Klarinet Archive - Posting 000694.txt from 1999/02

From: "Sheryl L. Katz" <slkatz@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Chazerei horns
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 13:09:37 -0500

-----Original Message-----
From: Ken.Wolman@-----.com>

> Does anyone know about some of the supposedly low-end brands of horns
> sold in some of the bigger music stores? I suppose $399 is some kind
> of bargain for a new soprano sax, but sometimes something is TOO
> cheap, especially when it calls itself "Jean Baptiste." I just talked
> to someone on the phone, a dealer who calls himself Joe Sax, and he
> said whether it's Baptiste or Winston it's basically the same horn,
> made in Taiwan from inferior materials and not worth it even as a
> student or doubling instrument. For the same price he has used
> Yamahas and Bundys.
>
---
I once bought a new flute off of Ebay that was a "monique". It was made in
China, and it flew apart in pieces after about 3 weeks. I got a refund for
it. Ironically I had bought a "Monique" soprano sax, not the beginner
monique but the "pro" model from the same vendor earlier. It was made in
Taiwan, not China. It's actually quite a nice soprano, a local dealer sells
them for $900, sounds good and construction isn't too bad although you've
got to watch the screws. I have seen the Jean Baptiste saxes and the
beginner models look a lot more poorly constructed that my "pro" model
Monique. I have also seen the Monique clarinet and I wouldn't give you a
nickel for it.

When you get to the brands like Winston, Jean Baptiste, Monique, etc. they
are all basically stencils made by some anonymous builders in Taiwan and
China. From what I've seen of the Winstons and some of the others, their
"higher" end models sell in the same price range as an intermediate Yamaha,
maybe a bit cheaper. Some of them are quite nice sounding horns. I played
a Winston Tenor that was really quite nice. In the case of the Monique - I
paid $355 for a very usable soprano sax - you can't beat that, even a Yamaha
475 is much more expensive.

However, I would NEVER saddle a beginner with the entry level horn with any
of these stencil brands. They are not on a par with the entry level horns
of the "name" brands. And, when you talk about saxophones, the Yamaha
beginner horns are a cut above everything else in my experience. However,
for a doubler one of the Taiwanese horns can be a great bargain and work
very well If the buyer knows how to pick a horn. Even then, there are used
horns out there. I'm actually very happy with my Monique soprano and
consider it one of those rare incredible deals one stumbles on only very
occassionally.

Sherry Katz

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