My new black curved Helmke soprano sax just got in and I am very pleased with the quality of it for only $300. There are some minor adjustments that need to be made, but overall, I am extremely pleased.

it sounds like it depends what you are model or type of sax you are buying with helmke. some are good some are bad? it would be great if someone could tell me about alto helmkes. i am interested in buying one.
tx so much!!!

I bought a helmke alto sax and it works wonders I entered a solo competition and was complimented on the tone of my sax i would say it is worth while to get a helmke alto sax

Thanks Mel. they don`t look bad but the stories i here about them are pretty scary.

Hey Mel you said the tone was good and you got complemented on it, but what about the quality has anything gone wrong with it because i am looking fior an alto also and was considering Helmke but have never heardf of it and so i was just wondering

Nice discussion here.....

New Horn Players:
I suggest trying at least 5 or 10 horns before deciding on one, and make sure your first one is a used horn. As long as it`s in good shape and the pads are new it`ll be great to start on. For any horn you get, be sure to have a professional (your teacher) raise or lower the key pads from the frame to customize the action to fit your hands. Makes all the difference in the world.

HEILMKE -- Seems this is a sax made to be sold at high quantities on eBay from warehouse re-sellers like this guy:
http://stores.ebay.com/a-deal4u

This doesn`t necessarily mean the horn you would get for under $400 won`t be a decent to good horn, but chances are fairly strong against it.

For a nice deal, I lucked out with my Tenor, a Saxophone.com brand black-nickle tenor that looks, but doesn`t feel, like a Keilwerth black-nickle body&keys. NEW around $1,000, and it plays nice and smooth, almost geared for smooth jazz like an LA Sax, but more edgy and dark and the same time. No where near the quality my alto, a Selmer 1935 "Paradise Balanced Action".

Hope this helped a bit for whoever.

"Play pretty for the nice people"

- Bill Uher, 1982

Nothing has gone wrong with my alto sax yet and i still get comments on it. I have even traveled to Montreal with it and nothing has gone wrong.

I was wondering about Jupiter saxes. I heard that they aren`t very good but the review i see on the internet say the are. So i was wondering if anyone here owns one and what they think of it. Thanks!!

Thanks for the stuff about Helmke. I was thinking of getting an alto Helmke, but I probably won`t now. I play Tenor and I started on a Yamaha and then moved to a Maxtone. Be careful of Yamaha Tenors, some of the two-three year old Yamaha Tenors are falling apart, they don`t know whats wrong (thats what happened to my first Yamaha). Maxtone is amazing - it`s not very well known, but my sax is a charm to play and it was cheap. I`ve played a Maxtone piccolo before too, they do make good instruments.

i heard from a local music store that jupiter is made in china. but some people recomended it to me. like some music teachers recomend it.i have not heard anything bad about jupiter saxophones. plz keep me posted on helmke. i need to kno more.

i wanna know are the Antigua Winds tenors good for an advancing student planing to play though college. If not what is please help me.

What you play in college depends on what you are planning to do. If you plan to be in the marching band, have an inexpensive sax for the marching band.

If you plan to be a performance major, and will be playing classical music, you will need a sax that is clear and precise. This will be the top of the line models from Yamaha, Yanisagawa, Selmer Paris, or Kielwerth. Alternatively the vintage Selmer, SML, Couf, Buffet-Crampon, and some others.

If you are in a pure jazz program, the above can be used, but you can add vintage Conn, Buescher, King and Martin saxes.

College/pro level playing requires the best quality instruments.

I plan to play jazz but i dont like the older saxes to much only the Selmer Mark VI unless i find one i really like.I would like a sax with a good sound and a rounded off octave key and all the other saxophone needs nice in Tune sound good key action etc.... so can u please help me

It all depends on how much you have to spend.

If you have $ 3000-$4000, you can get just about anything you want. If you have $500, you have limited choices.

Keith I noticed in you post that you included Buffet Crampon in the list you suggest. I was led to beleive that they weren`t good horns. I was just wondering if i was told wrong or if you have a personal ecperiance with them..