Thomann TSI-350 Sopranino Saxophone

The interweb will find you reviews of various Sopranino saxes and the problems with them. Using those I checked my new purchase very carefully. Looking very closely you can see slight machine marks, and the cork pads that the various keys rest on so they don't mar the body are not 100% aligned and beautiful but they most certainly do the job. The keys and how they are mounted are solid, none of the looseness you can find in reviews on the interweb.

The thing is tiny so it really does take more love and care than we have paid for to get an instrument without small imperfections.

Intonation is good, no need to buy a new mouthpiece just to get the thing to intonate. I was pleased by that, the 'quality' mouthpieces are damned expensive!

Sound? Happy so far and it really is a fun thing to play. Overblowing and bending notes is serious fun, the downside to that is some practice on long steady notes will be needed! But you knew that about a Sopranino anyway didn't you?

Very happy with my choice and I just hope the 'bug' doesn't bite to the extent I have to pay 10 times more for a Yanigasawa or Selmer...

Really couldn’t afford to buy a top of the ( rather limited) ranges soprano for what to most purposes is a novelty instrument BUT having read the other reviews and with big T’s refund policy through I’d go for this instrument.

So pleased I did! Let’s be honest it’s a budget priced instrument, but, it definitely “punches about its weight” , “ gives some bang for its buck” to use those over-used cliches. Straight out of the case put a vandoren reed on and blew. What a pleasant surprise, easy to blow-it was responsive and in tune-and comfortable to play, the LH table very easy to adjust to.

To sum up, I’m really pleased I got this, a pleasure to play and I can see where it will fit into my band and saxophone group work quite easily- but most importantly fun to play.

Goodness knows what it will be like with a non stock mouthpiece, but I’m saving up for one now.

For its price this is a good instrument-my instrument finish is good, no blemishes in the lacquer, the keywork seems solid, pads close well ( tested with leak light). I would suggest buying a swab to clean to instrument but don’t use a silk one, it snags on the octave key.

This is a great instrument and a great value for the money. However, you will have to spend another $400 on a decent sopranino mouthpiece. I was about to write a scathing review and return the instrument, but the Vandoren mouthpiece I purchased arrived and it was the 'game changer'.
You can't get a true reference on the instrument using the included 'inferior' mouthpiece. Otherwise, this is an excellent instrument at an awesome price! I've been an International Touring Musician for over 30 years and I've been observing the development of modern saxophones and technologies. This sopranino is a product of innovation and evolution. I can't wait for my Bass saxophone to arrive. If it's anything like the sopranino, I'll be a 'happy camper'!!!

I am a fanatic for saxophones; all the weird and lesser known members are so interesting to me. I've owned the main quartet for a while and I wanted to expand the range, so I decided to go with the sopranino. After lots of time thinking about all the different brands, I went with Thomann because of the price and good reviews. After having this instrument for almost a year I can say with certainty that this is a shockingly well-crafted instrument. The build quality was better than I expected; even with international shipping it functioned perfectly right out of the box. Intonation across the range is once again shockingly consistent, although octave G and G# have a little trouble speaking for me at first, but with time working my embouchure and a new mouthpiece I've resolved that issue. I would definitely recommend this horn if you're looking to dip your feet into playing the sopranino, it's a lot of fun and this model makes it easy to get a feel for this range in the saxophone family.