For Lee, DNJ, and the others who were wondering how the SX900 sax compares to the real thing, here is a small (non-scientific) example. Here's a video I did back in 2012 playing the tenor on "God Rest Ye Gents". To facilitate a comparison, I took the backing track for this video, and (starting at about 3:45 in the backing track), I recorded a similar solo line using the "Pop Tenor" on the SX900. So, what you have here is the original video with Tenor all the way through, and then you have the MP3 file - which is my backing track starting at 3:45 or so and featuring the SX900 "Pop Tenor" for the last 50 seconds of the song.

Hope you enjoy this "Tenor Madness". HA HA. I will do more comparisons in the future - but today I am too short on time to do much more with this fun project. Hopefully, this demo helps showcase the tenor sound on the SX900. Merry Xmas!

PS - Hope you enjoy my rendition of this cool song!



Here is the MP3 file - starting at 3:45 in the backing track with SX900 Pop Tenor playing a solo...

https://app.box.com/s/dpbzfbpoxnye7it06l1yokemi4i3grej

The keyboard sax sounds very good and realistic, but of course not so wonderful as the real thing. Both were great!

Thanks Don - have to admit, the SX900 tenor man sounded better than I actually expected him to! HA HA. Thanks for listening and the kind words!

SX900 Sax Sounds very good...Your Sax Awsome...Ever try using a Expression or Volume Pedal with Sax and organs? What I loved Playing (long ago) on the C3 was the Sw Pedal and Base pedals It would bring it to life so to speak!...My feet will not stop moving anyways! Harold

Randy, excellent job, my friend ... and the SX900 sounded pretty darn good also ...
Thank you

That was awesome randy so well played
and that deep low register
on the sax gave me chills...
spectacular through & through..

thanx for sharing.

Absolutely, positively, incredible, Randy.

WOW!

Gary

Tony, Donny and Gary - thanks so much! I was not really expecting the SX900 to sound so good... Sure is a great backing track for this song. It is always fun to play. Thanks for listening and the kind words on my playing this "old favorite"!

Randy you were incredible . The real sax was simply awesome . The keyboard sax was good but lacked the expressiveness of a real sax . However if I had only just heard the keyboard sax by itself , I would have been satisfied with that.

Perhaps you can help me. I have just decided at the age of 50 that I want to take up a new instrument and I’m really interested in the alto sax. I’ve come across this YouTube clip of a very cheap Chinese sax . Obviously I don’t want to spend a lot of money on something that I may have no real talent for. This clip is of a very cheap “$250“ sax against a $4500 sax .

As an absolute beginner learner, should I buy this cheap sax

https://youtu.be/dCCzmFh9Ayc

Hi Randy,
the sx just doesn’t quite have the depth of sound of the real sax , if it did, your keyboard playing skills are so good, I’d be hard pressed to tell which is sax and which is keyboard.

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....