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I finally received the tenor that I decided to endorse: "Sequoia".
a- Why I decided to endorse it:
1- The one of the two owners that I met, Mr. Buttus. Is mainly a repairer with a past as a professional musician: he knows his stuff.
2- I tried the instrument out of curiosity, and I fell in love with it immediately. I didn't buy it straight away only because I needed time to compare it with my other horns.
3- They have the worst marketing possible: it means you pay for the saxophone, not for the ads (non existing)
4- The guy is really funny and he comes from a peculiar area (Friuli) where they are so unlucky that they don't have the word "happy" in their language (only a neologism, borrowed from Italian). Their best culinary achievement is an imitation of sauerkraut (this is all true), but they generally have a quite strong working ethos.
5- It is exactly the instrument I need: flexible, professional, relatively cheap (comparable in price with YTS 280/480).
6- Very little information about the brand on the internet.
7- They deserve to be seen on this side of the Channel.
b- About the brand
1- Mr Buttus and Mr Jansen are the owners. They are both repairers (I have seen Buttus working very well in his workshop). One lives in Belgium, one in Italy.
2- Instruments are made in Taiwan under original designs. They are not stencils. Parts of the keywork can be common to other brands, but the main body is exclusive and original. Staff at the factory is regularly trained by them.
3- They claim they do the tone hole drawing personally, in Taiwan, setting the main bodies for the whole production (not many horns an year, though).
4- They are both unable to market their products. Apparently in Germany and Belgium they sell slightly better than Italy (I found some German reviews).
c- About my specific horn
As you can guess, it was like being in toyland. I could just pick up the one I liked more among a dozen tenors, but I have been good: I picked up the one that goes noticed.
1- It is the unlacquered model, with lacquered keywork. I feel It plays better than the basic lacquered (that is the real bargain), but not such a huge difference. Lacquered keywork is actually a very smart choice to prevent wear.
2- It is sold with two necks, to be chosen among yellow brass, rose brass, silver plated. I have all three of them, will report later.
3- It has no high F#! He only had two specimens like this. They sound almost exactly like the ones with high F#, but they get noticed.
4- The model has a name unsuitable for the English speaking market, so I need to find an alternative. Any help is welcome. "Sequoia Citron" is the best I could come with.
5- It is a tenor, because there is a bigger market, but they soprano is really incredible.
d- Where to buy
We don't know yet. I hope find some interest from some shops in the UK. They are trying to keep a fixed price policy all over Europe.
Hopefully his own online shop will be setup shortly, but to opportunity of trying thew would boost the business.
I am happy to answer to any question, meet any possible shop/distributor, give any good advice if you decide to fly to Friuli Venezia-Giulia (hire a car and you can experience almost everything: sea, mountains, history, food, wine, culture, 5 different languages in a 50 miles radius...).
Hopefully sound clips will follow.
a- Why I decided to endorse it:
1- The one of the two owners that I met, Mr. Buttus. Is mainly a repairer with a past as a professional musician: he knows his stuff.
2- I tried the instrument out of curiosity, and I fell in love with it immediately. I didn't buy it straight away only because I needed time to compare it with my other horns.
3- They have the worst marketing possible: it means you pay for the saxophone, not for the ads (non existing)
4- The guy is really funny and he comes from a peculiar area (Friuli) where they are so unlucky that they don't have the word "happy" in their language (only a neologism, borrowed from Italian). Their best culinary achievement is an imitation of sauerkraut (this is all true), but they generally have a quite strong working ethos.
5- It is exactly the instrument I need: flexible, professional, relatively cheap (comparable in price with YTS 280/480).
6- Very little information about the brand on the internet.
7- They deserve to be seen on this side of the Channel.
b- About the brand
1- Mr Buttus and Mr Jansen are the owners. They are both repairers (I have seen Buttus working very well in his workshop). One lives in Belgium, one in Italy.
2- Instruments are made in Taiwan under original designs. They are not stencils. Parts of the keywork can be common to other brands, but the main body is exclusive and original. Staff at the factory is regularly trained by them.
3- They claim they do the tone hole drawing personally, in Taiwan, setting the main bodies for the whole production (not many horns an year, though).
4- They are both unable to market their products. Apparently in Germany and Belgium they sell slightly better than Italy (I found some German reviews).
c- About my specific horn
As you can guess, it was like being in toyland. I could just pick up the one I liked more among a dozen tenors, but I have been good: I picked up the one that goes noticed.
1- It is the unlacquered model, with lacquered keywork. I feel It plays better than the basic lacquered (that is the real bargain), but not such a huge difference. Lacquered keywork is actually a very smart choice to prevent wear.
2- It is sold with two necks, to be chosen among yellow brass, rose brass, silver plated. I have all three of them, will report later.
3- It has no high F#! He only had two specimens like this. They sound almost exactly like the ones with high F#, but they get noticed.
4- The model has a name unsuitable for the English speaking market, so I need to find an alternative. Any help is welcome. "Sequoia Citron" is the best I could come with.
5- It is a tenor, because there is a bigger market, but they soprano is really incredible.
d- Where to buy
We don't know yet. I hope find some interest from some shops in the UK. They are trying to keep a fixed price policy all over Europe.
Hopefully his own online shop will be setup shortly, but to opportunity of trying thew would boost the business.
I am happy to answer to any question, meet any possible shop/distributor, give any good advice if you decide to fly to Friuli Venezia-Giulia (hire a car and you can experience almost everything: sea, mountains, history, food, wine, culture, 5 different languages in a 50 miles radius...).
Hopefully sound clips will follow.
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