New Eastman EAS-850 Rue St. Georges Saxophones
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- čas přidán 12. 09. 2024
- A ground breaking design from Eastman. A remarkable new saxophone!
Eastman have raised the bar with the introduction of the Rue St. Georges alto and tenor range. Contrasting somewhat with the fat, powerful American sound of the 52nd street models. The Rue St Georges offers a more refined and focussed sound, while bringing in some of the most ground-breaking innovations the saxophone has seen in decades.
Eastman 850 Alto - sax.co.uk/coll...
Eastman 850 Tenor - sax.co.uk/coll...
Thanks for all your feedback regarding this new Eastman saxophone! We understand that a few "traditional" sax players may have a few reservations in regards to where the saxophone is manufactured. As far as we're concerned, this is one of the best modern saxophones money can buy, and we want our customers to have the opportunity to try/buy this instrument. We've invited vice president of Eastman, Ryan Richman to address some of your concerns, here's what he has to say:
"I would like to address some of the comments made here on the review of the Eastman Rue Saint Georges saxophones. Firstly, I want to sincerely thank Jim for his review of our new saxophones. When you spend years developing musical instruments, spending countless hours testing, experimenting, building prototypes, finding success, and at times, failing, these products become highly personal to the designers and builders involved. Especially if you play the instrument that you’re working on. I am a saxophonist, so this one is very personal to me. After all the work that goes into building a musical instrument, it is wonderful when people notice the work done and appreciate the artistry involved. Thank you, Jim.
Many might not know that Eastman began in Boston, Mass. The founder, Qian Ni, was an exchange student from Beijing studying flute at Boston University. Qian earned a master's degree in flute performance, became a United States citizen, and started Eastman Strings. With humble beginnings, Qian grew slowly, building a good business selling violins to shops across America, but he knew that his future was more than just selling musical products. He wanted to build them. Over the years Qian invested in many US factories along with building factories in the land of his birth. Today, Eastman is the parent company of Wm. S. Haynes flutes, S.E. Shires brass, Backun clarinets, and Bourgeois guitars. Eastman owns and operates 7 factories in three different countries. Three in the USA, one in Canada, and three in China. I can assure everyone, Eastman is a US company. Like many other US companies, Eastman produces products in other countries. Design and direction for our product development is all done in house. We are blessed to have some of the most talented people in our industry working with us at Eastman. We have applied for several US patents for our designs when we think it warrants that. In the case of the new Rue saxophones, the design comes from a small team of saxophonists along with our talented builders and engineers.
Most musical instrument makers outsource some of their instruments to other factories. Many storied brands have certain models or parts made for them by vendors. If you’ve ever heard a salesperson say that an instrument is “made to our specs” that almost always means that it was outsourced. If the instrument has a legacy brand on the bell we tend to be more forgiving, even if you notice a “Made in China”, “Made in Taiwan”, or a “Made in Indonesia” stamp on the back. The Rue Saint Georges, and new 52nd Street saxophones are indeed made in our factory, by our craftspeople, not just “made to our specs”. They are designed by us in the same way other makers designed and developed their instruments in the past. If you won’t support companies that make saxophones that are not the originator (Adolphe Sax), then your list of acceptable instruments is very short.
I, myself, am a saxophonist. I own many saxophones from many makers. The oldest in my collection is from 1926. I have loved, studied, and appreciated the saxophone my whole life. The opportunity to help design and build a saxophone with my colleges at Eastman, both in the USA and in China, has been a huge highlight of my career. I welcome anyone that would like to discuss the saxophone, history, design, and manufacturing."
What a gracious response. I certainly didn't intend to cause any offence and I certainly wasn't trying to suggest that Eastman saxes are in any way inferior because of where they are made; quite the opposite. This looks like a great horn and will look forward to trying themn out as soon as I get a chance. With best wishes.
@@marklang7486 Your comment was 100% reasonable, a few others were a little more extreme in their response to the sax! In fact, we've been a large driving force in getting mauriat to remove "New York, London, Paris" from their marketing, as the instruments are fantastic in their own right! All the best
As a newer sax player and kind of engineering enthusiast, I’m surprised how few technical advances there seems to have been in instruments or music notation in the last 100 years. I’m glad to see even small attempts like this to make a sax better. I’m thinking that there could easily be different angled necks for shorter/taller players. I’m surprised I don’t see saxes with full carbon fiber keys. Hopefully more companies do like this one to really find out what are improvements that can still be made!
Welcome to the sax community. I know this sound weird but, You'll find that is really difficult to improve the original selmer BA / S(b)A ..design. 1) Because it is a great great design, 2) ssx players do not embrace innovations easily, techicians and players just buy a trusty old designs..
