Eastar SS-Ⅱ Soprano Saxophone Bb Flat Sax for Student Beginner Professional, Cleaning Cloth, Carrying Case, Mouthpiece, Neck Strap, Reeds, Stand, Golden

My background: I have been playing the sax for over 30 years. I primarily Play Gospel and Jazz, but have played in a Grateful Dead cover band for several years as well. I play presently in a Jazz and gospel group and for my church. I have recorded with local talent as well.Before you play: This sax is shipped extremely secure. Various keys are corked to assure they do not shift during shipping and handling. NOTE: BE SURE TO REMOVE ALL OF THE SHIPPING CORKS BEFORE TRYING TO GET A SOUND OUT. I THOUGHT I GOT ALL OF THE CORKS OUT BUT MISSED ONE HIDDEN HIGHER UP IN THE NECK. THE HORN SOUNDED TERRIBLE. I WAS ABOUT TO SEND IT BACK, BUT FIGURED IT OUT.1st Impressions: I used the reeds in the box, and the mouth piece provided. This is usually never recommended, but I brought the sax to church to test it out and forgot my normal reeds and mouthpiece. OUT OF THE BOX THIS HORN PLAYED MAGNIFICENTLY, STAYING IN TUNE THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE REGISTER AND I EVEN GOT ALTISSIMO NOTES OUT. The notes were clear, clean, resonated throughout the church. I hate the comparison but my Keyboard player and organist said the sound was like Kenny G (note: Kenny G is like the only sax player people seem to know, I have played with several soprano saxes over the years always being told I sound like Kenny G. Not an insult by any means but trust, to a real sax player, I'm good, but I'm no Kenny G) Yes I had to make some minor adjustments to my reed set up to get the sound I wanted but once I did that it was shear heaven. The key actions were great, the sound throughout the registers were effortless,even the lowest notes came out strong and clear.Buyer Beware: Having said all of that, let's get some obvious things out of the way. This is an inexpensive horn, crafted of the low grade/typical metals that these horns are made of. It was probably made on a basic assembly line and handled like bulkware, not like a specialized high end horn. I bought 3 similarly priced horns on Amazon, all of them were awful out of the box. I sent them back immediately. I am mostly an alto sax player spending as much as $1900.00 for an alto horn. I was NEVER going to spend more than $400.00 on a soprano I might play 3 times in a 3 hour gig. My last Soprano was also bought off of Amazon. It played very good (not this good) But at a gig someone knocked it off of stage SO...... My advice: Definitely buy this horn, give it a try. Amazon is very easy with its' return policy. Keep the original box and all of the accessories. Hopefully your experience will be the same as mine. If not return it and try another low end brand. Like I said earlier I bought 3 low cost soprano saxes and sent them all back before I tried this one. If you're a first time player I would not recommend the Soprano. The embouchure is the least forgiving, and can be very fickle. It is possible that the poor sound quality could be you and not the horn. If you have been playing a while and want to move to the Soprano I think this is a good offering. If you do happen to buy this sax and love it, take great care of it. Don't leave it in your car or anywhere it will be exposed to extreme temperatures. Sopranos in general fall out of tune quite easily, and most repair shops refuse to work on low end saxes because they can't get them back in tune.Final Thoughts: If you are looking for an inexpensive Soprano Sax that can give you, (OK I'll say it) a Kenny G sweet rich sound, but can also handle some punch from an upbeat jazz lick, take a good hard look at this horn. I really hope your experience is as good as mine was. P.S. Oh yeah they also included a really nice Soprano sax stand too.

First up - I don't normally bother with submitting reviews, life's too short. I'm a musician of some years experience, mainly in the studio behind a recording console, but I have played saxophone on and off for a few decades. I decided to try this soprano as an alternative to my expensive Yamaha tenor. I made a good decision - this is a really sweet little horn (for the money) - mine plays faultlessly straight out the box. I bought a Rico M7 mouthpiece and La Voz soft reeds as the m/p and reed combination is highly important. I find this horn to be rock solid as far as intonation goes, the action is slick, and the build quality is up to scratch. I DID discern a difference between the curved and the straight necks - the curved one is trickier for certain notes as far as pitch goes.All that being said, this is not a sax for a beginner in any manner. One needs a MATURE embouchure to be in tune throughout the entire range. And good ears - that's the trick with soprano sax - trained ears and an established embouchure.Beginners need 2 or 3 years on alto or tenor first before even picking up a soprano saxophone. Case, included mouthpiece, accessories etc etc - I didn't care about those so I won't comment, but the folding stand they include is useful!Can't fault this sax for the money... 10/10

Instrument build quality was so poor. Valve leak prevents instrument from playing. Don't waste your time and money with this hunk of cheap pop metal.

This is the second Eastar product that I have purchased. I bought an Eastar Alto Sax Feb 2021. Perfectly satisfied with that horn so I purchased this Eastar Soprano Sax in June 22. I am completely satisfied and happy with with my new horn. No issues at all, no leaks, no loose mechanical parts. Everything is real tight. And, it sounds like a dream. I also purchased a Yamaha 4C soprano mouthpiece, a an-do-er Leather Ligature, Rico 2.5 when I ordered this horn reeds based on my experience with the Eastar Alto Sax.NOTE: This review is based on my experience with my Eastar alto sax as well as my experience with my Eastar soprano sax.Here is my advice based on both Eastar purchases that I made.5 Stars for the following itemsKeep the following from the package:Hornhorn neck(s) (two in the case of the soprano)stand (that came with the soprano)neck strap.cloth swabs (they are blue)Give the cleaning cloths and white cotton gloves to someone who needs them.BEWARE! If you try to use the mouthpiece, ligature and reeds that come with the horn you will be sorely disappointed. Especially if you are buying for a young aspiring saxophonist.0 Stars for everything elseThrow everything else away. (REALLY) Just toss it all out. It's garbage. If you keep and try to use that stuff it will just lead to frustration and agony. You'll probably blame the horn. The garbage list includes: reeds, ligature, mouthpiece, the big fluffy thing that pretends to be a cleaning tool.What you will need to buy for a student in addition to this excellent saxophone is as follows:Yamaha 4C mouthpiece - ~$30Rico 2.5 reeds - ~$10a good ligature - I bought a an-do-er Leather Ligature Fastener with Plastic Cap for Soprano Sax for $12 and am very happy with it.So, to have a full package for yourself OR especially for a new student you will need to spend about $50 extra bucks. BUT, IT WILL BE WELL WORTH IT!5 stars for shipping & packagingAlso, this horn is shipped with an excellent packaging plan. The mechanical moving parts are secured by small pieces of cork that are wedged into key places to keep the parts from getting jarred out of wack during shipping. If you are not a sax player or have knowledge about saxophones you will want to get some help to make sure the horn is free from all of these cork wedges.

Shipping was good with no damage. The Soprano looks good and plays good with La Voz Soft reeds. The neck tenons fit pretty well both straight and bent necks. The low notes play easily and the high notes up to high E. Above that is a challenge. The mouth piece and ligature work but the ligature had sharp edges and screws that had to be smoothed out. The neck strap and stand work fine also.