
Been watching your videos for a little while now, and I love them! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on so many sax topics. I got today's listen test wrong, and I'm shocked. I really thought you sounded better on A.
I love playing the soprano sax. Whole different feel to playing this instrument. Especially if you have the ability to improvise. Opens up a whole new world for me. I had played the eb sax for many years and still love to play this instrument as well. Thanks for sharing. Really enjoy your videos. Canada
Eb 👎
"A" sounded more resonant and fuller to me. A very good review, thank you!
B had a better bottom end, I thought. Also, there was more airiness at the top with A, except for the last high portion, where it was B that was airy.
I thought A sounded better on the high end. And B sounded better on the low end.
The Amazon sax’s sound seemed a little thinner, but man, for the $, you’d think the difference would be greater.
difference in instrument quality seems to be in the experience of playing it, not in the sound. also, Im sure a better made instrument is going to last much longer.
Basically a cheaper horn holds back the player because of the flaws it may have while with the quality horn the player is able to play on it at their fullest capacity without the instrument holding them back. The sound difference you here is just barely different because he’s not changing anything, the better one isn’t making him play better it’s the cheaper horn that made him “worse” but still good, which is why it sounds thinner.
Honestly I can't hear $ 4000 difference in sound.this Is great beginner sax.
I got it right!
Not by listening though, but by counting the number of wrinkles in his forehead. :)
Mask your forehead next time! :)
Paul Clare you get what you pay for; I used to have one of these and it played as well as you expect for about a month or two, but then corks started to fall off, pads became loose, keys stuck, and the thing was too much of a hassle to repair
Agreed I have never thought that you have to pay a whole lot for a horn taking nothing away from his advice though, I love my horns and I have NEVER paid more than 3 figures for a horn and I've been ok.
I think the quality control, not just the sound
It’s not about initial impressions. This thing wouldn’t last a month of constant playing like a professional would
old thread, i know. I'm a soprano player. i play a Yani Elimona (s880). My repair tech offered me to try one of his own branded Chinese instrument. Right there in the studio, with my regular mp, the sound of the Yani was much more louder, centered and richer, than the Chinese sax. It sounded "clean" but small - or paraphrasing: "this sax plays Kenny G sort of stuff" - mind you, im a free-jazz player, and I like'em phat. Thanks Jay. I love your channel.
I’m convinced it’s the musician and price doesn’t matter.
A good musician can achieve the same results with less difficulty on a higher quality instrument. That said, you mostly pay for the reliability and production/labor costs when buying an expensive instrument.
Nya Russell yep its really true
Not necessarily. A saxophone has to be internally in tune, for starters. This is why professional players are so surprised when a cheap instrument plays well. And if it has crappy tone holes (bad manufacturing, which does not seem to occur any longer), that makes it pretty hard to play too. It's true that pro players are much better at compensating for it when an instrument is not really in tune, but there are limits to that. (I don't even play; I just type comments. Otherwise, I'd be playing, after all, instead of typing comments.)
I think that's true up to a point, and the general quality of cheaper instruments has improved significantly over the past couple of decades, but there are still some mass-produced instruments that are shockingly bad to the point of being pretty much unplayable. Fretted strings tend to be the worst offenders - I once saw a ukulele in a shop where the frets were at an angle rather than straight across the fingerboard, so even the best ukulele player in the world couldn't make that sound good as it would be physically impossible to play in tune.
It’s both
Ok as a sax player myself I know that the mouth piece is a personal thing very personal.
So the mouth piece is not something you can really judge a sax by, the mouth piece that ships with a lot of saxophones tend to be like the strings shipped with guitars, OK but you would swap them out as soon as you can.
As for the actual sax I love cheap saxophones, my very first ever sax was a second hand really cheap sax, and it played like crap, but I spent time learning how to service that thing, how to make it play good, I learnt that some of the squeaks and farts coming from the machine was not me but the actual sax, which was a valuable lesson to learn.
