Saxophones Jupiter JTS 789-787

retro · Nov 20, 2013

Greetings,
does anyone know about these horns I had an hand accident and have been playing an alto for physio my hand can make the stretch again now so Im looking for a cheap tennor so its a toss up between the jupiter JTS 789-787(I have only played the cheaper model years ago which was a bit tank like if I remember)or a good condition mid 70s B&H lafleur. Any help would be appreciated.
Regards
Retro. :mrcool

Ads · Nov 20, 2013

I can only go by Altos in the regard to Jupiters . even though I`m a tenor player mainly it`s the Alto where I`ve recently encountered Jupiter . very underrated name thesedays IMO

The B&H Lafleur from what I remember were student horns made in GDR or Czechoslovakia, not bad in itself and good samples can be quite nice for the low money you can get them for but the recent Jupiter 7 series are Taiwanese made (not Chinese) Pro level modern horns which punch well above their weight .

I have a recent Jupiter 567 alto here while my Yam YAS-62 MkIII is away being setup and even that is a good cut above the TJ Classics, Elkhart Series II, John Packer 041 ( respected budget horns) and up there with the TJ Revolution II, I was quite suprised how good it was and I`d rate it not far behind the likes of the Yamaha 475 and the TJ SR and above the Bauhaus Walstein AS-Y . the 7 series is a good step up again .

The 567-565 Alto has a nice complex tone which is quite bright , the high registers are very easy to play and sound well. brings to mind the reports coming in about the Canonball Albright (but on a far smaller scale of course) keywork is well made and smooth if setup a bit heavy (can be rectified in a setup) . if I was up for a new just sub grand Alto I`d not hesitate to consider the Jupiter 7 series alomg with the other options and recomnmend the 567 at the £600 price mark as a front runner for consideration .

I have no reason to suspect the tenor should be any different .. Steve Howard reviewed the 989 Artist here , I suspect the cheaper 5 and 7 series horns are a lot better value . I`ve never read anything bad about the 7 series Tenor anyway

http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk/Reviews/Saxes/Tenor/Jupiter_989_tenor.htm

Colin the Bear · Nov 20, 2013

A 70's lafleur will feel like an old clunker compared to a modern sax. Very simple action. I've had a few. I still have my old alto. Not a bad sound and reasonable intonation but poor ergonomics. I get on well with the gear for music alto and tenor. Much better than an old lafleur. However if it's in good condition and cheap, why not.

DavidUK · Nov 20, 2013

I did a little research recently due to one selling locally on ebay (went for £258 today: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tenor-saxophone-/251376530415?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&nma=true&si=vsYrLKboPXQn8pinSyAb7ni3sGs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc - no, I didn't buy it in the end!)

They seem to be very well regarded from my Googling around the web.

Ads · Nov 20, 2013

that`s a slightly older one but still should be good, check the serial number start letter . G = 2005 , work your way forward and backwards from that . I don`t know the difference between the 767 and 789-787 ..

retro · Nov 20, 2013

hahaha an old clunker I know what you mean as I have a stephanhouser alto that goes like a ferrari and the contrast would be unreal but it was sound I was thinking about as I likes to play to the Skatalites rythyms which Ive edited in logic leaving space for me to impro, I have had some Clunkers (ha I love that) that sounded great I had an old silver low tone Buescher that sounded lovely but it was a swine to play, I busk so also the weight has come into my computations as well believe it or not. I had one of the first versions of this horn when they came out advertising itself as an SS80 it was certainly as heavy and a bit tanky.