Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have the Nickel Plated instrument, silver keys and body. Out of the box it is the most beautiful sax I've ever held. It came ready to play with 11 reeds, ... one ready in the mouthpiece. As for sound, so far so good. I am an older jazz saxophonist and I find variation of the reed and mouthpiece necessary to test different sound qualities. I took it through the paces, all the scales, some improvisational play w/ two different mouth pieces, 7 different reeds. One pad was sticking, so I put a little oil on it. The reeds aren't the greatest (the Glory reeds are much better). Other than that, it plays fine. This is the third low-cost mainland China sax I've tried. A lot of the great sax players were dirt poor when they started, and these low cost instruments may be all the future musicians have initially. My first test was an Antigua student model rented for my son, then a Glory and the Mendini off Amazon. They all are manufactured from a similar/identical CAD design based on a high end Selmer Paris (built with lower quality materials). The Mendini is the best of the three I've tried so far. The key springs were more stiff and the sound less bright than my higher end Antigua pro, but that may be due to the newness of sax. With a good mouthpiece and seasoned reed, the Mendini has been really nice to play ... and it looks and feels great. I had a Bundy and Vito when I was a kid ... this is nicer. FYI, I ignore sax reviews that aren't from verified purchasers. The most popular negative review seems to be from someone who never bought this sax. Also, be cautious of reviews from new sax players playing with a new reed. Reeds need moisture and get better with use. They also need a well trained lip to really good sound.