Jean Paul Student Tenor Saxophone TS-400 - Golden Brass Lacquered

Hello, saxophone shopper. I have played he tenor, alto and soprano saxophones since I was in high school from 1968-1971. In those years I have owned Martin, Cannonball, and Selmer saxophones. I actually collect all sorts of musical instruments, many of which I play, some I just enjoy owning as functional art objects. I sold my Selmer MK 7 tenor in 1971 to buy my first cello, which has been my main musical instrument the last 52 years.I gave my last alto saxophone to one of my grandchildren, and I sold my Cannonball Big Stone Raven tenor this year because it was tying up $3500.00 and I didn't have enough time to play it and warrant keeping it. I sold it last year but didn't want to be without any tenor saxophone. I also only wanted a silver finish tenor because I like silver horns more than the more common gold lacquer models.After much careful research, I decided to purchase a Jean Paul Intermediate model tenor from Amazon in their limited edition silver finish. I believe Jean Paul instruments is an American musical instrument company based in Florida, and I believe their band instruments are manufactured in Taiwan. You might want to check that out for accuracy if you care about such things.I have been delightfully surprised by this $1200.00 tenor saxophone. The key work is very smooth and quiet not unlike my beloved 1970 era Selmer Mk 7. Selmer/Paris (the top line Selmers actually hand made in Paris, France) saxophones are probably the most beautiful and coveted saxophones in the world, and my Jean Paul tenor feels much like it in my hands.The sound is excellent, and the horn is very attractive. The bell is lightly engraved, not at the magnificent level of a Paris made Selmer, but those horns cost $10,000 as of this year, out of this amateur musician's ability to own. It is still a very attractive horn, visually, which is important to me.I would certainly recommend the Jean Paul intermediate tenor saxophone for any elementary, junior high or high school band student. Perhaps as an marching band second instrument for a college marching band saxophonist, because many players don't want to expose a $5000.00 - $10,000.00 horn to the rigors and weather of marching band use, even if they are fortunate enough to own one.And for adults who played when in school and are coming back to playing after a multi-decade break but cannot justify spending or afford to spend thousands of dollars on a premium brand like Yamaha, Selmer, Cannonball, et al, he Jean Paul intermediate tenor, and I imagine their alto as well, will serve you well in any application. I have done occasional gigs and played in a Community Symphony band for one year with mine. The price includes a quality mouthpiece, strap, cork grease, and an extremely nice black vinyl, leather like case. I can highly recommend this very affordable, great sounding, great playing and good looking tenor saxophone. Well done, Jean Paul Musical Instruments. I am impressed! Score? 10 on a scale of 10. Highly recommended. Buy with confidence! GCS

My name is Steve Jones and I am a lover of Jazz music. I am very serious when it comes to music and I only use the best products on the market. Not the most expensive – but the best. It is only through quality products and quality playing that I can appreciate the sounds that come from great saxophones, cellos, bass guitars, etc.If I could give Jean-Paul USA a 10-star review I would. This is not only the highest-quality tenor saxophone I have ever owned, but also the highest-quality company I have ever had the pleasure of doing business with. They are customer-focused, quality engineers who are attentive to the needs of musicians.I own the Jean-Paul TS-400 saxophone and it is comparable to the high-end saxophones that people sometimes pay thousands of dollars for. It is a beautiful instrument, and I can tell just by looking at it that a lot of love went into making this saxophone. The attention to detail shows in every key, every engraving on the bell, and every curve of the instrument.First, it is a sturdy instrument, and yet it does not feel very heavy at all when it fits in the hands. And while most saxophones are nearly identical and shape and size, this one feels like it was molded just for me. It feels very natural and sits well when played.Next, it has a very professional sound that you can hear even when not blowing into the instrument. When you take it out of the box and press the main keys, you can tell just by the tones you hear from the bell that the seals are extremely tight and echo a great sound through the body of the saxophone. The sounds are clear, sharp, and indicative of a professional architecture.The keys press very naturally without any heavy pressure needed. Some keys on some saxophones require a little more pressure to work and can feel like a chore, but on this model they press and flow with a minimal pressure and natural feel. Each key has a beautiful pearl inlay with a slight indentation for finger placement. They are well-crafted and look exquisite on the instrument.The case is very high quality and hugs the saxophone tightly to ensure that no damage occurs when moving the instrument from place to another. There is no room for movement of the parts once in the case, so they are protected extremely well. There were also pads in between some of the moveable assemblies on the saxophone to ensure that no banging of the parts occur during shipment (so make to look for those and remove them when taking it out of the box).The product also comes with a warranty that will ensure you can focus on playing music without any additional expenses to fix broken parts.One last thing – I called the company today to tell them just how great this product is for me and I can tell you they genuinely care about the customer. They are very interested in producing high-quality instruments, sharing those products with musicians, and hearing back from the customers about their experiences.It is not very often a person can say that they have 100% satisfaction with a company, but for the first time ever, I can. They care about people and will go out of their way to make we are taken care of. I am working with Jean Paul right now to test and review the AS-400 alto saxophone - so that will be in another review forum. In fact, I will continue my relationship with Jean-Paul knowing that I am getting quality products from people who care and take great pride in their craftsmanship.

