Saxophones Thoughts on Eastman 52nd street

[shamba504424]

Thinking of getting the Eastman tenor and am curious if anyone has any thoughts or cautionary tales before I commit myself to one,all opinions welcome

 

[Guenne]

Thinking of getting the Eastman tenor and am curious if anyone has any thoughts or cautionary tales before I commit myself to one,all opinions welcome

Nice sound, very easy to play in the low register, strange altissimo ("Selmer" fingerings didn't work for me), wonderful case.
Looks beautiful. Starts to rattle after some weeks of playing.
Sold mine after 3 months.

Cheers, Guenne

 

[BalancedReaction]

It's worth pointing out that Eastman changed the 52nd street design a bit recently, when they moved the production from a Taiwan factory to their own plant in China.
The new design is said to be more in the "Mark VI" spirit instead of the previous "vintage American" style. They play differently.

 

[shamba504424]

When you say rattle Guenne can you be m,ore specific,was it the keywork?

 

[Guenne]

The new design is said to be more in the "Mark VI" spirit instead of the previous "vintage American" style. They play differently.

I didn't know about that. I bought and sold mine at the end of 2019, it bought it directly when it came from the factory, wherever that was.

 

[Veggie Dave]

I tried the Eastman 52nd Street tenor a few times when I was looking for a new horn. I remember not being overly impressed but couldn't really remember why. A quick search found my post from one of the test days:

Saxophones - Keilwerth MKX & Eastman 52nd Street - CafeSaxophone Forum

After my less than successful test of the Keilwerth tenor at Howarth I decided to go to Sax.co.uk and try again. I'm glad to say that this was a rather more productive test. Although the action was still firmer than I'm used to, I found it to be precise, solid and fast The tone is, quite...

cafesaxophone.com

I've since bought an MKX and don't regret that decision for a second. I would say that this suggests I don't have a 'normal' taste in saxes. Guenne's final line says a lot in so few words, though.

But if you can you should go out of your way to physically play one and make a decision based on that. If I'd listened to the internet I would probably never have got the Keilwerth.

Hmm, just realised that your question may have nothing to do with any of the above and is in fact a build quality question, in which case I'll shut up now...

 

[Guenne]

When you say rattle Guenne can you be m,ore specific,was it the keywork?

Yes, it looked sturdy, but it wasn't.

 

[BalancedReaction]

It's worth pointing out that Eastman changed the 52nd street design a bit recently, when they moved the production from a Taiwan factory to their own plant in China.
The new design is said to be more in the "Mark VI" spirit instead of the previous "vintage American" style. They play differently.

Here's a summary of the changes: The Beast From The East

There was a thread about it on saxontheweb.

 

[shamba504424]

Mmm,thanks for your responses,also thinking about the Hanson LX,might be worth trying both on approval

 

[BalancedReaction]

I didn't know about that. I bought and sold mine at the end of 2019, it bought it directly when it came from the factory, wherever that was.

You had the "old" one. The redesign was introduced early this year.

 

[shamba504424]

Thanks for the beast from the east article,very useful.

 

[Guenne]

You had the "old" one. The redesign was introduced early this year.

Seems so.
Interesting, they have a new line of "Pro-horns" on their site, even more expensive than the unlaquered 652, named 850 and with 2 necks.
I'm not sure though if moving the production from Taiwan to Mainland China improves the build qualitiy, but what do I know

 

[Targa]

Mmm,thanks for your responses,also thinking about the Hanson LX,might be worth trying both on approval

Save yourself time and effort, buy the Hanson

 

[rockplayer]

I’ve been playing a 52nd St tenor for over two years now. Once I had it set up the way I like my saxes it’s performed flawlessly. I have no issues with noise from the action or the mechanics, it’s been the lowest maintenance horn I’ve ever owned. I really like the adjustable palm keys and the sound. I like the 52nd street series so much I’ve picked up a bari, alto and soprano. I bought my tenor and alto new, the Bari and Sop I bought used. So far I really enjoy these models.

 

[Tenor Viol]

Mmm,thanks for your responses,also thinking about the Hanson LX,might be worth trying both on approval

Hanson is in Marsden, so you can drive across and try them out.

My experience (of tenors) is that the LX is significantly lighter than the older ST8 model, but current ST8s are different to the older ones.