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Saxophones All quiet on the P.mauriat front

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muzza

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Wellington, New Zealand
My current saxophone is in need of a major and expensive service, so I thought I'd look at a new saxophone before investing the money into my current one. The options other than student models I can try is limited to Yamaha, Yanagisawa and P.mauriat.

I noticed Yamaha and Yanagisawa are often talked about and reviewed, however compared to a few years back P.mauriat's are really mentioned and there are no resent reviews.

Can any one tell me why is. Maybe they just are no longer the new kid on the block and/or there is nothing especially good or bad about them to make them a discussion item.

Also, I'd be very intersted to hear from owns their thoughts on their P.mauriats.

Thanks for any comments
 
I'm still totally in love with my Mauriat baritone. Its a 2007/8 (I think) model 302g and it's just gorgeous. The only slight niggle is that the keys are getting a little clunky. I dare say that a service/oil would solve that problem though. All in all, she's still good. There are a few light scratches/wear marks where you'd expect to find them, around the strap ring and where the sax rests against my thigh.
Apart from that she's sweet!
 
Hello Muzza,

You haven't mentioned what sax it is you are after. Here's my view on one of the Mauriat tenors. When I was in the market for a tenor sax about a year ago I went down to Sax.co.uk and played a P Mauriat PM 66R as well as a Yanigasawa T901, a Yamaha YTS 62II, as well as a number of others of a similar price. The Mauriat was noticeably louder than most of the other horns I played; a bit of a belter in fact. The qualities I was looking for were mainly subtlety and understatement, with the ability to play quietly without excessive effort on my part. I came away with the YTS62 for this reason. If you are into rock music, ska or the like you may well love the Mauriat. However, please don't take my word for it. There's nothing like having a go yourself and finding out what you think; after all it's your money you will be spending.
 
I settled on a Mauriat PMXA 67R about four and half years ago as my main sax, after comparisons with Yanis and Yamahas. I love its tone and it's particularly full at the bottom end. I play mostly ensemble parts of swing/modern and sometimes light classical arrangements, with the occasional solo spot. The Mauriat is fine for all that and I have no hesitation recommending one as a contender. I don't play rock/pop and I can't play solo jazz so I can't comment on those aspects of performance. My usual set up is a Jody Jazz Classic 5 with La Voz medium.
 
Thanks for your replies. I don't think I can go wrong with any of these and it will come down to the alto that I like the most. I was just interested to hear some more resent thoughts on p.mauriat saxophones.
 
Had a bunch of Mauriats and there fantastic. Nrw lower prices now I see also. There bring out a new Greg Osby signature model, looks sweet.
 

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I was recently gifted a cheap and cheerful Artemis alto a few weeks ago and it's what has kicked off this sax journey that I'm undertaking...however, I'm aware that my sax has some limitations that at some point are going to make me want to buy a better instrument...so I've already started looking >:).

The P. Mauriat range at sax.co.uk looks very good - and I think that it's certainly a make I'd be willing to seriously consider. This one looks a serious contender for my money at the moment?
http://www.sax.co.uk/acatalog/P.Mauriat-PMSA-180-Alto-Sax-226143346.html

AL
 
I was able to try, briefly, a 67 yesterday. It sounded a little better than my student Yamaha but didn't make me want to rush out and buy one.

It was easy to produce a great sound across the range of the Saxophone, with the low notes popping out quickly and sounding fantastic. The thing I noticed the most, was the keys were very compact compared to my Yamaha. I hadn't considered this being a big deal before and will be interest to see how other saxophones feel.

I'd certain like to have a longer play and try a couple of different mouthpieces.

Dave; The Greg Osby signature model is available here and do look nice, but well outside my price range.
 
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I feel the same way - the Only Taiwanese horn I`d pay big bucks for would be the Sheppard (if I was ever affluent enough to afford it) though I think the 62-AG Tenor and MKIII Alto will out live me easily so I ain`t lookin' . The Taiwanese are geat value for Intermediate horns though (Elkhart, Jupiter, TJ) and the RAW is superb, still prefer the Yam though.

