Now it's not such a clear cut choice for me. Apparently Yamaha understands that and so, adjusted their prices. I was blown away by the difference! The only reason I don't buy a Cannonball Tenor is that I already have a perfectly good horn in my Yamaha.Did anyone else notice that the price of Yamaha's horns was cut almost in half last year? Why do you think? A local music store rep who deals with the different manufacturers said that the Yamaha rep told him it was beacuse Cannonball was killing them! I agree that the Cannonballs are not that much better than any other top of the line horns but they have always been a LOT cheaper than the big boys. DRASTICALLY different horn than the old ones. Didn't touch them again until they came out with the Big Bell Series. If there is any problem with the horn, Cannonball's customer service seems to be substantially better than any other manufacturer I 've heard of.My brother and I have both taught many students over the years and both of us hated the Cannonballs we played 5 or 6 years ago. If some student tosses it around, then I don't care what horn it is, it will come apart! I've never had a single issue with my Cannonball soprano and it still looks better than my Yamaha after three years of constant use. The durability of Cannonballs seems to be an issue with some people here but it seems to me if you take care of any horn, it will last a long time. I've tried almost every horn out there that I can get my hands on and I think I own the best horns that work for me. There are several posts here that mention the best way to choose a new sax.GO TRY IT YOURSELF! I own a Yamaha 62S tenor and a Cannonball Silver curved soprano and I love both of them. Be careful out there folks and please, please.can't we all just get along? Low-priced mail order horns, but you buy them sight-unseen. The internet is a great and terrible thing. One thing that I've learned through my experiences, and that has been echoed throughout this thread, is that you've got to try each and every horn before you buy it. I've tried two newer Jupiters since I sold it and they bit. But, one of the best sounding altos of my career was a silver jupiter. I relapaced my Raven alto with a Yanagisawa and I love it. I used to own a sweeeeet yamaha soprano (yss-61) since then I've had a 62 and a 675 that sucked royally. I've played alot of crappy selmers, but I love my S-80 tenor. In fairness though, I believe that problem exist with the big boys, too. But, if there is one thing lacking it seems to be quality control. The concept and materials are great, the people who work there are stellar and I applaud innovation in this industry whenever I see it. I think Cannonball is a great company with a really good product.

I've met Tevis and discussed my concerns, but I gathered it was nothing he hadn't heard. Two of my private students and one of my school pupils have bought Cballs for themselves and I'm glad they did. People that have had the experience of my soprano and that of my lemon alto. Since then I've met people on both sides of the fence. I considered myself fortunate to get what I paid for it when I sold it a month later. I used on gigs and in my lessons and in my teaching at school, but it was a lemon. Again, I got a great deal on it, but something was different. 3 months later I told him to order me the new CB Raven alto that was newly out. I'm not sure I'd have felt as strongly about that horn if I'd paid another $400 for it. He also gave me an increadible deal on the thing (a little over cost). I bought it because I'm a band director and my music store rep brought it out to my school for me to try. I bought a C-ball curved soprano 2 years ago. Unlike most Cannonball players, I can see both sides of the debate.

Borgani saxophone review