Features:

  • Eb E-flat bent alto saxophone with high F#.
  • Made of bronze, antique finish.Special surface carve pattern design.
  • Water-resistant leather pads and bluing steel needle.
  • Comfortable shell key inlays.
  • Comes with carrying case, mouthpiece, straps, cleaning cloth, brush, grease, gloves.
I love this little sax and so does everyone else

This is one gorgeous saxophone. I thought the color was good, but it was the abalone key touches that really set my heart beating. Everyone says the color is great. That said, it plays very well and nicely in-tune, right out of the box. Removing all of the little protective foam bits took a few minutes, but it wasn't an onerous task. I'm sure that my little sax is not as nice as my bandmate's Yanigasawa, but I could buy ten of these for what a new Yani will run me, and as an amateur musician, qualities I couldn't take advantage of. Our director complimented the alto saxes at our last performance, saying that we sounded really good. When combined with a Meyer 5 mouthpiece and a 2.75 Legere synthetic reed, I'm holding magic in my hands — I can play freely and really enjoy making music — and that is what it's all about.

Impressed!

I'll have to admit I was a bit nervous about buying a sax for so cheap, but this turned out to be a worthy instrument. Everything was securely packaged and arrived in mint condition. All the notes play well and sound great, even better than the old Selmer Bundy I played in high school. I highly recommend purchasing a professional grade mouthpiece and neck strap. This horn is perfect for an older player like me who can't afford a several thousand dollar instrument but greatly missed having a sax. Parents, don't hesitate to get this sax for little beginners!

Amazing buy, completely worth the money!

I have researched countless saxophones on Amazon and other low budget sellers, but this one and Ammoon's other model, the professional grade one, were the best you can buy right now on Amazon. The price is extremely low for what you get. The horn played spectacular with the given mouthpiece and reed. Te mouthpiece is modeled after the selmer 9c or 8c, and it does an amazing job. I love this sax, but haven't compared it to the other model yet, so I do not know which is better. But, as for this, it is the best you can buy, in my eyes, on Amazon. I owned a Yamaha Student model saxophone and was looking around for upgrades. I noticed only better saxes started at 1,000 bucks used. So, I was looking around and saw cheaper, working saxes. I realized why they can sell these so cheap and why they work. See, back then, they never had the software and machine analyzing they have now, for high precision cutting, welding, and assembling, as they do now. Old saxes were made with much better quality material, but the only reason they are expensive is because of that, and because they market them with quality name like Selmer, and Yamaha, simply because they can. These new brands are forced to reduce their titles and sell cheaper. Consumers can now get sounds out of these like never before. I compared this to my Yamaha YAS student model, which is not bad at all, and it was pretty identical. Low notes have to get worked in a little more, but everything else is great.

Amazing value for a solid saxophone!

At the time of purchase, this was $299. Found this horn through Jay Metcalf's BetterSax video comparing it to his professional sax. Pros: 1. Solid keywork throughout. The upper stack is super solid. The bottom stack has the *slightest* play on the F key, but so little as to be difficult to show. 2. No leaks/level keys. Leak light test as well as the nitrile glove over the bell shows this to be a very airtight horn. 3. Soldered joints all looks great. No mess, no extra solder or scarring around the various points 4. Intonation is quite good overall. 5. Very quiet key action and good spring response overall. 6. The bell notes speak easily and don't need undue breath pressure to sound and play in tune. 7. A very solid feeling instrument. I get no sense that this is a fragile thing that will be readily knocked out of alignment. 8. The sax fits very nicely in the case and the case is of good quality, assuming the zippers hold up long term. Cons: 1. No cork grease. No biggie as I have plenty, but it does say it comes with it. 2. The cork is crazily too big/fat. I could barely get the supplied mouthpiece on it, and my Vandoren V16 had no chance. I had to get a hobby knife and go to town on it. I have a a lot of work to do before it's going to fit readily. I ended up rewrapping it with string (as shown in the neck photo) 3. The neck octave pad closes, but isn't centered. Doesn't appear to be an issue (still make a seal), but the only non-perfect pad fitment I've found so far). Shown in photo 4. The neck tenon was a bit rough, but a bit of time with some steel wool got it nice and smooth. 5. Finish is a bit uneven, though overall quite attractive. 6. The end plug is attached to the fluffy thing I won't use, and the end plug doesn't fit in the horn with being attached to the fluff rod. Again, I have a spare end plug, so no big deal for me, but if you don't, and don't want to use the fluff rod, you'll have to purchase one. 7. The edge of the bell, where it is roll down, is pretty rough. I don't suspect I'll injure myself when handling it there, but it's one of the only signs of the "cheapness" of the instrument. I'd likely give it 4 out of 5 stars if it was a more expensive horn ($600 or more), but for $300, these negatives are nits and should not keep anyone from not considering this instrument. Now, I can't say they'll all be this good, but mine is a great starter saxophone and will serve me well undoubtedly for years to come.

