Is this a respectable sax and fair deal?

[saxomonica]

[john springer]

Well, my Selmer La-Voix arrived. I believe it came directly from the factory. It was professionally wrapped in plastic and tissue and had all of the pad-locks in place. It also came with original brochure. The case smells new and every thing is pristine. It even came with a 2.5 reed, MP, cork grease, soft cloth, and a hard case with software outer shell and back straps. Everything needed to start playing immediately.

The first thing that I noticed is that it is lighter than my Jupiter 760 – perhaps by %30. I was able to play it longer without my back and neck complaining too much.
The other thing that I noticed is how responsive the keys are. The slightest relaxing of my fingers starts changing the notes as the pad starts to lift sooner than I am used to. Also, it is easier to blow through it. This was unexpected. It seems less congested and requires less force to get the low notes to start. It also switch to high register very easy – do not even need to use the octave key.

The other thing that I noticed is that even though I am using my own MP, the sax more responsive to changes in my embouchure than the Jupiter. This is a little frustrating because, it keeps playing unexpected overtones. I will count that as a plus, although I feel I have regressed about a month in my intonation control. However; I believe I will get used to it in a couple of days. The timbre seems comparable to my Jupiter.

So far, I am really happy with this purchase.

In summary, I feel I now know some of the differences in student model and professional sax and in my opinion, buying a professional sax for a beginner may not be a service to them.
1) Professional sax is lighter – which is not very appreciable if you are sitting in a chair for only 30-45 mins, but is appreciable if standing for a while such as when performing in a band on stage.
2) Professional sax lets me all too easy play out of tune – meaning it does exactly what my mouth tells it to do instead of what I want it to do (LOL). This could be frustrating to a beginner.
3) There is not any noticeable change in the sound quality over that of my good student model
4) Name brand and engravings are nice, but they cost money and do not add to the sound.

Although I have only been playing for two months now, considering all of the above pros/cons of purchasing a higher-end sax, for me the time seems right. I did not out grow my student model by any means – however; I feel that I am at a point where the differences are tolerable and appreciated (though not needed). I upgraded because I wanted to not because I needed to. The Jupiter plays well I think. But I know I will not outgrow my Selmer and it makes me look good as long as I do not play – ha ha.

Got to go, its time to practice…

[Mel]

Sounds like a good deal worked out. Enjoy!

[Author]

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