Suena muy bien

I've now played the Eastar AS-II for enough months that it is officially cheaper than had I been renting an alto sax. I am a beginner, so I cannot compare it to high-end saxophones, but I'm very happy with this purchase. I can play the full range of notes from low Bb up to high F. This saxophone came with all the cleaning supplies, sax stand, and case, so it is a complete beginner package.The only negative I can say is that the reeds that came with the saxophone are not the best. I bought a pack of 10 CeMeow 2.5 Alto reeds (~$10), and those play much easier. But this is a saxophone review!I also bought a different mouthpiece (Yamaha 4c) due to feedback in forums, but really I don't see much difference in play between the Yamaha and the Eastar default mouthpiece.Overall, great value for the price, and is cheaper than renting if you plan to play for more than a couple months!

Compared this horn to a Yamaha student model and a Selmer asa 411. The Selmer was much heavier and well constructed, had a high quality case and came with a decent selmer mouthpiece (price $2,500 to $2,900). Tone quality and intonation were excellent. Yamaha was an older instrument, lighter in weight, nice to play, good intonation, a sweet tone quality, good mouthpiece and case. Amazon horn by Eastar as-2, looks and feels as good as the others, is much lighter and not as well braced but played very well, all keys sealed perfectly and required no adjustments. The longer I played all three horns the more it became apparent that the selmer was the superior instrument (though really heavy for a young player)…the Yamaha played well and would be a solid choice for a beginning player. ($1,500 to $2,500) … the Eastar at about $300.00 !!!!, would, I am sure, not take as much abuse as either of the other two horns. The Eastar comes with a substandard mouthpiece…definitely go buy a decent Selmer mouthpiece! With lots of care the Eastar should work well for quit some time. Use the cleaning kit after every use…EVERY USE…dry the body, neck and mouthpiece after every use…don’t bang it around…if you want to see if you will like playing the saxophone try the Eastar it plays well and won’t break the bank. If you have played a while and would like to upgrade I would go with the Selmer with the Yamaha not far behind. Remember the selmer is heavy…the price you pay for that selmer sound.

Me gustó que trae todo lo necesario para iniciar mas algunos accesorios adicionales, el estuche se siente de calidad y el sonido es bueno.

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Je suis débutant et je suis satisfait de la qualité sonore et esthétique.

Perfect value for the price

This saxophone is so nice, I love it!! It's not the same as every saxophone out there, it has its own layout for exactly where you place your fingers, some saxophones are a little more one way or another, but I found the ergonomics just fine, maybe not the absolute best imaginable, I am sure there are better. But for the price, the quality, the playability, the sound, the ease of making the sounds you want it to make in all registers, top notch, beginner friendly, with what you want to get started all included. And it plays easily out of the box, a confidence booster for any beginner! I am not a beginner, but I didn't play for many years. I picked this up as a spare and it really surprised me! The keys were a bit sticky compared to my other saxophones, but it played really easy. The keys work fine, but they have a bit less smoothness than my more expensive saxophones. On some saxophones, mouthpieces, and reeds I really have to be precise with my embouchure, but with what it came with it was easy playing. As one improves, embouchure comes more naturally as the mouth developes for it over time, but with what this saxophone came with it was easy for all notes, very beginner friendly, great for building confidence while learning.

The Eastar is a nice alto sax . . ..The color is probably what you want in a sax . . . .the fingering buttons are a little flimsy but they work . . .I had a sticking problem with a few buttons so I smeared vegetable oil under them . . .and that solved the problem . . . .I had purchased the Ammoon Lace Antique Alto Sax . . .and, despite the color, it seems to be what I want in a low cost sax . . .mainly because the lower C, and D is not coming through as bright on the Eastar as it is on the Ammoon . . . .that's not to say that the Ammoon has it's problems in that area, also . . .but the tone is more even on the Ammoon than on the Eastar. . . .Regardless, if you neglect the lower C and work with the lower D or Eb . . . .the Eastar will perform, possibly, the way you want it to perform . . .Now, I did change the reeds to synthetic . . .as I did with the Ammoon and I purchased new mouth pieces for both instruments (the Yamaha 4C) . . .this helped the Eastar tremendously. The upper fingerings sound rich and full and the agility of the instrument performed well . . .so . . .buying a Jean Paul or even a Yamaha YAS model might cure the lower C and D problem . . .but if you only have $300 to spend . . .I suggest you buy the Eastar for band instruments . . .If you're in a jazz act . . .free spirit . . then the Antique Ammoon might be something you'd like . . . (the copper color looks strange . . .but is neat to have if you're into a free spirit form of performance). Again, the color of the Eastar is what you want in a band instrument . . . To fix the lower C and D problem . . .I might need a better mouth piece or an expensive synthetic reed . . .it's hard to say . . .I only know what the 4C can do . . . .The 4C is a better mouth piece than the manufacturers mouthpiece . . .but there are 5C's and 6C's out there . . .from Yamaha . . .I haven't experimented with either of those . . .but might look into it for the Eastar . . .and possibly the Ammoon . . . .If you look up the best alto sax mouthpiece in google . . .they will say the 4C is the top mouthpiece . . .but . . .what does the 5C or 6C sound like . . .and are they more in tune with professional sax players who look for something more appetizing? I'm not sure . . but you might want to give it a try . . . .Also . . you might want to experiment with synthetic reeds. I purchased the D'Addario brand size 3 . . .I think 3 is a good size and will suite your needs . . .You'll pay around $18 for five reeds . . There are brands of synthetic reeds that cost $30 for one reed . . .They are supposed to be the best . .Eastar offered a sythetic reed in the case . . It looked pretty good . . .but was completely made of plastic . . .What you'll want is a bamboo reed covered in plastic . . .these seem to sound the best . . . Whether you experiment with the $30 reed or the D'Addarios . . there's got to be a way to soften the tone of the lower C and D . . . .