Really good points made. I’ve come to Saxophone and music theory late in life, it all seems very odd to me but I’m getting there with a lot of hard work. I think I’ve cracked it then discover something is only the case if there’s an ‘R’ in the month!!!
Thanks for excellent review of the 850. I have the EAS-650 version (which comes with the R-neck only) and love it!
Yes, i have this sax in an Alto and love it!
@Philip Sniegiroff that hilarious, the first time I saw him play I was like oh my that's an older me, just grow my hair out... is a compliment. thanks.
A great review. I’m a tenor player, and I’m wairting for a tenor version of the review.
Why have they called this model 'Rue St. Georges' I wonder? I understand its chinese made. This sort of thing bothers me. Like Mauriats which have 'Paris' all over the bell engraving when the company has bugger all to do with France. If the companies have confidence in their products why all the subterfuge about where they originate from? That said, these do look interesting. Not sure Jim playing it helps us much though - he would sound good blowing down a length of drainpipe!
i wouldn’t say china factories are bad. my best playing horn, a yamaha yts 480, is made in china in a smaller factory. absolute kick ass blank canvas of a horn
@@chrismccrum1313 I didn't say Chinese factories are bad; just that manufacturers should be proud of their products and not try to obfuscate where they come from. Yamaha are a great example. When they started making saxes in 1967 there was no precedent for Asian/eastern manufacturers (Yanagisawa had been going for a decade or so but had not made a real impact by then). Yamaha could have tried to pass their horns off as western with some naming or logo gimmickry but no, they stuck their name in bold purple text on the bell with 'made in japan' proudly underneath it. And the rest is history as they say. Newer eastern manufacturers could learn a thing or two from that.
@@marklang7486 The ‘Paris’ in the bell engraving on Mauriat saxophones is related to the fact that the brand is named after the bandleader Paul Mauriat due to his popularity in Taiwan.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Mauriat
@@alsatusmd1A13 Thanks Joseph. I think the point still stands though; any fair minded person looking at the bell engaraving of a Mauriat is going to think "this sax was made in Paris". In the same way that, when you look at a Selmer Paris horn you have a reasonable expectation that it is made in Paris (which, of course it is). This is clearly what P. Mauriat were going for. The irony is that Mauriats are great horns so trying to pass them off as something they are not is a bit dumb (IMHO). They are stuck with the brand name now but I'd respectfully say it's time for them to quietly drop the 'Paris' bit from their branding.
It‘s meant as a tribute to the art of french saxophone manufacturing. The 52nd street sounded like an old American horn, this one sounds like an old Selmer.
For those saying this is a China sax why the price.... you don’t own one. First of all you can negotiate a good price and second is an amazing horn. I’ve had mine for 1.5 months and is amazing. But I’m not an expert. The same factory that’s making their flutes and tu as for Hanes for over 100 yrs made these. So not your standard factory either.
agreed. my best playing horn, a yamaha yts 480 plays better than anything i’ve ever tried and was made in china
Players have to stop classifying saxophones made in China as being rubbish. I have a tenor Mark VI 1962 model in mint condition. And a Conn Selmer Prelude made in China and sold for about 1000 USD. Both play great and the sound is the same, but when comparing side by side you can see that the Conn Selmer is more solid build. A weak point on the Mark VI are the rods along the side. They easily come out of position. The Conn Selmer has resolved that with a much more sturdy anchoring, just to mention one aspect. Things develop in 55 years.
@today is not yesterday the Conn Selmer is made in China, for the company Conn Selmer. IPhone is made in China for a company called Apple.
They sound lovely, great review Jim. No roll tone holes??
Muito bom , parabéns
Nice but is it really us there with top Yamaha and Yani saxes that are similarly priced? I can't help thinking one of those would hold value better.
It really is up there with the very best!
My thoughts exactly. In 10-20 years if the horns are lasting as well as other established brands and resale values likewise then fair enough. Until then, when it comes to actually dropping that kind of coin on a horn (rather than just having a blow and saying its a good horn) its going to be Yamaha/Yani all day long for most folks I would think. It certainly would be for me. I'll be interested to have a blow on one of these at some point though.
Sounds amazing but noticeably sharp in the upper register at times to my ears.
that's an individual thing. a friend of mine owns one of these tenors and his palm key sound/intonation is one of my favourite among my peers.
Is there a soprano model?
Nice review of a lovely instrument. I won't ask the price on the grounds that if I need to ask I can't afford it 😀
Do you Guys plan to make more covers once this pandemic is over?
