Mendini By Cecilio Tenor Saxophone - B Flat Black Golden Lacquer Saxophone for Beginner Musicians with Hard Case, Tuner, Mouthpiece, 10 Reeds, Polishing Cloth, Cleaning Rod, Gloves, Strap

I am a professional musician. For the last 25 years I've played an EWI (Yamaha's WX5 with a VL-70m synthesizer). Recently, I was asked to play sax in a local theater production of "Lobby Hero": I've got four weeks. I have not played a single reed instrument in 50 years, and never a tenor sax. My choices were--say no; borrow an alto of unknown quality; buy a sax, but money is tight. I saw several videos on Youtube demonstrating inexpensive Chinese saxophones with good mouthpieces and reeds. I was impressed!I bought the Mendini Tenor. Out of the box, it did not play. The reeds it ships with might work as kindling (I'll try in the fall when it's cooler outside) or cat toys (I won't try this, I don't want them to think reeds are fair game). I had the foresight to order a box of good reeds, when I ordered the sax. With a good reed, I got a couple of notes. The octave key would not seat properly, so I bent it a tad, it was off by about 1/32" (it could have gotten bent in shipping). I had six notes. Suspicious of the no-name mouthpiece, I went out, and bought the only named mouthpiece available in town (Prescott, AZ), a cheap Rico. I got two octaves . . . so I ordered a good mouthpiece.On day four, I got in an Otto Link Metal #7, and a Legere 2 3/4 plastic reed, just to try one. On day five. I had a solid, in tune, responsive and expressive, 2 1/2 octaves. Altissimo notes will, of course, take time, although I've got F#, easy-peasy.Several YouTube videos talked about the cheap feel of these Chinese saxophones, "the rods bend . . . feels tinny . . . hit something with it and it could break . . ." It feels solid to me. I pick it up by the bell, and I try to avoid walls, doorways, tables, and chairs when I move around with it. I treat it as if it cost $6,000, as one should.Will it last years? Will it give me altissimo notes? Will I sound like Ernie Krivda (look him up) in a month? I don't know . . . okay, I know I won't sound or play like Ernie. But for $500 (horn and mouthpiece), I have an instrument that I am confident in . . . and I have few weeks until the show goes up. Last night (day 9) was the first rehearsal where I played. Good enough, the director wants more.September 20: six weeks in and I enjoy the horn more each day. I had to tighten the roller screws for the Eb and low C keys. The lacquer on the thumb rest and the octave key is flaking off a little, but practicing 4-6 hours a day might well do that! We've had eight performances and people love the sax.

I don't understand why people don't like this line of saxophones. This is my third one from Mendini / Cecilio and I am once again more than happy with it. I also own the alto and soprano from this company and those two perform without fail!However, let's clear the air about this line of saxophones. These are NOT top of the line, high-end instruments. If you are looking for that, you need to look further. With that being said, this saxophone performs quite well. The sound is bright when it needs to be and dark when it needs to be! It can easily hold its own when playing with a band or in a church worship team. All of the keys were in perfect working order and the only adjustment that was needed was with the thumb rest.The accessories that come with it are good as well. The only thing that you will need to replace is the strap that comes with it. The strap is nothing special and cuts into your neck after a few minutes of playing. Do yourself a favor and get a padded strap!! The reeds that are included are not top of the line, but they still sound okay for what they are. If you know how to prep a reed, you can make it work for you.Overall, this saxophone (as well as the other Mendini / Cecilio horns I own) is a great horn that is perfect for beginners or someone looking to try the sax before spending major money on a high-end brand! Happy playing!!

I bought this for my daughter for an early Christmas present. Her bad instructor at school has switched her from an alto saxophone to tenor, and the school loaner is old and on its last notes. Found this one, read the reviews, most are very good, so thought this had some promise for being a good instrument. It not only lives up to its promise, it vastly surpasses it.Superior beauty aesthetically, sound is deep and rich. This is a wonderful instrument for a beginner and intermediate player, would very likely be wonderful for advanced and professional players.This came with reeds, a tuner, cleaning supplies, and a screwdriver, and instructions.Highly recommend.