Thanks for sharing such a detailed experience!

I’m a professional saxophone player, aged 65, and have been playing them since 1969. I’ve had several brands & sizes, from baris to sopranos, and Yanagisawas, Selmers, Yamahas, a Couf, a LeBlanc, and even a Paul Mariat. But I was intrigued when I saw online video reviews of cheap saxes on Youtube from Better Sax. I bought a Mendini Tenor and an Eastar Tenor from Amazon, each for less than what I make for a single gig, just as a test. After all, it was through Amazon Prime; I could return either or both for any reason at all within 30 days.

Comparing the two, the Mendini had the edge, but only from a price point. The Eastar played equally well, was slightly heavier, but had no other obvious advantage over the Mendini.

I sent back the Eastar and started playing the Mendini once or twice a month on gigs. It needed very little adjustment out of the case–just a slight leak on the low F key that was easily adjusted with a strip light showing the problem. I applied some Sugru to build up the left palm keys and the right high keys, and it plays perfectly for me.

I set aside the mouthpiece it came with, along with its reeds, and use my Berg-Larsen mouthpiece and Hemke reeds. It honestly plays just about as well as any of the professional grade saxophones I’ve blown.

That was February of 2024. It’s September now. The only negative so far is the key pearl fell out of the bis key.

I purchased an Assurion insurance policy as part of the original Amazon order. I started the process of opening a claim, then discovered they want to refund the entire purchase price and have me ship the horn back to them. For just a faux mother-of-pearl key cover? Ridiculous!

I contacted Mendini directly. It’s a Sunday today, so they need to wait for someone more experienced in their parts department to contact me tomorrow. Hopefully it’ll just be a matter of sending them a photograph & the original order number, and they’ll send me a replacement key pearl.

Beyond that, the Mendini Tenor Sax I bought has been just fine for professional use. Amazing. It makes me think about those horns I blow that run from $5K to $13K new at the local Schmitt Music store. They’ll likely last longer than this Mendini, and I bet the key pearls don’t drop out & get lost at a gig.

But at $260, this sax is an easy winner. Especially considering I don’t plan on spending around $10K on a replacement sax at my age when a cheap Asian build works quite nicely.