I decided to purchase this horn because of the many positive reviews and its affordability. I was particularly impressed with the customer service reviews. I received my horn promptly and well packaged, but unfortunately, it had some separation at the bow guard as well as some of the joint areas. I called Jean Paul immediately and they were incredible. The gentleman sent me a shipping label for return immediately and had a new horn inspected for flaws and shipped immediately. The new sax was flawless. To my surprise, I also received an additional TS-4 mouthpiece with the replacement free of charge. This entire situation was solved in under a week with several follow up calls from Jean Paul to ensure the quality of my replacement as well as my satisfaction.In regards to the sound, I've found the intonation to be great ( given a capable player ) and the durability/construction to be solid. I was also impressed with the TS-4 mouthpiece. I have previously played with the Vandoren TL5 and would say this mouthpiece delivers a comparable tone and ease of playing. I quickly upgraded to the Hiscox Pro II case for peace of mind during transporting. The included case would I believe, do the trick for limited travelling but for someone on the go such as myself it can make you nervous.Overall, fantastic service and a great product. Now that I have had the TS-400 for some time, I am slightly disappointed I didn't choose to go with the TS-800 instead. I am sure it would be worth the additional cost.

The overall quality of the Saxophone is pretty nice. There were a couple of small imperfections in the application of the lacquer and there were a couple small scratches as well. Not that noticeable (But I was looking).A small adjustment had to be made to one of the keys so that all of the tone hole covers actuated by that key started moving at the same time and covered the tone holes at the same time. The springs are strong and the keys are responsive.I really liked the etching on the belly of the bell. There is also etching on the inside lip of the bell which I was not expecting.Admittedly, I'm out of practice playing a Sax, but the tone quality sounds good to me throughout all of the regular notes the horn is able to produce (not including altissimo). I'll probably end up getting a better mouthpiece and ligature before too long. The ligature that comes with the Sax has a tendency to slip unless the screws are really twisted on tightly.The included strap that came with the case (Not the shoulder straps that allow the case to be worn as a backpack) could have been a little longer. And one of the clasps completely broke off the first time I used it to sling the the case over one shoulder with the horn inside. Luckily the Saxophone was not damaged when the case fell to the floor. I supposed that's testament to the case's ability to protect the horn from a fall of about 3.5 feet.Would I buy another Sax like this one? Probably. The overall quality of the horn is really pretty good for a horn at this price point.

I did my research and while this tenor sax was best within my budget, but it was far beyond what I got for my money in quality. It is very well made and the people behind it are fantastic, in customer service, easy to talk to and incredible to interact with. They set a standard of customer response that I know cannot be topped anywhere for anything. Getting back to the instrument of my youth in my advanced older age has given be a lift mentally, and I owe it all to the folks at Jean Paul. There is NO downside to this purchase. I cannot thank them enough for their kindness.

I play a few instruments but hadn’t had the chance to play the sax (always wanted to but focused more on other instruments)-that being said it was time to finally get one-so I looked here on Amazon-decided to go with a tenor and ordered one-(off brand)-after my impulse buy I tried to research it and couldn’t find anything on YouTube-while I was looking I found a vid comparing different saxophones-thanks Jay Metcalf (Better Sax on YouTube)-and learned about the Jean Paul-before the video was finished I canceled my other order and went with the JP-and let me tell you-I’m glad I did!!!-Amazing in all ways-you can feel & see quality in certain things and with this in your hands you’ll immediately know that some serious care and craftsmanship went into this sax-as I’m progressing and able to get out more rich sounding tones it just confirms that I’m really glad I went with this sax-the keys move with ease and just feel so smooth-the tone is so rich-amazing instrument to say the least...The case it comes with is AMAZING as well!!!-the sax does not move at all when in place and it is just a quality case all around-even the embroidery is impressive-comes with a pretty good swab-you’ll want to keep ‘er clean as possible...The mouthpiece it comes with is good but I definitely recommend upgrading as soon as you can-it will make a big difference-(won’t make you play better but when you get things clicking you’ll definitely notice the difference)-I went from a Yamaha 5C to a Vandoren TL3 then ultimately to the D’Addario Select Jazz Limited Edition sandstone marble(D6M)-all play great but the D’Addario (for me) is the winner-the TL3 plays great as well just a bit more subtle-Also I’m using a Vandoren M/O ligature-fits perfectly on both the TL3 and the D6M but pretty tight on the Yamaha 5C- but it will work-I’ve tried a bunch of reeds and Boston Sax Co. are my favorite so far-using a #2 for now...these mouthpieces seem expensive but if you’re making an investment like this you might as well do it right-I read somewhere “why would you put a $30 mouthpiece on something you just paid close to 1K on-at the price point of this sax you can pick up a few things that you might not be able to afford going with a Yamaha or something better/more expensive (they get up there price wise)...Good Luck on your new journey!-I’m really enjoying mine!...