Needs to be rated higher than 5 star

I saw a review of this alto https://youtu.be/m3tPErM0P6o and it sounded too good to be true but after reassurance I went ahead. I followed his link and after a discount coupons and getting an Amazon credit card it ended up $207. I did get the other color that the reviewer had. There is another demo on You tube. https://youtu.be/H12JAVAT0Es that really put me over the edge. Well it showed up about 8 hrs ahead of time. To maybe coin a new word, amazoningly fast. I haven't found anything wrong with it. I am no expert. I did get the antique brass as I liked the P. Mauriet dark lacquer or vintage horns with the lacquer removed or worn off look. I was afraid that it would look phony but it was nicely done but still on the shiny side due to it's newness. First played it with my mp and have to work on the cork to get the mp far enough in to check out the tuning. It definitely does not feel cheap and flimsy like most of the cheap student altos that i have tested in the past. Never had a new alto and have played a Buesher top hat and cain for years but sold that over 30 years ago. Switched to alto sax about a year ago and started with an old Hunter NY (Chinese) alto playing in a big band. Paid about $100 more than the Ammoon (after repairs) so if I had to do it again I would go with the Ammoon over a used student sax. Another unexpected plus for me. After spending more time with the horn I think I found a solution for my problem getting low notes on my other alto. I was using my current mouthpiece (no markings) and reed to test the Ammoon and was having the identical issue with low notes. Got out the Ammoon mouthpiece and reed that came with it and the issue improved but the overall sound was not good. I then put my higher strength reed on the Ammoon mouthpiece and it became playable for the entire range. Put that combination on my old alto and found that now that is playable for the entire range. I am now on a hunt for a new mouthpiece. Based on the age of my other Chinese made alto which is similar in quality I am confident this will stand the test of time.

... plays and he said the only thing he doesn't like about it is the new smell and the 2 ...

My son plays and he said the only thing he doesn't like about it is the new smell and the 2 1/2 in reeds, he uses 3 1/2. He loves the look and weight and sound!

Quality construction and superb sound (LADE brand).

The saxophone I received bears name LADE on the bell, with smaller engraving below "Design by USA". No serial number on the horn. So this review is about LADE brand alto, not Ammoon advertised on Amazon page. Regardless, I am happy with the purchase anyway and don't care of the name. All I care is play-ability, construction, material and of course the sound of the instrument. Very good quality horn. More like intermediate level instrument. Rich sound. Looks fantastic, too. Keywork is solid, pads even and centered. Nothing is lose, sticks or binding. Easy to blow. I cannot comment about longevity so far, but I am very happy about the purchase. It came with a bunch of handy care accessories, too, and a nice semi-rigid case. The stock mouthpiece leaves a lot to be desired, so I swapped it with Yamaha 4C mouthpiece and Vandoren 2-1/2 V16 reeds.

