SOPR500 Artist Series Eb Sopranino Saxophone with Case and Accessories

First piece of advice - don't order a Vandoren mouthpiece until you have tried the one that comes with it. Maybe the Vandoren would make it *really* amazing - I haven't tried the one I ordered yet.....! I just ordered it in case the mouthpiece it came with was impossible. It isn't. (At least with a Rovner lig - I haven't used a metal lig since the Rovners came out when I was in high school.)Plays like a dream, and in tune. Now I don't say that I don't adjust for intonation, so I have no idea how it would be for a beginner, but who begins on sopranino?! I also don't know if others would find the tiny thing claustrophobic or not (I had never even *seen* a sopranino until this one came in the mail, and I was worried about that), but I don't. I love it, love it, love it!I was leery of the metal thumb hook, as my tenor (Yamaha), alto (Yanagisawa), and soprano (Selmer) all have plastic hooks, but it turned out to be quite comfortable and perfectly adjusted out of the box.It came with a reed, of all things! I think it was a #2, as it gave out fairly fast. It gave me a good idea before it did, though, so I also advise not ordering reeds until you have tried it with the one it comes with. Or ordering #3 to start, on my assumption that what it came with was #2.I feel like Ronny Howard in The Music Man! Look at this beautiful shiny thing!

I'm pretty new at the Sax, so I started out with a cheaper LJ Hutchens horn (good Trumpets)... but I struggled with getting my notes to sound right.. couldn't get any note to play below the D, and I had lots of issues with squeaks and over-tones.. So I spent a about twice as much for this one, and its like night and day.. I can now play all the notes from top to bottom.. B flat to the high Fs.. I can get soft tones, or very loud.. I have so much more control over how I sound... totally worth it..I used to always shrug off those reviews that said the cheaper horns aren't worth it.. but now, I kind of agree.. I think I may actually love playing now, since I can make actual music, instead of sounding like a goose all the time... Of course, I don't know how long it will last yet... but its sure starting off well...