My journey on saxophone has been one of the more stereotypical “later in life” stories. I’m 30, always wanted to play sax, so I made a commitment. I spent 3 months researching my first purchase, and settled on the TS-400. I have a friend group who are all experienced musicians, which was very helpful for me starting out. I do have music experience, so I was pleased to find how quickly (still very basically) I could produce a sound I was happy with in the higher register.What I had issues with was running into overtones around low E. I was encouraged to continue developing my embouchure and I was content with this. However, a far more experienced friend of mine wanted to try the tenor out and I was more than pleased to let him. He was very impressed with the playability of the saxophone and its overall quality. Though, when he played the low E, he ran into the same issues. We decided to take the sax to the most experienced sax repair tech in our area.The tech was also impressed the quality of the Chinese manufactured saxophone. He found a loose cork under a key which he reset, and told me this was negligible. He did find, however, that the neck had an unnatural bend, and asked me if I had possibly dropped the saxophone, which definitely had not. He told me the bend was obviously not natural to the way the sax was manufactured, and that I should source a replacement (or he could for a cost) because the bend was altering the air flow of the saxophone a possibly creating the issues with overtones. He told me that the saxophone otherwise was in great condition but that sourcing parts for Chinese made saxophone can often be difficult.I reached out the Jean Paul to inquire about the possibility of me purchasing a new neck from them. I received an immediate response that a brand new neck was being shipped out to me free of charge. I was worried that, if they ever responded, they were going to ask me to ship back the saxophone so they could send me a new one, but I didn’t want a new sax, I wanted my sax, which is why I offered to purchase a new neck. Needless to say, I was blown away by their customer service.I informed my friends of the response. They told me that they had been hearing some good things about Jean Paul, but after this, that they were going to start actively suggesting the brand to the parents of their students.

I bought this sax in 2017. It’s a great horn for the price. Like any sax, I recommend upgrading the mouthpiece to get the most out of this tenor. The reason I am giving it 4 out of 5 stars is because I had to take it to the shop to remove and adjust the placement of the neck strap ring. It was too close to one of the keys and cause the neck strap latch to bend/obstruct the key. My friend didn’t have that problem (part of the inconsistency).2023-2026 update: now that I’m a better player and I’m playing in a community concert band, I have noticed its limitations. The upper register tends to be very sharp to the point where the mouthpiece is barely hanging on and even with this, some of the notes are flat in the lower register (even after lipping up and down to adjust the pitch). I have tried several mouthpieces to try to correct it. The high G is very inconsistent, it tends to be sharp, and sometimes doesn’t come out or plays an overtone (this has always been the case) and I have to often significantly adjust my embouchure to make a decent sound. I’ve taken it to several shops and they’ve said “nothing is wrong with it that’s just how cheap horns are.”It’s a great sax for beginners but after that it takes a lot to sound consistent and in tune. Maybe I got a defective horn?

El saxofón suena increíble, el precio es muy competitivo. Desafortunadamente el sax que me llegó tenía una parte desoldada pero al reportarlo a Amazon procedieron con el cambio.Muy satisfecho con este instrumento que me durará por años.

The instrument arrived as promised time wise and was ready to play and gives a good tone with the reed supplied.The instruction book has small print so hard to read the fingering chart.

Reviews of this instrument that I have read have been varied - ranging from brilliant to "only buy it if you can't afford another £1,000 to get something better." I must say that I am delighted with the one I bought. For the past 10 years I have played a Jericho alto - just for fun - and I fancied trying a tenor. As I am getting on a bit I did not want to pay too much but was looking for an instrument that would provide a satisfying sound and would not fall to bits within a few weeks.. This tenor really strikes the right note for me. It played "straight out of the box," as they say, although it took some time to adapt to the extra weight compared with the Jericho. It gives the impression of being really solid and well made. I am particularly pleased that the low notes sounds so deep and satisfying. I am well satisfied with my purchase.

Solid saxophone. Could have thicker corks in some places and more attention to detail in the lacquer and cosmetic aspects. And could also have a slightly better ligature and mouthpiece. Great for beginners

Me gustó su sonido, una pena que la abrazadera que lo acompaña haya llegado rota. Es posible reemplazarla?