The saxophone itself seems excellent and a bargain for the money. It appears to be a slightly "watered down" P. Mauriat, and is evidently made in Taiwan by skilled craftsmen. Five stars for the saxophone. One (since zero is not possible) star for Thomann's customer service, which is not only non-existent but a massive waste of time due to what effectively boils down to trickery on their part to do nothing to help the customer. Instrument had issues upon arrival that clearly were due to poor setup and packaging on the Thomann side. They never owned up to this and everyone would have benefitted from the saxophone being shipped directly from Taiwan instead. Without doubt, in this manner, the instrument would have been set up better and packaged properly.
Update after three years of ownership: Do yourself a favor and buy another case immediately, as the original damages the bell. The foam of the lid is hard and the space insufficient. Over time, the persistent pressure bends the bell significantly of which I can provide documentation with pictures. I initially thought it was a Pro-Tec case that cause the damage. However, when I started using the original case again, the damage to the bell re-occurred. I stand by that the horn is great, but case, packaging and Thomann service leave a lot to wish for.