Watch this space... we're just putting the finishing touches onto our next cover! 🎷🎶
@@saxworldwide Yay I love you guys and your covers so much I cannot wait now
You are referring to all the great innovations in great detail
AND THE CAMERA IS METERS AWAY!!! Like watching a chess match from the bleachers.
Leaving something to the imagination ;)
@@jonasdanielseneskeland3001
Actually leaving everything to guesswork
We put close ups of every feature Jim is talking about on screen. We'll try to show them with more clarity next time! All the best!
I've had a silver plated horn for 25 years and the plating on the key touches will rub off eventually.
probably. they should’ve used sterling
Zoom in.
Nr 1 is the only innovation, the rest is just aesthetic features
Yeah, I was thinking a little more radical, like moving holes around, or elliptical holes and pads or something.
Who could teach me to play sax??
Thanks a lot.
I'm self taught using lots of free lessons on the internet and CZcams. Try it.
@@thedelaminator thank you.....!!!
always work on long tones and technique warm ups everyday. it will help in the long run. Set a goal for yourself on a song you want to learn but keep it realistic. like maybe pink panther at first? really popular for beginners. Even lullabys are good songs to start on. I know its strange to play lullabys and nursery rhymes if your a little older but it will help you progress.
@@tonyzamora3287 thanks a lot
Kaotic Squirrel....I wil work long tones. If I play a song...for example...
a Burt Bacharach song.....is it a good
practice to play the same song in different tonalyties....?? Regards
Sax Co Uk, you have deleted my comment, but I have sent it to your office regardless of that. Thank you for showing me you are a company that can't accept any criticism.
Oh boy I wanna hear this
Hi Zvonimir, you replied to David Holloway and your post is still there - This is a comment section that welcomes free speech and we love to hear all your opinions.
Zvonimir, you are making general cultural stereo-types as to the way the Chinese go about producing their instruments but missing the principals under which Eastman operates. As your comments are so scathing we thought we would invite Ryan Richman, the vice-president of Eastman, to respond to your comments. This is what he has to say:
"I would like to address some of the comments made here on the review of the Eastman Rue Saint Georges saxophones. Firstly, I want to sincerely thank Jim for his review of our new saxophones. When you spend years developing musical instruments, spending countless hours testing, experimenting, building prototypes, finding success, and at times, failing, these products become highly personal to the designers and builders involved. Especially if you play the instrument that you’re working on. I am a saxophonist, so this one is very personal to me. After all the work that goes into building a musical instrument, it is wonderful when people notice the work done and appreciate the artistry involved. Thank you, Jim.
Many might not know that Eastman began in Boston, Mass. The founder, Qian Ni, was an exchange student from Beijing studying flute at Boston University. Qian earned a master's degree in flute performance, became a United States citizen, and started Eastman Strings. With humble beginnings, Qian grew slowly, building a good business selling violins to shops across America, but he knew that his future was more than just selling musical products. He wanted to build them. Over the years Qian invested in many US factories along with building factories in the land of his birth. Today, Eastman is the parent company of Wm. S. Haynes flutes, S.E. Shires brass, Backun clarinets, and Bourgeois guitars. Eastman owns and operates 7 factories in three different countries. Three in the USA, one in Canada, and three in China. I can assure everyone, Eastman is a US company. Like many other US companies, Eastman produces products in other countries. Design and direction for our product development is all done in house. We are blessed to have some of the most talented people in our industry working with us at Eastman. We have applied for several US patents for our designs when we think it warrants that. In the case of the new Rue saxophones, the design comes from a small team of saxophonists along with our talented builders and engineers.
Most musical instrument makers outsource some of their instruments to other factories. Many storied brands have certain models or parts made for them by vendors. If you’ve ever heard a salesperson say that an instrument is “made to our specs” that almost always means that it was outsourced. If the instrument has a legacy brand on the bell we tend to be more forgiving, even if you notice a “Made in China”, “Made in Taiwan”, or a “Made in Indonesia” stamp on the back. The Rue Saint Georges, and new 52nd Street saxophones are indeed made in our factory, by our craftspeople, not just “made to our specs”. They are designed by us in the same way other makers designed and developed their instruments in the past. If you won’t support companies that make saxophones that are not the originator (Adolphe Sax), then your list of acceptable instruments is very short
I, myself, am a saxophonist. I own many saxophones from many makers. The oldest in my collection is from 1926. I have loved, studied, and appreciated the saxophone my whole life. The opportunity to help design and build a saxophone with my colleges at Eastman, both in the USA and in China, has been a huge highlight of my career. I welcome anyone that would like to discuss the saxophone, it’s history, design, and manufacturing."