The saxophone is supposed to be a cheap instrument, when it was originally made the people it was made for didn't like the sound of it so it was pretty much dumped on the side hardly ever used in classical music, but that hard raw sound it can produce and the fact that it was a cheap instrument to buy is what made it such a popular instrument with the musicians that made it famous, Jazz musicians were poor people many still are.
This saxophone is a wonderful instrument, I don't know the brand but it is an instrument that is staying with the tradition of making musical instruments affordable for everyone.
All it would take is a little time and effort to make it a really good instrument, a little bit of work, if you are mechanically minded you wouldn't need to send it off to an instrument tech to fix, so it wouldn't cost you 100s of dollars to fix, like wise the case.
The case is a nice case all it needs is a little bit of fixing, the instrument rattles in the case so spend a couple of dollars on some packing make a couple of case cushions using any kind of cheap foam packing material, and a bit of cloth to cover it.
All the extras are a bonus, if the hooks that hold the case as a back pack slip off just change the hooks for something better, keep the same strap use a sewing machine and hey presto all the things you hated about this sax fixed for less than 50 dollars.
Oh, i thought B was the Amazon one. I think you may have unintentionally played that one better. It hit the high notes very nicelt. For that price, it'a not bad at all.
Its people like you that make me sad to play the same instrument as you.
@@therunawaydog5847 ???
> I spent time learning how to service that thing
How did you learn to do that? Trial and error? Watch the tech? UA-cam videos? If the last, who / what do you recommend? THANKS!
@@hoytstah When I started playing sax there was no UA-cam, all we had back then was evening classes to learn to play, some people had brand new saxes and were friendly we would swap our sax to see if we could play each others sax better, we would also try to get the teacher to play our sax to see if it was OK, in doing so I would look at how the pads sat in the keys and how my sax differed, we also had libraries where I would go to see if there were any books on how to fix wind instruments, I did every class I could find for playing there were not too many for fixing and most people kept their secrets to themselves, oh how things have changed.
Playing the sax may not make you famous and rich no matter how good you get, you have to know the right people to get you in for that, but it will give you hours and hours of satisfaction and pleasure plus something to talk about with musicians.
But to answer your question it was hours and days months working on my sax looking at other saxes testing, for pressure losses, doing the cigarette paper test and so on until finally I managed to make my cheap crappy sax the envy in sound of everyone who heard it play, even some players who had selmers which at the time cost them over a grand compared to my sax that cost me less than 200 pounds secondhand with no special name and even some keys badly placed and laid out wrong.
Make a cheap sax personal and you can have a wonderful instrument.
Identify where the instrument is lacking and set about trying to fix those problems.
I once played a Yamaha it was a wonderful instrument to play, but it was a very expensive instrument, I also once played a Selmer again a very nice instrument but again very expensive.
The tone is in the player (air control, attack, embouchure) and mouthpiece setup (reed, ligature, mouthpiece type). The horn mainly controls ease of use and intonation
B was pretty apparently the pro sax. A sounded like it had a head cold, stuffy and slow. B was a clearer tone, more harmonics, and far more responsive. The funny thing about pad leaks and loose actions are that they slow down the speed that you can get clean slurs, legato, and bent notes.
Jay, you had much better luck than I had buying a Slade curved soprano sax a few years ago. I set it up, started playing, thought "Not so bad!". Then I brought it to rehearsal, and could not get it in tune for the life of me. I brought it to my tech, and neither could he. It was a full 1.5 tones flat all across its range! One would probably have to saw half the neck off to get it in tune. One can only hope that they've gotten their act together, perhaps hired quality control personnel. Live and learn!
Better be a place in Heaven for the guy putting in all this work on behalf of saxophone love.
I chose B because it had a darker tone. I’m a little disappointed that the Amazon horn wasn’t better. I had high hopes after the Alto review. I currently have a student model Yamaha Tenor which I love playing, but was looking at getting a Soprano to compliment without breaking the bank. Thank you as always for your honest reviews.
I think it's like buying a new car. At first it would drive and ride very nice. The test is how it holds how the ride and drive over time.
