WHY YOU SHOULD BUY MY SAXOPHONES AND THE TRUTH ABOUT TAIWANESE INSTRUMENTS

About twenty years ago some distributors started importing saxophones made in Taiwan to the US with some success. Some of them were multi-colored and while this was an innovative concept as the quality of workmanship was not great and repairman usually referred to them as garbage.  They frequently played out of tune and broke down and in some cases were hard to repair because the metal was soft causing threads to strip easily and  posts to bend. Primarily the reason for poor quality control was inexperience, but that's changed.

I have been in the mouthpiece business for over twenty years and in the first few years my workmanship and concepts were not what they are now. After ten years I got better but I still had a lot to learn so I went back to school and studied engineering. As with any business there is a learning curve and I peaked out after about being in the business for about fifteen years although I am still learning but in smaller increments. Experience is paramount in life and a great contributor to my success was the fact that my saxophone playing improved and I was exposed to more extremely high level saxophone players.

In manufacturing, you have two main components, technology and the quality of the finished product. With saxophones, it took many years for companies like Selmer, Yamaha, and Yanagisawa to find the optimum tone hole placement and size and while this was through trial and error, it still falls under technology. Optimum tone hole size and placement is important for good  intonation and an even scale and while there may be things you don't like about new saxophones they do play more in tune and the scale is more even. The Taiwanese copied all of the technology of Selmer, Yanagisawa, and Yamaha.

A LITTLE ABOUT CRAFTSMANSHIP

Over the years after acquiring a reputable name in the business  I started to receive offers from saxophone manufacturers in Taiwan and China to provide a private label saxophone with the Phil Barone name but, having heard so much negative feedback from saxophone players, I always turned down these offers out of fear that the quality of the horns would not be of sufficient quality to bear the Phil Barone name, Until recently.  A small Taiwanese company sprung up bearing a French name and dressed themselves up as being French and the saxophones themselves to be Ffench even of saying  "Paris" on the Bell just like a Selmer. However, they are Taiwanese and the company is completely Taiwanese. I think you may know who I am talking about because they are taking the sax world by storm. However, they are excellent saxophones and several top players are using them including James Carter. I am selling the same saxophone but at a much lower price.

ARE ALL TAIWANESE SAXOPHONES EQUAL?

Yes, pretty much with some small exceptions.  Most saxophones from Taiwan are what are referred to as "private label" products. Private label products are products that manufacturing companies make for individuals, distributors, or companies that don't want to, or can't, make their own products.  There are many advantages to private labeled products for both parties. Some advantages that come to mind right away are that the individual selling the product can focus their attention on selling the product and not having to make it.  Making your own product is very expensive because it requires machinery, materials, rental space, employees, and many other variables that cause tremendous expense. Under these circumstances, the company making the product also benefits because they don't have to spend as much money on advertising and all the expenses that go along with selling a product.

In Taiwan the various brands of saxophones are all coming from the same region. The parts of the saxophones are made at different companies by families that specialize in making a specific part or parts.  One family may make the neck, another family might make the keys etc. Then, the final assembly shop will purchase all the parts they need to assemble a complete saxophone. They don't make any parts, just assemble the saxophones from parts made around the country.

 Then, you have individuals that are brokers or agents that sell the saxophones on eBay or by other methods, Some of them sell other products as well, like car parts. So, are all Taiwanese saxophones created equal? Yes, with some minor differences. In some cases you may have two families making, let's say, a key guard so there will be a cosmetic difference or since they are assembled by different people there may be some differences in key height. But provided the people assembling them are qualified then the saxophones are the same. This is called repeatability in manufacturing but where hand-work or the use of organic components are used like pads repeatability is compromised.  To date, I have purchased enough of these horns to say that the repeatability amongst the Taiwanese makers is superb and I'm putting my name and reputation on the line by stating it.

WHY YOU SHOULD BUY MY SAXOPHONES

The saxophones I am offering to you are easily as good as ANY saxophone including any Selmer, Yanagasawa, or Yamaha BUT, I have cut out the distributors and the dealers so you can get the best possible price.  A saxophone of this quality at this price is unheard of. AND GET THIS! You will also get one of my custom necks AND one of my professional hand-made hard rubber mouthpieces in your choice of any facing you want worth over FIVE-HUNDRED BUCKS! Now, you no longer have to buy a student model saxophone, get a Phil Barone saxophone and go pro!

WHY YOU SHOULD BE CAREFUL IN THE MARKET

As I mentioned earlier products that are being made by companies new in a specific business are not always good and take time to evolve into a high quality product due to the time it takes to refine the item and for many years this is why I didn't sell these saxophones. Presently China is in the learning curve of the process of making the saxophone and I purchased one so I could see for myself what they were like.  I was very disappointed by the quality of workmanship and playability. The scale was uneven and the sax played out of tune.  However, the sax cost me $200.00 and I stood to make MUCH more profit on each sax had I purchased my saxophones from China but since I'm in this business for the long-run I didn't have it in me to put it on the market.

I've been watching other people selling saxophones and most of them are from China but the prices are like that of people selling Taiwanese horns. BEWARE, most of the saxophones are from China, not Taiwan.

JUST ONE ENDORSEMENT

I received yesterday a Phil Barone gold-plated tenor saxophone, which is affectionately nicknamed, the "Maurone." This is my review of the horn. The nickname is because Phil tells us that this horn is the same as a P. Mouriat, made at the same factory from the same materials using the same assembly line. Another member at SOTW suggested the name. The only difference we are told is that this horn comes with a Barone gold-plated neck. The finish is beautiful. Gold is gold, and there is no prettier finish in my view. Being new, the horn is, of course, spotless. Phil's logo (shown below) on the right side of the bell, and a simple floral pattern on the front are a class act. This price includes a Barone neck and HR mouthpiece.

Phil told me the horn came to him direct from the factory and might need some setup by a local tech to check for leaks, adjustments, etc. I'll do that, eventually, but I gave it my own leak light test this morning and found no leaks. Everything seems to work and there are no intonation problems. The best way to compare this horn is to put it side by side with another contemporary tenor sax. I have a Selmer Reference 54 Limited Edition, also pristine. The current price for this horn from saxforte is $5,139. Side by side, both horns look great. But gold is gold, and the PB's gold finish is more pleasing to my eye than the 54's rose-gold lacquer finish. But how do they stack up when played?

First, they feel almost the same. The layouts are almost identical. The 54's front F key is a round, MOP button, whereas the PB's is an oval brass button. The PB's low Bb LH spatula button is a bit larger with a raised curved lip at the bottom, which the 54 does not have, but something I don't really notice when I play. Someone with a larger hand might tell a difference. Both horns have high F# keys in the same location and the same shape. Playing? Both horns are monsters. Intonation up and down are excellent. The tones are similar. A player with a more refined ear (as in no hearing loss) might find the Ref a

shade darker. Sometimes it seems that way to me and other times not. The two horns are so close, that, except for that octave key, I don't know whether I could tell you blindfolded which one I'm playing. Both horns project well and have solid core sounds. They both handle low note sub-tones very nicely. I cannot speak about long term durability or how each horn will hold its value in the marketplace. I can't even guess. Both horns are way too new to achieve any mystique or aura of collectability just now. But if you are thinking about buying a new tenor saxophone and the Reference 54 has caught your fancy, I know where you can save about $4000.