Ive seen alot of bad reviews from people who have only heard from a "friend" of theirs that helmke saxes are no good at all. I have played on alot of saxes before and I have got to say that this one is IMO about right next to the some of the selmer models. For those of you that want to buy one as an intermediate type of sax, I really recommend you do so. I have heard alot of rumors saying that saxophone will start to break down in year or a little bit more. I have a tenor helmke saxophone of my own that my unlce has was using for about 10 years until he gave it to me my 7th grade year. Up till now, have havent had any problems with this saxophone other than things that were totally my fault. The tone is really good. I play on a vandorean T15 mouthpiece with #4 strength vandorean reeds.

So if you are planning on buying a helmke i suggest that you replace the springs. The keys did not pop up as quickly as I have seen on other saxes that a have played on. If you have any questions about this brand feel free to message me or post a reply