Purchased a Thomann Handmade MK II saxophone in December 2023. A bit of background: I'd been playing the alto sax and flute at a fairly advanced hobbyist level, but was always after the tenor timbre and feel, and eventually decided to own one. Before that, I'd had a short-term experience with Buffet 400 (deemed as an intermediate horn) to compare with, and in terms of quality/playability can compare the Thomann Handmade with my intermediate alto (Trevor James SR).
# Ordering/packing/delivery
My order was processed smoothly, and the shipment was incredibly swift, especially considering the pre-Christmas time (it took less than 2 days to have the item at my door in Czechia; the fastest delivery I've experienced ever). The sax was snuggly packed inside two boxes in an eco-friendly manner with a sufficient amount of stuffing paper.
# First impressions
The horn is very lovely in reality, even nicer than on the product page. Its body lacquer color (way darker than in the photos) is very appealing and looks indeed like a high-end instrument.
Thomann Handmade is made in Vietnam, as several stickers and stamps tell. There were a couple of quality certificates in the package (one from the factory, and another from Thomann). However, upon unboxing, I observed that a pearl of the bis-Bb key was not in its place, but rather lying separately in the case (it was no problem later to fit it onto the key using super-glue). Further examination showed that the entry bore of the neck, right under the cork, was slightly bashed, resulting in an oval shape. Nevertheless, it didn't cause trouble with putting a mouthpiece, nor with playability, though I am going to get it fixed by a local technician. I have contacted Thomann Customer Service with this regard, and they kindly offered me a pleasant discount as compensation.
Despite these issues, the overall build is very solid and robust.
All accessories were provided as per the product description. The stock mouthpiece is nothing stellar as expected, but is playable and not that bad as an emergency backup. The case is of good quality, but as mentioned in other reviews it is significantly bulky and heavy. The strap is basic but quite okay.
# Technical details, setup
The saxophone is equipped with Pisoni Pro 112 pads (judging by the attached tag). No leaks were observed whatsoever. Keys are powered by blue steel springs with higher-than-average resistance to them. The action is balanced across all keys, yet a bit on the higher side, on the other hand, it's absolutely bearable and certainly can be tweaked to tastes (luckily there are adjusters on both main stacks). Both thumb rests are metal; the left-hand one is convexed which makes pressing the octave key very comfortable.
# Overall performance, sound, and conclusions
I've been playing this sax with an inexpensive Rico Metalite M7 mouthpiece and Rico orange-box 2.0 reeds. Thomann Handmade is a free-blowing, and more importantly very easy-to-play-overall instrument. Intonation is correct and even throughout the entire range. The sound is pretty flexible, the horn works well at both low and high volume.
In combination with the Metalite, it provides beautiful bright sound, very strong with a lot of projection to it. I already had a field test with it at a small local gig, where I could play absolutely without a mic in a 5-man electric band, and was clearly audible even at the farthest end of the room.
In summary, Thomann Handmade is at least on par with a more expensive Buffet 400, and probably even more superior (unfortunately cannot compare one right next to the other, or to pro horns). The Handmade gives me everything that I as a hobbyist personally would expect from a decent intermediate instrument. This horn does with ease what I want it to do and provides me with joy while playing, while at the same time, I didn't have to pay a fortune for it.
And a quick afterword for those who contemplate whether to switch from an alto to a tenor -- don't hesitate to give it a try; i did and hardly touch my nice alto anymore.