Stunned again... Sounded great on both... Barely perceptible difference bearing in mind record/playback limitations... Great vid mind... Lateral play between posts was a bit shocking😱🎷👍👍
I have enjoyed your videos. I have an Aerophone Go. I played a traditional alto in college. I am getting back to via Aerophone go after 18 years! I think it is cool because I can use headphones and practice. I am not bothering anyone else and I do not have to be self conscious about how I sound. I also like that I can play four different saxophones, flute, clarinet, and even drums. I have always wanted to learn soprano but now I can learn many different instruments. Keep the videos coming!
I played tenor sax in jr high and high school over 40yrs ago been thinking about getting a soprano to start back. Love the sound of the soprano, excellent review can't go wrong with cheap Amazon model to start with. A trip to the music store for tune-up on the cheap model should fix the mechanical adjustments.
Okay, I thought your Yanagisawa sounded better UNTIL the very end, when there was a weird rattle. What was that about? You even made a face, which had me second guessing. Thanks again, I love these videos showing that, in the end, it all comes down to whose playing, not what they're playing on. The rest of us don't need a better , just MORE PRACTICE!!
It didn't sound like a rattle to me, it sounded like a little too much spit. It happens. ☺
@@bwalters7777777 Does it? As a beginning woodwind person, I have trouble with a spitty sound sometimes, yes, I know, often it's condensation, whatever. But as a pro, don't you find ways to manage it somehow?
Same here. I was sure A was Amazon and B was pro, up until the last clip. But I think the amazon horn sounds just fine. $4000 for a marginal improvement in sound.
B has a slightly fuller sound but for the extremely low price A is amazing, I’m actually gonna pick one of these up and return if it’s bad
The tone on the B sax was much thicker and free than A, but I was impressed by A. The changes and intonation sounded smooth, although I bet there was a lot more effort put in to that on A. The tonequality was worlds apart though imo.
Saxophile here! Cool vid on this Yani template horn. I've been on a China/Taiwan horn kick for about a couple years now with various axes. I bought my red copper Slade soprano during this summer on Ebay for $125 w/shipping included and I got lucky for it played right out of the box! The case I use for in-house storage, no swedging issues but the corks on the Eb/C spatula had to go were my only problem! Because of the furry "body swab", I find it a good idea to take a pipe cleaner to all the octave pips to make sure no obstruction is in the way. The horn plays like gangbusters and my fellow pro cats marvel at the prospect of a horn playing on par with a more expensive axe! The Slade red copper alto I bought months later for $200 plays just a great but I have to tweak it a little for a cozy condition! Also, one little program note: You need a better "poker" face while playing the blindfold test. Looking at you while playing "A" gave away to me that you were playing the Slade and looked more at ease while playing "B"! Thanks
I guessed it right--B was the better sounding. For lack of better way to describe it, you can hear it is coming through a better piece of metal, the sound, the notes, it's smoother, richer, less "tinny". Does any of this make sense? Great videos
"This saxophone only plays Kenny G." FTW!
What do you mean by FTW ??
@@madmadrigal66 For The Win
d i s l i k e
Philip Clark Everyone knows Kenny G. Sucks... he was the worst thing that happened to jazz. He may sale records for the average person, but real audiophiles won’t be caught dead listening to him. It’s elevator/ porno movie track music....
I legit cracked up on that one. So well played.
I play soprano a lot 2 curved and 2 straight from a vintage conn to a Yamaha 62 and I would say if I was playing a gig you could not tell witch I was playing love the test
Great video. Interestingly I picked the correct one. For me it was the beginning and end of the notes that sound different. The B sax was much more precise when I listened to it. In saying that I wouldn't mind a cheap soprano to play just for fun. I picked up a cheap C concert flute just for fun as well and it plays okay too for being a cheap instrument. I'm surprised at how good the cheap ones are for the money.
I believe that B is the yanagasawa and also sounds better because i could hear air from under the tone in As deomonstrations.
Hi Jay! Thank you very much for all the things that you are doing. I would like to ask you if you can do a video of Best Soprano-sax mouthpieces under $150. That would be great to have your opinion on those.
