Apple Podcasts
Podbean
Spotify
Amazon Music
iHeartRadio
Player.fm
Podchaser
Can you get a pro tenor saxophone for $2000 USD that actually sounds any good?
Well, this is the Jean Paul pro tenor sax – the TS 860. I’ve been using it for the last few weeks to film all my Sax School lessons.
Have a listen.
If you’re pretty new on your saxophone journey, you probably have heard of Jean Paul because they make great entry-level saxophones that aren’t crazy expensive. I reviewed their AS400 entry-level alto sax a while back. And actually, we just gave away one of their TS 400 tenors at our Sax School Weekender.
I wanted today to show you a bit more about Jean Paul pro tenor sax, give you a couple more playing demos, and show you a couple of things I like and a couple of things I don’t like about it.
But before we get started, if you don’t know about Sax School, we run a huge community of saxophone learners called Sax School Online. We’ve got thousands of people learning with us. Right now, there’s a 14-day trial. So if you want to see how loads of tutor support and interaction with our community, as well as amazing lessons, can help you progress, then grab the 14-day trial and give it a spin for yourself.
The Jean Paul Pro tenor sax TS 860
So I mentioned at the start, that this was a $2,000 saxophone. It’s actually about $2,200, but guess what? That’s probably half of what you would pay for a Yamaha Pro saxophone. And it’s just a fraction of what you pay for a top end Selmer or Yanagisawa. So I think it’s unfair to compare it with these very expensive saxophones.
But that being said, you’re still getting a much better saxophone than the entry-level student saxophones from Jean Paul.
What’s the difference?
So what’s the big difference here? Well, really, it comes down to the feel and the finish. I think this saxophone looks amazing. A lot of other people have talked about the engraving, and it is beautiful. I mean, there’s engraving all over the saxophone, and it looks great. I particularly love the back of the bell here, and up around the neck as well.
Now I should just say, that I love to promote Jean Paul saxophones, not because I make any money from them whatsoever. I mean, they do send me these saxophones for free, but loads of our members do play these saxophones, and I’m particularly happy with their customer service.
I’ll tell you a bit more about that later on.
Who is this tenor sax for?
So it’s a delight for me to share these saxophones with you. Hopefully, it’ll give you some ideas of something you could upgrade to.
And that’s my next point. So who is going to be buying this saxophone? Well, I imagine if you’ve been playing saxophone for maybe six months to a year, you might be ready to upgrade to something that gives you a bit more freedom in your sound. Then you would be looking for an intermediate or a pro-level saxophone, depending on your budget.
Now, in many ways, this saxophone is going to give you a lot of the benefits that a full-priced pro saxophone would give you. You’re buying a saxophone that’s better made. It’s got better ergonomics, so the fingers feel better. And it is more free blowing and has a warmer tone to it. So, perhaps we should dig into those features first.
Fingering
Now, I do really like the keywork on this. It’s great. It’s smooth, everything flows really well, and your little fingers move very well on the table keys as well. However, it’s not as fast as my Dave Guardala tenor that I’ve been playing for 30 years. Because I’ve had the action lightened on that saxophone, it feels better.
Also, it’s not as fast as a really well-set-up Yanagisawa or Selmer Supreme, but you’re talking about a much more expensive saxophone. Even a well-set-up Yamaha 82Z is probably going to feel a little bit smoother than this.
So the fingers are a little bit slower, but still, it’s even. And I was really impressed with the fact that this saxophone was shipped to me in the UK, all the way from Miami, just in the case, and it played great straight out of the box.
Something I’m always looking for on a mid-range saxophone is how well the little fingers feel. You can test this by moving around your left-hand little fingers between Bb, B, C and C sharp, and your right-hand fingers between low C and D sharp. And I have to say, on this saxophone, it’s dead easy. You can move around super-smooth.
There’s a round front F key, I would normally expect to see a tear-shaped one. But actually, it feels quite comfortable, and I can move around there quite well.
Neck and mouthpiece
Now a lot of people have been talking about these screws at the top of the neck here. I guess the logic of it here is that it’s a bigger screw which adds some weight to the neck and increases the sound. I can’t tell the difference, if I’m honest with you. But it is very nice to use. It feels very comfortable, and easy to tighten up. So I do like that feature.
Also, the saxophone came shipped with a really nice mouthpiece. Check this out actually. It’s even got a silver cap on it. So this is their TS4 mouthpiece and it actually plays really, really well too.
My setup for this demo
For today’s test though, just to keep things really simple, I’m playing a Jody Jazz Custom Dark mouthpiece, and it’s in a 7-tip opening.
Now I’m using a Légère 2.25 reed. That’s a really soft reed, isn’t it? And normally I would use a 2. 5 or a 2. 75. So one of the things I did notice with this saxophone is that there’s quite a lot more back pressure, at least than on my Dave Guardala tenor. So it’s not quite as free-blowing as I’ve heard other people comment on this saxophone. That’s not necessarily an issue.
Some people prefer saxophones that are less free-blowing, I suppose. It’s just meant that I’ve had to adjust my mouthpiece and reed setup to get to a stage where I feel really relaxed when I’m playing on it. So what’s most important with every saxophone is that you really take the time to find the setup that’s going to work for you, to get the sound and feel that you’re looking for.
The case and accessories
Now another thing I’ve been really impressed with is the case that comes with this saxophone. It’s a big, rectangular square case, but I have to say it’s super-strong. It’s got an ABS shell inside it, so it’s safe. You could travel anywhere with this saxophone. Also, check it out, you’ve got handy shoulder straps on the back. Plus there’s a massive pocket on the front to stick your music and your stand and all your other bits and bobs.
