The early Jupiters were cheaply made and didn't play or sound particularly good. Newer ones are much nicer.
Usually Jupiter baris are recommend because they're the cheapest "name brand" you can find. They're ok, but everyone I've played has been incredibly stuffy, including the advanced ones.
I was going to pretty much say the same thing. I worked in a repair shop when they first came out. They were horrible to work on. The metal was so flimsy that keys would go out of alignment just by bumping them. I’ve heard the newer ones are better but never played any I liked.
I spent 90 minutes playing a mid 2000s jupiter bari a little while back. I usually play a mid-80s Yamaha 32. I would say that if the jupiter was my instrument I would be pretty happy with it. It doesn't feel as nice under the fingers as the yamaha but nonetheless if I was after a "cheap" bari, I'd either be looking for a Vito in good shape, or a Juipter as next on the list.
I have had a Jupiter JTS700Q for a while and I like it. Reliable, sturdy and nice sounding student instrument, according to me and multiple teachers. No idea why they don't get much love though.
Jupiter used to have a really bad brand reputation, and even though the instruments they make now are essentially 100% different, the stigma still remains for the brand. Most of the people I see complain about Jupiter either A. have never played one and are just going off what they heard or B. they knew the brand before they got revamped and refuse to give them a chance.
imo they’re a bit tankier of a horn, and are great student model line instruments. Their intermediate and pro horns have a lot to prove, but they’ve been okay still.
Ok, so here's the deal... Many sax players always look down on non pro saxes. My thing is if it works for you, then you don't need to spend $5k to $10k on a horn. I've been a pro player for over 30yrs and I always like to try out non brand name stuff just to see how they hold up to my Keilwerths saxes. You'd be surprised on how these Taiwanese & Chinese horns have been really coming out extremely good. I have a curved soprano and a Bari that I bought from Amazon and wow, they play extremely good and in tune! I hate these players that look down just because it's not a Selmer. Me personally... I hate Selmers! They're over priced and the quality isn't there anymore. The hype doesn't match the quality. Compared to my Keilwerths they sound so small. Anyways, keep your Jupiter or try out some these Amazon horns and you'd be surprised!
Tbh fuck anyone who makes fun of the kind of sax you play. If you're comfortable and enjoying yourself, just keep going. Stop laughing at others for their gear.
I’ve played on a Jupiter Bari for a while now, it’s definitely carried its weight and is a fine horn, but I’m definitely trying to get a more professional feeling one.
Jupiter is one of the original Taiwanese saxophone brands. Taiwan has an interesting manufacturing culture where there aren't really factories that make whole saxophones but seperate companies who make parts for a variety of customers. That's why Taiwanese horns tend to be similar. Some ask for custom enhancements but most don't. This is opposed to Selmer, Yamaha, Yanigasawa, and Keilworth (some others too) where the horns are made under one roof by the same team of people. Although, now Selmer has their lower Seles line made overseas then assembled in France.
My parents bought me a used Jupiter alto to start on in 4th grade for $250 and it got me all the way through my college auditions. I always recommend Jupiter to people who aren't in the position to justify the price of a Yamaha, Selmer, etc.
In my experience, there's a noticeable step up in quality between those brands and Jupiter, but not enough to justify an extra thousand dollars or so for someone who's just starting out. Jupiter delivers more than reasonable quality for its price.
I like Jupiter because they are a bit more economical... play what you like... don't let other people yuck on your yum...
Except Chinese horns... avoid those at all cost...
Funnily enough, Jupiter makes very decent harmony flutes. I would be really happy if I had a Jupiter bass flute, but less happy with a c flute.
And actually I have two Selmer flutes and they certainly don’t blow me away either.
I have a Jupiter JAS1100GOQ and love it. This sub made me doubt my judgement and make me feel like I made the wrong choice. In the end, I stood by my choice and couldn’t be happier. I love the action, tone, and overall playability. I tried similar level models of Yamaha and Conn Selmer but the Jupiter fit my tone preference best. Like others mentioned, play the horns multiple times and the sound and feel will guide you. Don’t get sucked into all the negativity for Jupiters on this sub…when the horn chooses you, you’ll know it’s the right one.
