Thomann Antique Soprano Sax Reviews

I am a flute player, new to Sax.

I read reviews etc, but still needed to buy this “blind” without trying it. I also had not played the Sax before so I needed to learn. The instrument turned out to be good, and was not holding me back in any way. It has a good tone, and is in good tune when I use my Vandoren 1.5 gauge reeds. As a flute player I needed how to blow the instrument correctly, but I once I discovered I needed light reeds, it all fell into place. The Sax is now part of my woodwind tools along with flutes, whistles and recorders. It brings a wonderful plaintiff, powerful tone.

Impressed, with one caveat

I've been playing Alto (Yamaha YAS62) for a few years and bought this economy instrument as a more economic alternative to renting . Even if I did not get on with it after a few months I could resell with a small loss.

For the price this is a very good instrument, I understand it is likely based on Yangisawa soprano. I do not use the supplied mouthpiece (I replaced with Yamaha 6C and a Vandoren no 2 reed).

I found it plays in tune even in high register. The keywork is nice and easy, after slight adjustment of the low C and Eb roller keys. Moving from the Yamaha alto was not too difficult, the main issue I have is adopting a different posture while playing, which is of course not a fault with the instruments ;) The build quality seems good although I believe it would be very easy to bend key arms accidently (I found when adjusting C and Eb), so it needs to be handled with care.

The single real issue I have is that the front F key (aux F) does not work on my sax. The reason is that it doesn't close the B key completely. I cannot see any way that I can adjust it, as it does not seem large enough to do the job... so I have no choice but to use palm keys for high F, which when moving from C , for example is not that fast. For many starter players this may not be a concern. All in all very happy with it.

A surprise in relation to its price.

On this saxophone I can say that it is an excellent option for those with a low budget. The position of the keys could probably be better and the bag could be a little bigger and provide a shoulder strap.

Since it is my first saxophone i don't have much to compare it to. Even with 2 months of daily practice, it does not sound anything like the sample recordings ( which sounded almost clarinet like ), it sounds nice, but more like an alto saxophone than that sax-clarinet sound I was after, but i guess it's mostly me and my tone and mouth-throat anatomy. It plays in tune with the mouthpiece shoved almost all the way down the cork ( even though most of the tuning comes from your embouchure and throat, takes time to control intonation) Some keys were sticky as it came out of the box and still are to this day, no matter how much i clean them ( and i clean all the pads after every practice session ) and let the horn air dry. The mouthpiece it came with was garbage, very poorly made. I bought a decent mouthpiece and it really made the difference! The case is of good quality materials. It includes a pair of white gloves and keys to the case.

Overall it's a good purchase, I am very satisfied with it and would surely recommend it as a starter soprano, even though i think i am going to hold on to it for a long time!

Excellent starter instrument. Needed a new mouthpiece and a quick service to play in tune, but still a definite bargain. Got up to Grade 8 standard with it.