Schiller Bari Sax Review

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One of the instruments I bought for my school early on was a baritone saxophone. Without enough money to purchase the standard, school-approved, Yamaha YBS-52, I opted for a Keilwerth ST-90. It was not the best choice.

Now, it is true that the school baritone saxophone is often abused, mistreated, and uncared for. But the instrument we received has never been as good as I hoped (except it did start off nice and shiny). Tone is a little thin, but pitch (especially in the upper register) is difficult to control. The keywork has been solid (getting repaired just fine after being banged around and dropped), but the thumb rest seems poorly designed (it slips and slides around the screw that is supposed to hold it). The shows more than its age (8 years)--after all, it mostly stays in the band room. All that said, I feel pretty good about putting the Keilwerth bari in the hands of a 7th grader. I'm not worried about it getting busted, and so it still serves a useful purpose.

I present all this about the Keilwerth bari to provide a contrast with the Schiller model we got two years ago. It comes in a hard case (with wheels!) and our model has a matte gold finish. I have only let the older bari players (high school) play it regularly, and so it has perhaps been treated a little better than our first bari. It has suffered some knocks and scrapes, but the finish still looks good. It has had a couple adjustments at the shop after these bruises with no problems.

The sound on the Schiller bari is the best part. It is warm, plays in tune throughout its range, and independent sources have complimented it. We used it during both jazz bands's performances at the Eau Claire Jazz Festival, and the judges who heard it in each group praised the players and the instrument itself.

At this point, I feel pretty good recommending the bari we got.

 

Prince Music + Instruments (Review)

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Readers of this blog may note that I have tried a number of instruments from overseas and given some favorable reviews to a number of them. Since I'm looking out for a relatively small budget while trying to build up the instrument inventory and the whole band program at a newer school, I have to consider cost as a critical factor on any purchase. This has led to a pretty open mind and lots of trying of new things. For this week, I'd like to describe my experience at Prince Music Company a few weeks ago.

A couple families have asked me about the instruments carried by Prince Music, so I wanted to check out what they offer in person. The prices are comparable to some other dealers on the low end, but having a more local connection to dealers like this would be nice. Prince Music carries the most common starting instruments for band (as well as strings, though I won't be dealing with those since I don't have the expertise to do so) in up to three different models: student, student+, and intermediate.

[Why do we designate instruments this way? There are some "beginner" instruments which are fine for a student to play through high school. Also, having "professional" features on a "beginner" instrument may be a brilliant marketing tactic, but having a high-F# key on a 5th grader's saxophone is like putting 5-disc CD change on your kid's tricycle..]

I tried quite a few instruments--basically all the models available for flute, clarinet, alto and tenor sax, trumpet, and trombone. The branding appeared to be either Slade or Etude on all instruments, and several were labeled "made in China." There were marked differences between the lines (Student vs Student+ vs intermediate), and the short story of the review is to stay away from the regular Student models. 

Student

No serial numbers. Poor quality craftsmanship (evidenced by some misshapen parts, like a pad holder on a clarinet and sloppy soldering on the brass instruments). Hard to tell if the sluggish valves on the trumpet were due to mishandling or something else, but the Student line instruments all felt worse than the ones I am used to playing. Pitch was more or less fine (adequate on everything except the saxophone--as I have found common on the low end saxophones, the upper octave gets sharper and sharper the higher you go up). I brought all my own mouthpieces and reeds, so I assume that the stock mouthpieces would only sound worse (since that has been my experience so often before).

Student+

You could start a beginner on these instruments. Though I have questions remaining about how long they would last, I didn't find anything terribly wrong with the instruments in this line. The quality of the bracing and soldering on the trumpet was noticeably better. Everyone likes having a serial number on their instrument, so that's another plus! The saxophone Student+ is only $50 more than the student model, and that extra $50 gets you something that is perhaps worthwhile to play. While I think there are better options out there, the Student+ models that I tried would at least be okay to start a student on.

Intermediate

I'm really not sure what the real-world difference between "Intermediate" and any other type of instrument is. The term seems to be used to push people into a more expensive purchase with the illusion of quality. You don't want a professional instrument yet? Okay, how about something at the intermediate level?

In the case of the Intermediate instruments at Prince Music, I found very little separating them from the Student+ line. When I pick up my own Bach Stradivarius (model 37), I immediately notice some pretty significant differences compared to my Getzen-made trumpet. The differences between the Student+ and Intermediate level instruments seemed to be negligible. For instance, both the Student+ and Intermediate trumpets have a rose-brass lead pipe. Does the Intermediate instrument have a better tone? Maybe, but it would take more side-by-side playing to figure it out, and if you're wanting to do that, you probably don't want to be looking at the cheapest line of instruments you can find.

Summary

While the Student+ (and Intermediate) instruments tended to play fine, the considerably lower quality of the Student line raises doubts in my mind about all the instruments. I would not want a student on one of the Student instruments, and I would also be hesitant to try buying one of the others without some sort of guarantee on it.

instrument review: Anthem A-2000 alto sax

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Updated 10/21 – This seems to be a popular page--see some added info at the bottom, and comment or email me if you have additional questions.

Every year I've been to the Eau Claire Jazz Festival with my school jazz band, I hope to win an instrument from their raffle. It has been disappointing in the past that my students haven't always tried to complete and turn in their clinic cards to have a shot at doing so, so I was pleased this past April when everyone actually did what I told them to. There was no drawing at the evening performance, however, so I was surprised when a few weeks later I heard from a rep from the festival that said we had won a new alto sax!

What is Anthem? From what I can gather, the company appears similar to Accent instruments. The horns stamped with their label are only available through certain stores throughout the US. Instruments are made overseas (in Anthem's case, in China), and are purported to have a high degree of quality control. In the case of this Alto, it was provided as a prize by Schmitt Music. You can find Anthem's web presence here.

On to the saxophone itself. First off, it reminds me to some degree of the Cannonball student alto in its weight. It's heavier than the used Yamaha and Vito models commonly found in student hands. It's clearly labeled "Made in China" by the serial number (something other newer brands seem hesitant to mark) and has the brand and model stenciled on the bell. The case is not fancy but seems sturdy and definitely adequate. The body of the sax is secure, and there's a designated place for the neck and mouthpiece as well as a compartment for miscellaneous items.

The saxophone I have been playing with students for the past six years was a Buescher, and I can safely say the Anthem feels better and plays better than the Buescher. The key action is nice, I didn't notice any issues with pads sealing, and I was satisfied with the tone--not as bright as I fear with a student saxophone.

As you'll hear, it plays reasonably well in tune. Again, for a student model, I think it is acceptable (the notes I expect to be sharp or flat are). Since I've only had the horn for a couple months, I can't speak to its long-term prospects. I'll update here if I have any issues.

Updates 10/21

I've been playing the Anthem saxophone several times a week with students in lessons. Nothing has broken or gone wrong so far, and I find that as I've grown used to it, I like it more. I still have no out of the ordinary issues with pitch, and no problems with response (other than my own lack of aptitude on the saxophone). If anything, I like the tone better than at first. One thing I do despise: the design of the case includes a nylon strap connection the upper and lower sections so that it opens to a 90° angle and no further. Even if the floor is flat, the case often closes on its own because the strap is just a bit too short. Oh well.

An aspiring young saxophonist...

An aspiring young saxophonist...