Thank you in advance
là aussi , les prix pratiqués chez nous pour un bec de saxophone sont absolument incroyables . Jamais je n'achèterai une mouthpiece à des prix pareils : je trouve assez facilement une excellente embouchure à petit prix sur les sites chinois , comme c'est curieux ! Les Chinois ne me semblent quand même pas exploités au point qu'on essaie de nous faire croire mais chez nous , nous ne pouvons rien faire d'autre que défendre nos fabricants , même s'ils sont indéfendables . Le grand capital nous tient très bien , hahahahaha !!!
Hey Jay. I bought the same horn. I rolled the dice and Mine actually came in well put together. I'm gonna guy a mouthpiece today. I'll let you know what I think.
Four years ago you posted a comment on a Better Sax in which you said you bought the cheap Amazon soprano sax featured in the video. How has it worked out for you? Would you recommend it? THANKS!
I rented my soprano from a high quality music place, and lemme tell ya, the amazon soprano in this vid came with ALOT, and I mean A LOT more stuff
I play it on my channel - just getting back to it after nine years, basically just watching your videos and other similar channels.
I repeatedly watch this video more than 5 times. Nice to watch 😍
"This saxophone only plays Kenny G." KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!
haha
Michael P. Dawson Kenny G. May sell more records because the average person is too stupid to tell the difference, but he’ll never get my respect. His music sounds like elevator / 80’s porno movie soundtrack music...
I love kenny g songbird
I met Kenny G in the early 90’s and he was extremely humble and such a gentleman. He actually has some chops, but you would never know it. I’m not saying that he’s a bebop master, but his marketing team was off the charts. Now he has enough money to play whatever he wants to, while a lot of great jazz players don’t have a pot to piss in. Just my $.02.
@@anonymousguy7723 I don't get it, whats with the HATE on Kenny G??
We’ve all been there: getting a cleaning cloth stuck 3/4s the way up ever though we knew it wouldn’t fit in the first place.
Upper register intonation is far better on the Amazon soprano. Could've been a blip, but it almost seemed like playing a different horn forces you to focus on pitch or possibly this horn is more evenly tuned.
I like the tones on both horns .They are very simular with slight difference in higher octave.
Just bought mine thru your website. Love it for the price. My wife immediately stole the gloves. My dog no longer comes around.. Not a fan. Since I'm financially embarrassed I love the horn. Thank you
I'm a musician and don't agree with the ones here trying to defend an expensive instrument. You don't have to buy the most expensive, in reality musicians do that because they think they should and they want to look good having the most expensive ones. I would suggest to buy a medium range priced instrument. I don't have any issues recording with a Squier bass and wouldn't have an issue with a $350 Nylon Yamaha guitar. I like recording quality in the performance of the musician NOT what a more expensive material on an instrument will give me.
The two sounded great. Without controversy the Amazon sax represented itself tremendously up against the big gun. I think 10-15 cheap sopranos together would baffle an audience more than one pro sax. A pro sax is a pro sax but damn!!!!!!! The Amazon sax is a force.
I picked the "B" but it was kind of close for me.
Richard Jones same here, I picked B, sounds slightly warmer, but it was very close.
when's your better sax soprano coming out? i'd be interested in that.
I just got my soprano sax 2 days ago. I started to learn about 6 years ago on the alto but struggled with it. I have wide shoulders, long arms and big hands. I then bought a tenor, which I love and learnt how to relax my body while playing. As a result, what I learned on tenor helped me on my alto playing. I thought that owning 2 saxes would be enough. I practice almost every day and I am not a professional musician. I never intended to own a soprano saxophone. Because of my love for the instrument and my occasional traveling, I finally decided to get one, as it is easier to take on a plane and least of a hassle to carry around.
I struggled a bit with my embouchure on day 1 but quickly improved on day 2. I find that I need less air play ,longer lines than on the others and because the mouthpiece is so small, I occasionally struggle in transitioning between low and high notes. Training with a tuner is important to me.
I find that the fingerings is taking some getting used to, because the instrument is smaller but moreso, it it straight and not curved.
Could you present a video the use of the throat and embouchure adjustment for this instrument?
I'd really appreciate it.