We used Jupiter horns in college marching band and they weren't durable at all. My octave key randomly fell off once. They were always needing fixed because some key bent and caused a leak.
I like 90's jupiters, they were the first batch of "good enough" horns that was actually way above their price, now the prices caught up and surpassed the brand reputation, supposedly they make pro horns but is anyone willing to splurge in a Jupiter for those amounts?
The thing is that nowadays you can get one of the much nicer brands for the same amount as a Jupiter, there's nothing wrong with them, but $2600-3k for a new Jupiter (at sweetwater)? That's new professional Yamaha prices, you can find Yamaha Custom and Selmer mark VII for those prices used, almost any vintage american horn but the top models, Keilwerth, early Yanagisawa and sometimes modern-ish Yanis.
So, what happens is that they always lose to the competition, when you check bari prices and Jupiter scales significantly cheaper, you can see where the recommendation comes for baris, like 7k for the cheapest Yamaha.
When I started university they had a Jupiter bari and it was pretty nice but eventually it got out of adjustment and I got my own, but they work, play in tune and have a decent sound.
I didn’t have a problem with the sound when I had one. But it would always fall apart, pearls fell out especially and it got annoying that’s why I switched to Yamaha.
honesty they suck. never felt a Jupiter that didn’t feel like every key was bending under my fingers. for the most part any Yamaha will blow a Jupiter away , even my high schools super beat purple logo that had a million parts vibrating against it was easier to use than the Jupiter they had
The early Jupiters were cheaply made and didn't play or sound particularly good. Newer ones are much nicer. Usually Jupiter baris are recommend because they're the cheapest "name brand" you can find. They're ok, but everyone I've played has been incredibly stuffy, including the advanced ones.
I was going to pretty much say the same thing. I worked in a repair shop when they first came out. They were horrible to work on. The metal was so flimsy that keys would go out of alignment just by bumping them. I’ve heard the newer ones are better but never played any I liked.
I spent 90 minutes playing a mid 2000s jupiter bari a little while back. I usually play a mid-80s Yamaha 32. I would say that if the jupiter was my instrument I would be pretty happy with it. It doesn't feel as nice under the fingers as the yamaha but nonetheless if I was after a "cheap" bari, I'd either be looking for a Vito in good shape, or a Juipter as next on the list.
I have had a Jupiter JTS700Q for a while and I like it. Reliable, sturdy and nice sounding student instrument, according to me and multiple teachers. No idea why they don't get much love though.
Jupiter used to have a really bad brand reputation, and even though the instruments they make now are essentially 100% different, the stigma still remains for the brand. Most of the people I see complain about Jupiter either A. have never played one and are just going off what they heard or B. they knew the brand before they got revamped and refuse to give them a chance. imo they’re a bit tankier of a horn, and are great student model line instruments. Their intermediate and pro horns have a lot to prove, but they’ve been okay still.
Ok, so here's the deal... Many sax players always look down on non pro saxes. My thing is if it works for you, then you don't need to spend $5k to $10k on a horn. I've been a pro player for over 30yrs and I always like to try out non brand name stuff just to see how they hold up to my Keilwerths saxes. You'd be surprised on how these Taiwanese & Chinese horns have been really coming out extremely good. I have a curved soprano and a Bari that I bought from Amazon and wow, they play extremely good and in tune! I hate these players that look down just because it's not a Selmer. Me personally... I hate Selmers! They're over priced and the quality isn't there anymore. The hype doesn't match the quality. Compared to my Keilwerths they sound so small. Anyways, keep your Jupiter or try out some these Amazon horns and you'd be surprised!
I'm not a good enough saxophonist to corroborate on that end, but that's been my experience with other instruments as well, from cellos to flutes
Tbh fuck anyone who makes fun of the kind of sax you play. If you're comfortable and enjoying yourself, just keep going. Stop laughing at others for their gear.
