Advantages: Build quality, appearance and tone. Excellent soft case.
Disadvantages: Very minor intonation issues in the upper register.

...For the amazing price of this instrument (I paid around the £150 mark) it is an excellent horn for a player of beginner or intermediate standard. It is beautifully proportioned in the traditional saxhorn style - far more appealing to my eye than the open wrap design of many cheaper models. This horn plays with a lovely tone, perhaps with a few minor intonation issues in the higher register, but the notes can be lipped into shape. The tuning slide set into the leadpipe, before the valve block is a likely contributor to any imperfections. The corrosion-resistant rose brass leadpipe, excellent lacquer finish and robust stays make this horn a must for anyone seeking a real bargain. You can find virtually identical horns made in Taiwan/China and marketed under a number of brand names for £100 or £200 more! Additionally, the mouthpiece... Read review

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Advantages: Nice Dark tone, good intonation, and smooth engraving
Disadvantages: This horn is quite expensive and the positioning of the palm keys doesn't quite suit my hands - the price is the only real disadvantage though!

...This is a good, high quality instrument from selmer, and is reckoned to be among the best professional tenor saxophones in the world. I own a serie II alto sax, however the serie II tenor seemed fairly different to the alto to me, and I play a selmer reference 36 tenor. The Serie II has a lovely tone, which is very resonant, making the whole horn vibrate, creating a dark rich tone. The intonation on this horn is also fairly good, but I didn't find the intonation quite as good as on the Serie III. I like the design of the Serie II, and it feels comfortable to play, except for the right hand palm keys, which for some reason, to me, feel like they are in the wrong position, and they seem quite a stretch to reach. Other than this though, the keys are responsive, and work well, as on the Serie II Alto. I find the little finger keys... Read review

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Advantages: All the hero's in one
Disadvantages: Mixed sound recordings Sound louder and quieter in places

...At first glance you would imagine the CD to be the normal mainstream nonsense with Russell Watson singing Amor ti Vieta, but when looking at the back you do see that this is a quality CD. So lights down low CD player on high and a nice Glass of wine and you are ready for an audio trip through operatic tenor modern history. Track List: (THERE ARE 27 TRACKS IF YOU WANT A SUMMARY OF EACH ONE THEN READ ON OTHERWISE HEAD FOR BOTTOM OF REVIEW) Track 1: O Paradis sung by Enrico Caruso What a start to the Cd. Nothing but quality technique and voice on show here, one of the best renditions you'll ever hear Track 2: Morgenlich leuchtend sung by Peter Anders Not my favourite song and a big jump in quality from the first track but still an adept singer, the first sign that there is going to be a wide variation of voice and style... Read review

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Advantages: Wonderful music and 2 top artists
Disadvantages: One or two items are a bit long

...In the operatic field there is no doubt that tenors are more popular than other male singers, partly because the composers usually used the tenor voice as a vehicle for his most beautiful tunes and the tenor is usually the hero in opera (with a few exceptions) This album by two of Americas greatest post war singers has been long awaited by opera enthusiasts. Samuel Ramey is one of the greatest bass singers in recent years. He can sing most of the bel-canto repertoire with ease and has a wonderful, effortless way of singing. Thomas Hampson too is a very important baritone and Lieder singer of some repute. This CD is interesting in that they chose certain duets that are not well known (Cimarosa "Il Matrimonio Segreto" and Donizetti's "Marino Faliero" ) The "Attila " duet is a bit disappointing as Hampson sounds very bland on it ; not like... Read review

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Advantages: Beautiful sound, hand made
Disadvantages: Not ideal for beginners

...I currently play on an Alexander 103, which I have owned now for many years. However, perhaps a little background first... I started off as a tenor horn player when I was about 11-12. I played that for a couple of years and then moved on to the french horn, playing on a Holton 177. This was a good horn to start on, but after playing for a few years I wanted more. I spent hours (and I mean hours) in Paxman's in London, trying each and every instrument they had. In the end I decided on a screw-bell Alex model 103. I received it on trial the day before I was due to go off on a course to record a CD. I loved it the moment I played it, and have loved it ever since. -- All Alexander horns are hand-made in Mainz, Germany. They have several different models of single, double, triple and descant horns available. However, the two which... Read review

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Advantages: Two outstanding peices of chamber music for an unusual combination of instruments
Disadvantages: On the surface quite contrasting works, listener must be openminded

...The work of Ligeti has been at the forefront of Western avant-garde since his escape from the oppressive communist regime of Hungary in 1956, and he is widely appreciated as one of the most outstanding contemporary composers. The Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano because it was born out of a three-year period of illness and writer's block after the completion of Le Grand Macabre in which time he laboured over a piano concerto but completed only two short harpsichord pieces (Continuum and Hungarian Rock), yet the result in 1982 was the Trio, one of the finest and most complex pieces written so far. His career up to this point had included such sucesses as his Requiem, Atmosphères and the soundtrack for Stanley Kubrick's film 2001. Tiring of his own cluster-textural techniques and the avant-garde, Ligeti refreshed his compositional... Read review

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Advantages: All the quality of a Selmer, fantastic deep rich sound, just like the Super Balanced Actions, only with improved keywork and intonation
Disadvantages: Quite expensive, and I find intonation is still slightly dodgey

...After finally saving up enough money to buy myself a new tenor sax, I went and tried out all of the leading saxes, and the selmer reference 36 was my choice. The keys sit perfectly under the fingers, and the horn is a joy to play. Selmer have captured the tone and spirit of the Balanced action that this is modelled on superbly, and the sax has a beautiful tone (which reminds me a lot of Sonny Rollin's sound!). I find that both the reference saxes (54 and 36) have darker tones than the selmer serie II and III, and with the saxes that I tried, for me the 36 had a slightly richer sound. This sax has got a beautiful finish, in dark gold lacquer with exquisite hand engraving (fairly similar to the reference alto finish). My only criticism of this sax is that I find I have to do a fair bit of adjusting to get the intonation right... Read review

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Advantages: Well made and solidly built. Nice tone and good intonation. Supplied with lightweight case with carrying strap
Disadvantages: Quite expensive, keys are quite flat (they seem too large when I play this sax) and the tone is not quite as rich as some other professional saxes (eg.selmer references)

...I was very impressed when I played this instrument. Normally I think of Yamaha saxes as better for beginners, and I really do not like the yamaha custom alto saxes, so it was a great surpise to find how well this sax performed. The sax is easy to play, and has a nice tone, which is slightly brighter than the selmers, but still rich and dark enough for me - the tone of the particular sax that I tried was also very pure (probably because it was unlacquered). I found that the palm keys fitted under the fingers well, and also the right-hand and left-hand keys little finger keys felt comfortable. One of the things I didn't like about this sax however, is that the keys (inlaid with mother of pearl) were fairly large, and flat, and at first when I picked up the horn it felt very strange and took a while to get used to. One advantage... Read review

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Advantages: Nice smell and kind to the environment.
Disadvantages: You cannot buy this product direct from their website.

...I first used this product when I was taking my friends children away for a few weeks in the Cannary Islands. I at the time was having major problems with my hair as every brand I was using was making my scalp itch and was driving me mad. I thought I would use the childrens halos/horns shampoo as I liked the smell when they used it. I was amazed because IMMEDIATELY my hair and scalp stopped itching. Also if it gets in your eyes it does not sting. On reading the container I discovered it did not contain Sodium Laureth/ Phthalates/Lauryl Sulphate and Parbens which all the other shampoos I bought did. You can buy it at ASDA, TESCO an