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<\/a><\/p>\nMacSax Empyreal Alto Saxophone<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The MacSax Empyreal alto saxophone has a cool vintage look to the finish. \u00a0It looks like bare brass and does have some scuffs and marks here and there but that just adds to the vintage look. \u00a0If you click on the pictures below they will enlarge so you can see more detail. \u00a0It reminds me of when you purchase that “vintified” new furniture and it has marks and scrapes on it to make it look older.<\/p>\n I’m not a repair man in the least so I can’t speak with authority about issues dealing with construction and repair \u00a0but to me the sax is solid and seems to be made with high standards. \u00a0The keys are all nice and firm and it is made of strong sturdy metal. \u00a0It doesn’t feel like you will bend a key if you push it too hard like on a few other saxophones I have played. \u00a0The saxophone came setup right out of the box and had no leaks that I could see with a leak light. \u00a0A couple of things I didn’t like about the sax were that the spring tension seemed too strong for me. \u00a0I prefer a light spring tension so my fingers have to work as little as possible to push down the keys. \u00a0If I were to keep this sax, the first thing I would do is to bring it to my repairman and have all the springs adjusted to be lighter. \u00a0The rest of the key work on the sax was perfect and ergonomically pleasant feeling. \u00a0One area \u00a0that could be improved for me was the side Bb,and C. \u00a0For some reason they slope down away from the high side “E” which made them further from my hand. \u00a0Not a big deal, but \u00a0I would probably have my repairman bend those keys upward so they were closer to the palm of my hand.<\/p>\n The tone of the horn is compact and focused. \u00a0I found it neither bright nor dark but when comparing it to my Selmer Reference alto it does have a more compact and focused sound than my Selmer. \u00a0My Selmer Reference alto has a wider more spread sound to it. \u00a0The tone does remind me of a really good Mark VI a friend of mine has. \u00a0I remember playing it once and thinking how focused the sound was. \u00a0I had the same thoughts while playing this Empyreal saxophone.<\/p>\n The MacSax Empyreal is great to play and control. \u00a0I felt at ease on it right out of it’s case. \u00a0The true test of course is playing it to music which I did pretty quickly. \u00a0It involved no effort on my part to lock it in intonation wise and play with a rhythm section. \u00a0Large intervals were easy to achieve. Altissimo was as easy as my Selmer. \u00a0The low notes spoke even easier then on my Selmer.<\/p>\n Intonation was great. It wasn’t perfect but I have never played a saxophone that was. \u00a0This is just as good as the most in tune saxophones I have played including my Selmer Reference and some great Mark VI altos. \u00a0Low Bb to middle C# were right on “O” on the tuner. \u00a0Perfect. Middle D-E were slightly sharp. \u00a010-20 cents without any adjustment but this is normal for every saxophone I have ever played so it’s easy to adjust to. (You just have to “voice” those notes a bit lower) \u00a0The high register was also perfectly in tune. \u00a0The first thing I check when I play a saxophone \u00a0is the intonation between the octaves. \u00a0If I play a B and then press the octave key the note should go up an octave and be relatively \u00a0in tune without any adjustment or changes needed from my embouchure. \u00a0I have played hundreds of saxes that were incredibly sharp in the upper register. \u00a0I’m happy to say that the MacSax Empyreal was perfectly in tune with the octaves.<\/p>\n The MacSax Empyreal alto saxophone is another great saxophone out of Taiwan. \u00a0To be honest, if this Macsax and my RSBerkeley tenor are good indications of the quality coming out of Taiwan, I think the big 4 sax manufacturers better make sure they are on the top of their game or they will be losing some serious market share to Taiwan. \u00a0This alto plays as good or better than the best alto’s I’ve played over the last 10 years. \u00a0I would have no problem suggesting this to a student or fellow player \u00a0who was looking for a great alto. \u00a0As usual, the truth is in the playing………if you are curious about the MacSax Empyreal alto saxophone try one for yourself. \u00a0Their website is \u00a0www.macsax.com<\/a> . \u00a0Tell them Steve sent you……………<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n
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