I knew the Yanagisawa was sax B but I definitely will be getting the Alto and this soprano in the very near future!
I have never played a sax but when I watch these vids I really want to buy that cheap one and test it out myself
Start with alto
Sopranos are not great for beginners haha
👏 Wow! That was a great rendition of Kenny G's "Songbird!" I can't replicate that relaxing sound on my alto sax nor on my clarinet. It makes me want to purchase a soprano sax just to play that one song. 😊
BTW: They both sounded really nice. But how well will the cheap one play and sound a year from now with regular use? That's the $286 question. 😉
I've been playing professionally since the mid 70's. I got my Yamaha soprano in 1978 and loved it, but I found a cheap Taiwanese soprano in the mid 90's for $350 and fell in love with it. It was more ergonomically equivalent to my Mark VI alto and tenor and it played in tune! Did it have mechanical issues? Sure. But it has serve me well for almost 30 years. In the hands of a student the horn would fall victim to bent keys, misaligned pads, and fouled octave mechanisms. But with the proper care and feeding it has served me well for decades. Why pay more when you don't have to?
One of the best sopranos that I've ever played on was an intermediate model Selmer. It played better than the pro horns I was around at the time. I finally bought a Yamaha 62 model that I really enjoyed!
Do a cheap baritone from amazon
Ha, cheap and baritone in the same sentence!
Oh and forgot to mention I play a 1927 Conn soprano, completely different sound so if you compared a vintage to the Amazon I expect even with the Vandoren you could pick the difference.
"Cheap Saxophone"
Me: Maybe I can get a saxophone after all!
"$270"
Me: Never mind
Yeah to me, anything over $50 is a lot of money. Granted $200ish is a lot more doable than $1000+
It's cheap enough to retain most of that value. You could resell somewhere close to that. It's really cheap. When you break down the cost per hour you use it it is fractional cents on the dollar. Going to see a single movie the per hour cost is 100x a instrument so it's doesn't matter. Just buy an instrument the most you can afford. It's virtually free when you consider the cost per hour and the reduce that by the resell value
thanks to your review and the updated repairs review, I went ahead and bought one from Amazon.... like you said if it not playing well then I have 30 days in which to send it back... thanks...
I played tenor sax 40 years ago and picked up interest in playing again, so I don’t necessarily have the best ear for music. With that said, I could tell the difference between the Amazon and professional instruments. The professional instrument has a deeper and richer sound. I agree with your recommendation to spend a little more on a beginner instrument if possible. I love the sound of the soprano sax. Great channel I’ll be back for more.
You should do a video comparing a cheap Bari Sax to a professional. BTW, love you videos they help me so much as I’m starting to play professional gigs👍🎷
or a tenor
Please do a Baritone sax !!
Expensive lol
Since when did Unbox Therapy pick up saxophone??
DEFINITELY B! Bright and crisp. Beautiful tone. Can't get any better than B
Hey man love your videos and honest review on the more affordable saxophones for beginners. I was wondering if you could do a review on the Gear4Music alto like that comes in gold,silver,vintage, or black and gold. I'd love someone who knows what they are talking about to do a review of it as yours are sold out haha!
Thanks for the video!
B sounded a tiny bit (like 5%) better. I'll save the $4,000 and buy a few more saxophones and/or take a few more vacations!
At first glance I thought this guy was Lew from Unbox Therapy lol
Hahaha😭😭😂😂
LOL I have been watching both channels for years but what
0:46 put on captions
😂😂😂😂
Lol
Noice
Woah LOL
Great video! I could definitely tell the difference between the two, but it wasn’t as much as I would’ve expected! Too bad it only plays Kenny G though. That’s the dealbreaker.
My ammoon soprano I got from ebay for 186 dollars finally came and to a suprise, there was no mechanical issues with the horn. It's a decent horn but the mouthpiece it came with wasn't the greatest. It has a little unevenness with the tip. And those corcks on the necks are a real pain I tell you. You have to push all the way in to be in tune.
austin thompson may you please send me a picture of your sax ? It costs you only 186 dollars ? Send me the supplier info,please...!,,,
@@Humbardi sure what's your email and I will send you the information
I chose A hahaha
Thanks for sharing your advice!
