Saxophones Who trevor james

[retro]

when he's at home?
Greetings
I'm still looking for a cheap Tenor sax and these Trevor james horns are all over the place,I have come across them b4 but have always side stepped and thought it was a John packer turn out and they just put there name on a Taiwan horn, is this the case or not. I've read a bit about them and "bits falling off"seems to be a recurring theme.Then I found a site with a guy playing a TJ signature and it sounded ok to me, does anyone have any experience of these sax's please.
regards,
Retro.

 

[Ads]

Trevor James has been going quite a long time and started early with the Stencilling of Taiwanese horns , even the cheap ones are very good for the money (the Alpha and Artemis are chinese though) and the Revolution and higher are superb pro level instruments, the Signature RAW models are up there with the best and the Andy Sheppard model is 5 grands worth of superbity giving top of the range Selmers, Yams and Yanis the elbow . John packer are chinese made BTW .

I had a "the Horn" Classic Alto briefly (the cheapest of the Taiwan made TJ horns) and I can`t imagine anything likely to fall off, it was better made than a lot of of the respected chinese made ones and considerably better than the typical no-namers with Windsor, Odyssey, Stag etc on

if I was after a sub £1000 Tenor I`d be looking at a TJ Revolutiuon-II along with the Jupiter 567 and the Bauhaus Walstein TS-PD .. BTW Back Alley music in Liverpool and Mold are clearing out of Saxes and are selling TJ revolution-II tenors for a ludicrous £550 !! . they`re on E-Bay selling them for £599, i`d ring the shop and get it for £550 instead

 

[retro]

Ok thanks, thats cleared that up they are chinese but better than a no namer unless you shell out more money for a better one and what about these Jupiter JTS 789-787 tenors one sold for £258.00 yesterday on fleabay is that reasonable?

 

[Ads]

No, they`re largely Taiwanese ... the Alpha and Artemis models are chinese .. Not 100% Sure about the Classics, I was told they`re taiwanese too . that Jupe went cheaper than usual from what I can tell .

 

[jonf]

Trevor James is a British based company which has been trading for over thirty years. They source saxes from manufacturers in Taiwan and China, depending on model, and assemble their top line saxes in Kent from parts made in Asia. They built their reputation on decent quality student saxes, at a time when such things were relatively rare in the marketplace. They have since expanded their sax range and now also do flutes (which they've produced for some time) and brass. Their products are well marketed and have a wide distribution network, meaning repairs and servicing can be undertaken widely.

 

[retro]

Ok thanks I"m in a bit of a quandary I play a stephanhouser sas1500 alto, Ive had all sorts of sax's over the years and when I came across the stephies that were boasting new patents I had to have a gander,the intonation/speed runs rings around anything else I've ever owned which I put down to the watch springs instead of rods,a lovely open top end and plenty of grunt down the bottom end. Now what I am worried about is after the ease of playing a stephy is everything unless I pay top dollar which I haven't got at the moment going to seem a bit slow and clunky. I know there are traditionalists and old horns and "the sound" folk are after because Ive owned them ( along with expensive repairs I've been down that road haha),that will look down on these horns, they must be mad or ill informed.
What to do? the revolution you suggested sounds a deal and a half in liverpool but unfortunately out of my budget range at the moment.these sort of things always seem to come along when your strapped.
Thanks for your help.

 

[ProfJames]

Have to agree about the Stephanhouser 1500. Great sax and fast as lightning keys. Easy to play and consistent. The only thing that comes near to the Step is my Cannonball or the YTS 62. However, don't dismiss the TJs. In addition ergonomics are completely personal so what is good for one person.......

 

[DavidUK]

In ascending order of bestness: TJ Classic; Classic II; Revolution; Revolution II. The Signature model is an older intermediate. Signature SR and up in the current range are better than Rev II (allegedly). I played a Rev II tenor next to BW PD and YD models and preferred the TJ.

 

[Ads]

The diff between Classic and classic-II isn`t "bestness" necessarily, some tweaks and maybe a transfer from Taiwan to China for the build (info from a dealer) .. the Rev-II is however better than a Rev-1 ..

Jupiter 567-587 = TJ Rev-II level . Juipter 789= SR level and I agree that I`d prefer all of those to a Basic BW model .. I don`t know about how the Jupiter 800/900 series stack up to the Signature models etc .. It`d be well worth comparing all these Taiwanese horns .....

Used is easier, I`d suggest looking for a cheap yamaha YTS21/23/32 . I`d take a really nice YTS32 over any of then above but then I like the cutting but powerful Yamaha sound . you may even get a Conn 6M at around those prices and the action on that (when serviced ) leaves little or nothing to be desired.

I don`t know much about Stephanhauser, I did have a read around the forums when I was looking for an alto and didn`t see enough encouraging reports to even consider one .

 

[QWales]

BTW Back Alley music in Liverpool and Mold are clearing out of Saxes and are selling TJ revolution-II tenors for a ludicrous £550 !! . they`re on E-Bay selling them for £599, i`d ring the shop and get it for £550 instead

Not seeing that deal here http://www.backalleymusic.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d115_Sax.html maybe they've all gone.

 

[Ads]

Their website makes Hansons look up to date and functional......... the PHONE (as in talking) is the best way to find out. they had quite a few last week . Chester or Mold branches are the ones to ring

I Rang Mold for you 01352 758619....... they have FOUR, one in chester and three in Mold (10 miles from me) £549 .. I`d take one over a Walstein anyday of the week and new Jupiter 567s are a lot more cash for the same level of horn..

as much as I hate tp pass up bargains on my doorstep, I need another tenor like a hole in the head (A single horn is more than enough for me - unless there`s a 10M going spare cheap)