Spalding - thanks for the listen and the kind words! It's NEVER too late to pick up the saxophone! So I highly encourage you to "go for it" and will be glad to offer any assist I can along the way.

So let's start here - YEP! That is an amazing bargain for $250! I watch Jay Metcalf's BetterSax videos - and I watched the one comparing this $250 axe to his $6000 Yanagisawa. I guessed correctly on which was the Chinese sax, but I told Jay that it was just a "guess" based on the sound of one note I heard in the entire video. I entered the contest and would love to have the Eastar horn. I have been playing a $700 Taiwan tenor for years and leaving my King Super 20 in the safe - just not worth hauling a high-dollar horn to a gig these days when the less expensive horns have so much quality. The $700 Maxtone horn I am playing is an exact copy of a Selmer tenor and it plays just wonderfully. In the video you saw here, I am playing a Kessler (Taiwan) tenor that I got used on Ebay for $400! So yes, based on Jay's testing of the Eastar horn, I would say you are likely to be quite happy with the sax he recommends and would have no problem playing a gig myself with one.

Hope that helps Spalding and Happy Sax Discoveries ahead!

Rikki - thanks so much! Yes, I was a little surprised the SX900 sounded as realistic as it did on the same track. There are nuances that can only be injected via the mouthpiece and breath stream (volume, inflection, and some emotion via lip and vibrato changes) that are not feasible on the keys, but if a person worked at it and selected the licks properly, the keyboard does offer a usable alternative. Thanks for the listen!

Randy,

Excellent as usual! That SX900 sax ain’t too shabby but there’s nothing like playing the real thing. I see where your dad playing piano all those late nights while you were trying to get to sleep paid off in more ways than one. Carry on Brother Randy and safe travels in your trek north.

Merry Christmas and God bless!

Thanks Brother Steve! Yep, my Dad's hammering on the piano til 3 AM almost daily with "poor me" sleeping on the other side of the wall had some advantages. I don't have a single regret. Dad loved playing his piano and when he got home he wanted to go at it. In the end, it was to my advantage. I was taken on a nightly tour through "the circle of fifths". Ha Ha.

Simply stellar...

Randy, first of all thanks for doing that demo. I am actually pretty darn amazed at how the SX Sax compares to the real one. One would not expect it to be the 'same' but I think it is terrific! What are your master EQ and compressor settings?
My SX900 arrives very soon now....