See you Jay ^^
I knew in a blind test, there would be a very mixed outcome since what we see has a big impact on what we hear
"B" had more presence, especially in the lower octave.
The gloves are probably included for kids who do marching band.
layman here who hasn't played sax since school days. *caveat I am a professional synthesizer sound designer. I was able to easily pick out the correct one in the shoot out and it the more expensive was indeed more pleasant to my ears. however it would be really interesting to hear the comparison after it has been tweaked and set up by you with some time and care. regardless the price point of these budget sax's are quite impressive. I am big fan of putting some elbow grease into a lower tier product to elevate it up a bit. my more expensive gear I am always tweaking and elevating further so why not with anything else. anyway great videos thanks!
i found out years ago if you can play and you put on a good mouthpiece , and provided thers no leaks you can make a cheap sax sound nice. another thing i found out is a cheap sax will really make you understand how to fix the problems it will give you like leaks and bent keys and things . i own three sax,s now and never have to take them to anyone to do repairs . so really its a good thing to buy a cheap sax .7 years later both my cheap sax,s still sound good.
The swab that "probably works for an alto" got stuck in my alto
MLGSSJ lol
Picked B but it was a coin toss..Your Pro sax is beautiful and I am sure feels much better to play and look at..thanks for the advice I'll toss the fuzzy tail swab thing after I take the top plug off...I wonder if a wine cork will fit.. or use the fuzzy tail to prop the case open so it does not blow closed..top came off on it's own the other day with the fuzzy swab tail in the sax...got it out...I use the white gloves for packing my sax top and bottom in the loose case I have ...I bought a Chinese Tenor sax a few weeks ago seems ok but I am a newbie...had a palm key cork come off the other day while cleaning sax.. You have a great humor...Thank you so much for these videos...if your new one keeps playing Kenny G or is found sipping Chardonnay and crying I'd send it back before you get to attached to it...
I agree, playability and reliability of his Yanagisawa play a huge part in choosing the more expensive horn. If I was a sax player and had the money and was using the instrument regularly to make a living, I definitely would go with the pricier horn. I'd like to see him do a follow up to see how well the Amazon sax holds up after 6 months, a year, etc.
"le doy un treh!!!
"This saxophone only plays kenny G"
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Por 270 un treh?
A is what I would choose. Brighter sound but without them being next to each other I would enjoy both
“This saxophone only played Kenny G”
Jokes on you I’m into that shit!
I see this as an absolute win!
Got my first soprano for almost triple that price, despite the fact that it’s a $2000+ horn! And it’s in nearly perfect condition
Selmer SS600 with a mouthpiece that’s good but I can’t identify and a vandoren m/o ligature.
man
when you started playing kenny g I knew a joke HAD to be there!
haha
I did not correctly guess the saxophones.
i know the b whas the yanagisawa whatever i still like more the amazon one, sounds a little bit more metallic and rock :D
Damn. I was so close to first! I love your videos!!!
Next time, They usually publish on Tuesday at 1pm EST, but I was late this week.
Yay...got B right! As an amateur player I’m really pleased!
I'm often blown away by your lack of snobbery and fairness. I have a Slade b flat clarinet I bought off Amazon and I'm often amazed by the sounds I'm able to get from it . I paired it with a Vandoren m13 and no 3 reed and it's awesome. Because it's not expensive doesn't always mean it's no good because I'd rather have an inexpensive instrument and enjoy it than have no instrument at all. I'm sure you're fairness has inspired many to buy instruments and give them a go and in my book this is a good thing.
I prefer B with a "cleaner" rich and fuller sound.
Only B has the lovely, mysterious, breaking-heart, honey-like, oboe-like sound of soprano sax.
Wow I was thinking about getting a soprano! I was literally looking if you had one of these vids about 3 days ago!!
B. The sound much better to me. I like the tone better. Both sounded very good.
I had picked 'B,' so your investment in a quality horn paid off! However, for the price, the Amazon horn was pretty close. Enjoyed your vid!