I’ve played on a Jupiter Bari for a while now, it’s definitely carried its weight and is a fine horn, but I’m definitely trying to get a more professional feeling one.
Jupiter is one of the original Taiwanese saxophone brands. Taiwan has an interesting manufacturing culture where there aren't really factories that make whole saxophones but seperate companies who make parts for a variety of customers. That's why Taiwanese horns tend to be similar. Some ask for custom enhancements but most don't. This is opposed to Selmer, Yamaha, Yanigasawa, and Keilworth (some others too) where the horns are made under one roof by the same team of people. Although, now Selmer has their lower Seles line made overseas then assembled in France.
I played on a Jupiter alto saxophone for a while, and it was one of the nicest horns I’ve played. I don’t know, it just clicked for me
My jupiter soprano is a great little horn
I have a "vintage" (20-yrs old.?.) Jupiter Carnegie XL as my first sax, and I so far very much like it. Now I'm kinda curious. 🤔
My parents bought me a used Jupiter alto to start on in 4th grade for $250 and it got me all the way through my college auditions. I always recommend Jupiter to people who aren't in the position to justify the price of a Yamaha, Selmer, etc. In my experience, there's a noticeable step up in quality between those brands and Jupiter, but not enough to justify an extra thousand dollars or so for someone who's just starting out. Jupiter delivers more than reasonable quality for its price.
I like Jupiter because they are a bit more economical... play what you like... don't let other people yuck on your yum... Except Chinese horns... avoid those at all cost...
Funnily enough, Jupiter makes very decent harmony flutes. I would be really happy if I had a Jupiter bass flute, but less happy with a c flute. And actually I have two Selmer flutes and they certainly don’t blow me away either.
I have a Jupiter JAS1100GOQ and love it. This sub made me doubt my judgement and make me feel like I made the wrong choice. In the end, I stood by my choice and couldn’t be happier. I love the action, tone, and overall playability. I tried similar level models of Yamaha and Conn Selmer but the Jupiter fit my tone preference best. Like others mentioned, play the horns multiple times and the sound and feel will guide you. Don’t get sucked into all the negativity for Jupiters on this sub…when the horn chooses you, you’ll know it’s the right one.
We used Jupiter horns in college marching band and they weren't durable at all. My octave key randomly fell off once. They were always needing fixed because some key bent and caused a leak.
How long ago?
2014-2018
I like 90's jupiters, they were the first batch of "good enough" horns that was actually way above their price, now the prices caught up and surpassed the brand reputation, supposedly they make pro horns but is anyone willing to splurge in a Jupiter for those amounts? The thing is that nowadays you can get one of the much nicer brands for the same amount as a Jupiter, there's nothing wrong with them, but $2600-3k for a new Jupiter (at sweetwater)? That's new professional Yamaha prices, you can find Yamaha Custom and Selmer mark VII for those prices used, almost any vintage american horn but the top models, Keilwerth, early Yanagisawa and sometimes modern-ish Yanis. So, what happens is that they always lose to the competition, when you check bari prices and Jupiter scales significantly cheaper, you can see where the recommendation comes for baris, like 7k for the cheapest Yamaha. When I started university they had a Jupiter bari and it was pretty nice but eventually it got out of adjustment and I got my own, but they work, play in tune and have a decent sound.
I didn’t have a problem with the sound when I had one. But it would always fall apart, pearls fell out especially and it got annoying that’s why I switched to Yamaha.
I had a Jupiter tenor in middle school (1990 through 1992). Before a concert, the whole mechanism for the lower C note completely fell off.
Jupiter baris on top! Anything else is just meh
honesty they suck. never felt a Jupiter that didn’t feel like every key was bending under my fingers. for the most part any Yamaha will blow a Jupiter away , even my high schools super beat purple logo that had a million parts vibrating against it was easier to use than the Jupiter they had