Also inside the case you’ve got a neck strap and, a cleaning cloth, it comes with a reed even. So you’ve got everything that you need to get started. Good job.
The sound
Now I’ve been playing this saxophone over the past couple of months on and off, for saxophone lessons and just for my general practice. I’ve really gotten used to it. I like the versatility of the sound. It’s a bit brighter for me than my Dave Guardala tenor that I normally play. But it’s still got a lovely character to the sound. And with this mouthpiece and reed setup, I can get a nice warm sound right down low, but I can also get right up into the altissimo.
It just pops out up the top there – it sounds really nice. The overtones work really well too, and I can also get a good funky bright sound. If I wanted to play a pop solo, let’s say, I still think it sounds really, really great. Check this out.
Dislikes
But there are a couple of things that I’m not so happy with about this Jean Paul pro tenor sax. So let’s dig into those.
So first of all, I’ve noticed on this particular saxophone, my front E isn’t great with the tuning. It’s probably just the way this saxophone was set up. Now, the front F’s okay, but the front E is super-sharp. I think that’d be an easy thing to get fixed with a repairer, but it’s something that’s annoyed me a little bit on this particular one.
That’s in contrast to all the rest of the keywork, which actually sounds great. And I’ve heard other people play on other TS 860s and they’ve not had this problem. So, it’s probably just something with a specific saxophone.
A lot of people have talked about the blue sparkly pearls. You know, they’re not my favourite, but I don’t hate them. And they actually feel pretty good under your fingers. So, perhaps it’s like a Marmite thing. You either love it, or you hate it!
Now initially when I got the sax out of the case, I really loved the metal key touch on the left-hand thumb. The thing is though, you know, with this saxophone, as you play, it starts to get wet. And maybe sometimes your hands aren’t completely clean and it makes it very slippery on that thumb rest. And it kind of bugs me.
Another thing that’s always felt a little bit uncomfortable for me is this right-hand thumb hook. It’s quite deep. It’s a very hooky hook if you know what I mean. And so it really grabs your right thumb when it’s in there. Even with the neck strap in a comfy position for me, I feel like it puts quite a lot of pressure on the top of my thumb.
So, I’d rather have something that was a bit more open. It’s a really minor point. But for a pro tenor sax at $2,200, I mean, there’s not much to complain about, is it? Sounds fantastic.
Likes!
Let’s talk about the things I like about the Jean Paul pro tenor sax.
I definitely do like the sound. It’s brighter than my Guardala. It’s great if you’re looking for a brighter saxophone, particularly in this silver finish. Perhaps you’re playing in a concert band, or you’re playing in a pub band,or a funk, rock, heavy blues – that kind of thing. You’ll love the brightness of this saxophone.It’s really got some punch to it. And with the right mouthpiece setup, you can also darken that down.
The other thing I really like about it is the look. I think it looks great. It looks a bit different, a bit special. It’s got a bit of sparkle to it, and I really like that.
Saxophone upgrade
So who’s this Jean Paul Pro tenor sax for? Well, if you’re looking for an upgrade from an entry-level beginner saxophone to something a bit more advanced, but you haven’t quite got the budget to stretch all the way up to the big five brands like Yamaha, Yanagisawa, Selmer, etc. then this is definitely something worth considering.
Now, I’ve given this saxophone a really good play over the last couple of months, and it’s held up great. And the alto I’ve had for maybe a year now, that’s still looking great too and playing well. If anything, this tenor is playing better now, after a couple of months, than when it first came out of the box. And it played great then.
Now I’m not sure any saxophone in this price range is going to be a good “investment”. You’re certainly not going to make money by holding the saxophone for five years and selling it. But what you will do is get a great playing saxophone that’s not going to cost you a fortune. So it’s definitely worth considering.
Alternatives
What alternatives you might look at instead of getting this Jean Paul Pro tenor sax?
Well, don’t forget that you can also look at a used pro-level saxophone. They’re always a great option, particularly if you’ve got a good repairer near you. Most problems on a well-made saxophone can be sorted by a repairer. So you might find that you can get an older Selmer, Yamaha, or Yanagisawa saxophone for similar money to what you might pay for this. If that’s your jam, then that’s another thing to consider.
The company behind this saxophone
Now the last thing I want to touch on is the company behind these. Something that really impressed me with Jean Paul as a brand is that, like lots of people, they are making Chinese saxophones. But they take every saxophone through their workshop in Miami before they send them out to the customer.
So that’s the first thing. Everything’s really well set up before it comes out to you. And that’s really important because that setup process is where you take a saxophone that might have couple of problems, sort them all out and make it into a saxophone that plays great. The setup is everything.
Now in my experience, the saxophones that they’ve sent me here in the UK have all arrived playing great. And the students that we have in Sax School who play Jean Paul saxophones have reported back the same thing. But, if there ever is a problem, then that will help you to get it sorted, whether that’s in America or whatever country that you live in.
Now, if you want to find out a bit more about Jean Paul as a company, I did a podcast interview with Tim from Jean Paul. He talked more about their whole ethos of trying to provide saxophones to people at an affordable price, to get more people playing the saxophone. And I like that whole idea.
Next Steps
So don’t forget to go grab that 14-day trial to Sax School if you want to see how our amazing support and lessons can help you progress on saxophone. The link’s down below. But for now, go check out these other reviews of other saxophones you might want to consider.
Jean Paul AS 860 Alto and SS 860 Soprano Review
I hope they help you. Catch you soon.