(Updated) Incredible! But throw away the ligature and probably ...

the bamboo reeds. Yes, bamboo! A very cheap (like 5x) cheaper material than true reed. I'm an beginner to intermediate clarinetist who was looking for the cheapest, entry-level but playable sax and saw the betterSax guys review and purchased this right away. It came very fast (despite a weird thing about being delivered to a different state) and everything was okay (meh, except the register/octave key had a broken part but was easily fixed). But we (son plays clarinet as well) had trouble with the lower tones (common problem). After much frustration (it couldn't be us, right!) I tried the cheapest clarinet ligature instead and voila! No problem playing it. Even with the bamboo reeds, which sound pretty terrible (again, can't be something I'm doing, right?). I've got a Legere plastic reed on order and will report back on that. I've gone back and forth between the ligatures and just can't get a decent, continuous sound out of the supplied ligature. Also, the neck strap is just too long, even for me (6' male). So I've tried attaching it to a different spot that seems to work better both for the height and balance. See pic. But a playable sax for this price? It's incredible. We're having a blast. AND the company was good about responding to my shipping (non) issue. How great is that? UPDATE (3/14) I figured out they'd included a shorter neck strap. It isn't comfortable but works better and the balance is better when using the main attachment on the sax. Just got a Legere plastic reed in and YES, throw away the bamboo reeds, but keep the mouthpiece. I did buy a Yamaha 4C mouthpiece and didn't find any much difference with the stock mouthpiece they shipped with the kit. And honestly, with the bamboo reeds, they worked, I could play all the way down and up (2 octaves) they just didn't have a great tone. If you're just wanting to start off and get running, they're perfectly fine. So, new ligature and reed and you'll be off and running!

It plays GREAT..

I've had this alto for about 3 weeks now. It plays GREAT... from the Bb low register all the way to high G. It's air tight so far. I plan on experimenting with other mouthpieces in the future, but sounds really warm with the plastic mouthpiece that it came with and my Rovner ligature that I added to it. This horn most definitely has professional features (the action could be better... but I really can't complain though). The only negatives I can see at this point is that some screws and metal ornament structures are kind of rough and should have been filed smoother and felt cushion material from my G# key came off, but I glued it back on now problem. For the price, this is a great instrument. I use it every day as a practice instrument.

Worth Every Last Penny

I will be very honest, my expectations for this horn were low, extremely low. For the price offered on here for this as a new horn, I can think of countless times I have spent more than this for an average beat up used horn. It arrived in a box, and within the box was a plastic bag like covering, with the case and saxophone inside. The saxophone was well packaged for shipping, with padding applied to the keys to keep them secure and damage free for shipping. This alone already impressed me. I picked the horn up, and it’s heavier than I expected. It’s built pretty solid in my opinion. After removing the protective cushions between the keys, I immediately checked the action of the keys. It’s a good feel, decent ergonomics, and will improve once broken in. The cork is bone dry, add liberal amounts of cork grease before applying the mouthpiece. First note, a concert Bb tuning note, G on the Eb alto sax. I adjusted and tuned it quickly. I jumped an octave, and the intonation was unaffected. The intonation on this is better than some intermediate horns I have played. After playing a few tunes, here are my initial thoughts. More bang for your buck. Great starter sax, a great sax for those who haven’t played in years and want to pick back up on it, or a solid backup horn. This sax is capable of being your primary horn too if finances are a little tight, and you can’t afford a big name sax. It does what it is made to do, plays music. I primarily play jazz, and it produces a decent tone and the keywork has been suitable for my needs. Still blown away. It is beautiful, with some flaws noted in the finish, for the price, I could care less. It has a vintage appearance to it, and looks very similar to my P Mauriat 66r Tenor Sax. I would recommend this horn to any beginner, intermediate player who needs a horn for an absolute bargain. I am going to take this a step further and purchase their soprano next. I totally think you should give this horn a shot. Though the price is scary cheap, I am not in the least bit disappointed.

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