I have to add that I don`t like the pretentiousness of sticking a french name on with "Paris" on an asian horn, it`s bad enough with the cheapo Selmer USAs and even the Elkharts but they`re cheap so no one expects them to be made in the USA or by Selmer. I guess it doesn`t matter where they`re made so long as they`re superb (like the really hi-end TJs are and the top line Jupes, the Mauriats probably too) but I still have that glitch in my system which would put the brakes on spending big bux on a Taiwanese or chinese horn .
 
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I personally don't see the problem where they are made,it doesn't concern me at all,and the Taiwanese horns i have owned have been the most reliable horns i have,i own one of the first Mauriats System 76'altos bought because its the closest sound to my mark VI and i gigged with it for many years,now its backup to my RAW which is a better horn and is fantastic.
I have owned and played and sold many horns from the top 4 but i am in no rush to sell or replace what i have.
The reluctance to buy Taiwanese must be been similar to when the Japanese first came into the market and then owners of French,German and USA horns must have thought the same,but look at Yamaha and Yanagisawa now.
 
It`s nothing Logical Brian, just one of those personal Mental brick wall glitches when it comes to buying Taiwanese or especially chinese horns costing over a Grand ...... under that price point, no issues whatsoever and wholeheartedly recommend them and own two Elkhart Taiwanese Sops myself and can`t see anything inbetween them and a Japanese Sop worth upgrading to . I guess the bang for buck ratio is so high in the under £1000 area in Taiwan (and especially Chinese sub £600 horns) that any bias fades away.

BTW I never had any issues with Yamaha stuff in the 70s, they made the fabulous CS80 Synth and the SG2000 guitar both of which were revered in their day and still today as were all their synths of the 80s.

I`d never buy a chinese or Korean Motorbike or car full stop unless really up against the wall (such as a Hyundai or walk situation). I can`t help it , it`s how I am .
 
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It`s nothing Logical Brian, just one of those personal Mental brick wall glitches when it comes to buying Taiwanese or especially chinese horns costing over a Grand ...... under that price point, no issues whatsoever and wholeheartedly recommend them and own two Elkhart Taiwanese Sops myself and can`t see anything inbetween them and a Japanese Sop worth upgrading to . I guess the bang for buck ratio is so high in the under £1000 area in Taiwan (and especially Chinese sub £600 horns) that any bias fades away.

BTW I never had any issues with Yamaha stuff in the 70s, they made the fabulous CS80 Synth and the SG2000 guitar both of which were revered in their day and still today as were all their synths of the 80s.

I`d never buy a chinese or Korean Motorbike or car full stop unless really up against the wall (such as a Hyundai or walk situation). I can`t help it , it`s how I am .
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I understand,we are all different,i just wanted to put a balanced view for the OP regarding P Mauriat saxes.
 
Both my current saxophones are Taiwanese. I wouldn't be surprised if they were built in the same factory despite being branded entirely differently. I have owned Selmer, Yamaha and Keilwerth instruments previously.

The Selmer was a Mark VII and in hindsight it was a bit of a dog. It cost me 700 UKP new circa 1979 and I sold it some 10 years later for the same price... 700 UKP. There was one on eBay recently with a 2500 UKP price tag on it.

I don't expect either my Barone or the Mauriat to hold their value as well as the example above but in my opinion, both these instruments beat the Mark VII (and the other two for that matter) hands down for playability, action and intonation.

I doubt very much I'll be parting with my brace of saxes, I'm happy with both of them regardless of their origins. My instincts tell me to focus my efforts on mastering my mouthpieces anyway. Just my 2 pennies... First post by the way :)
 
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despite what most people think, there are dozens of, generally small, with less than 25 employees and more often than not 10 or so, saxophone makers in Taiwan.

P.Mauriat, which started as a trading company sourcing saxophones that they didn’t make, now has one factory of their own and several other makers working predominately but not exclusively for them.

The likelihood that a given saxophone, sold under different trade mark names, would be made in the same factory where ONE of the models of P.Mauriat (aside from model 76 made in their own plant) is made does exist but it doesn’t mean that it is the same as P.Mauriat has now the strength to buy and ask and get some exclusive that others whom sell infinitely less than them cannot.
 

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