Windcraft Series 1 Alto Saxophone
Friday, October 8, 2010
The Chinese are beginning to make inroads into the brass and woodwind markets and while there has been a thriving high quality production line coming out of neighbour Taiwan for some time (Mauriat/Conn), factories on the Chinese mainland haven’t quite got their act together – that is until now.
The Windcraft Series 1 alto saxophone is typical of this new level of Chinese mainland quality. Well finished with faultless gold plating, the Series 1 feels good and solid with a very positive action and comes with a top F sharp and, surprisingly, steel reflectors. I particularly liked the responsive octave key and the positioning of the palm keys.
Intonation was good and the harmonics popped out as expected however, like many of its country cousins, there is a limited dynamic range – but perhaps we are expecting too much from a very competitively priced horn. The Series 1 carries all the credentials for being a serious student instrument, with the added benefit that if for any reason your saxophone suffers an accident, it can be repaired here in the UK by Dawkes with exactly the same parts that were used in it’s original manufacture. As with all instruments from south east Asia, the Series 1 comes with a quality denier covered, pre-formed, plush lined semi-hard case with a 3/4 zip and a full length deep zippered pocket to the front face. There are two rubberised top handles and another rubberised grab handle to the top end. There is also a shoulder strap with ‘D’ rings and a back harness with a velcro attached cover. For more go to www.dawkes.co.uk