Thanks Doug for your post, if you know what your looking for in sound and feel, finding the right horn is easy, I have been through them all, and am currently playing LA Sax that had gotten so much slack its ashame, my repair guy swore against them simply because he believed the hype that the model was no good, after he set it up to my playing specs, his whole attitude towards them has changed, in fact he kept it an extra day to play it himself. now that I have just purchased my second 750 alto, and are preparing for the 850 tenor, I am sold that this horn in particular gives me the disired sound, with the high f and g keys I can reach notes that I have not been able to on other horns, vintage and mod. so remember this, that everything that glitters is not always gold. stop by your local retailer, and try different horns out before you make a purchase, also mouthpieces, very important to overall playability. start with the smallest openings, fyi, large retailers dont always hire experienced musicians, so be mindful of that, and try everything available, dont take someones word for it.

once again i disagree with anyone who says cannonball saxophones are bad. I just bought a cannonball tenor only a week and it truly is an exceptional horn. i play in a college jazz band, and our 1st alto and 2nd tenor also have cannonballs.

cannonballs are great horns. i played on an alto a week ago and liked it so much i ordered one for myself. apparently they`re very popular right now, b/c i just ordered it, and it should arrive @ my local music store in may! but its definitely worth the wait.

every individual horn sounds different. for people looking for a new sax to last, bring your mouth piece to the store and play what they`ve got and go from there. for people arguing their experience with different horns, it`s quite possible one was of lesser quality than another, but let`s face it: saxophones aren`t simple instruments.

well yes of course, when the cannonball sax i ordered arrives in store, i`ll try it out to make sure i like it. if not, theres no obligation to buy it. its true that each sax is different and unique.

Well I am a saxophone teacher and all I can say is DO NOT BUY THAT HORN. No offense to you being a high school band director, but the kid isn't buying a horn to help his director make his band louder. He said he wants to play the alto for the rest of his life so some cheap gimmick horn is not the way to go.

If your goal is to play very loud sure get a cannonball. If you actually want to be a sax player and have a tone that people will enjoy listening to, do not buy that horn.

Well...I am also a sax teacher / and a high school band director. I can honestly say that Cannonball Saxophones have changed my students, and my band for the best. I had the fortune of having my entire Jazz Section play cannonballs. AMAZING!! I also have had over the past 5 years the benefit of my classical players playing the horn. I recently had two students compete win a couple national competitions playing works like: Ibert: Concertino da Camera and the Dubios Concerto.

I don't think that they could have achieved this on an inferior instrument. Their Cannonballs have made the difference in their musical training. They held up well over the years with little or no sign of trouble.

I am very impressed!! I would recommend them highly!

"I don't think that they could have achieved this on an inferior instrument."


Well they did just that.

I'm interested to know exactly what makes them inferior.
I've examined and played them thoroughly and am very impressed
with the quality of the instrument.

The hardness of the metal on the keys, cups, and rods, the evenness of the tone holes. The Finishes they do are the most
beautiful I have ever seen.

It is also clear that they are a "hand customized" horn. I've seen quite a few of them in my day and all of them have clear hand customizing goin' on with them.

The customizing that can be seen is different on every horn.
That tells me that there is some pretty serious personal attention given to them at the factory. I've never seen that with any other brand of saxophone. The sound of them is awesome.

When I compare the quality and detail put into the instrument and then look at the price..... Well, I just don't understand how someone could say they are inferior.

They are just as quality as any Selmer or Yamaha have ever been IMO.

<Added>

Perhaps the Cannonballs you are familiar with are older; some of their first. Every company has to start somewhere.

Their current models Scream!!!

Quote :
"If your goal is to play very loud sure get a cannonball. If you actually want to be a sax player and have a tone that people will enjoy listening to, do not buy that horn."


Cannonballs have incredible tone. They can be played whisper soft with a warm dark core, or yeah they can play loud, but to say the only way a Cannonball plays is Loud is very short sided and reveals your actual playing level, or your poor mouthpiece set up.

Also, plenty of people "enjoy litening to" Gerald Albright and Pete Christlieb... who by the way play a Cannonball.