Antigua Pro-One Saxophone and Peter Ponzol 

I played Mark VI alto and tenor for years. I have a Pro One alto and tenor also now. I like the Antigua alto as much as my Mark VI and the Antigua tenor is even better than Mark VI for me. Both Antiguas are very smooth flowing and the best I've played for subtones, low notes and altissimo.

Incredible sax solo on Todd Rundgrens Last Ride track

Awesome!!!

If you are at all interested or considering looking into this horn...spend a few minutes and read my take. You won't be disappointed! I would like to start by saying I am in NO WAY a proficient player who knows his instrument inside & out! I know what that takes and I completely admire and envy those who are one with their horn. Possibly had I picked up sax as a teen...maybe...but I chose drums instead. Being a forever Stan Getz fan I always had an appreciation for tenor. About ten years ago as I began to turn the corner on my 4th CD I began a trek to add sax to a few of my tunes. I spent a lot of time and money looking for a keyboard synthesized sax sound and even tried a breath controller...[which was very disappointing]. Good news...I was able to write some decent solo parts etc. on keyboard...but as we all know the results compared to the real deal fall way short! After much frustration I decided to go all in and buy a sax! Now I'm not one to just get an instrument and take lessons and go that road. First off I'm too old for lessons and I don't read well anyway. My first horn was an intermediate level Antigua tenor I found locally on Craigslist. Couple a hundred bucks later... and the first thing I did was tear it apart, replace some pads and figure out how to put it back to playing form, because of my mechanical back round... I like to see how things work! It was a lesson in appreciation of a fine instrument [the saxophone] as much as a true learning experience that set me on a course of rebuilding a number of horns after that. Big commitment on tools and time in itself...but all worth it. Now bare in mind I had never picked up a horn before this. The one thing I always had going for me is a have a great ear. So once I put my first horn back together and learned all the things I should and shouldn't have done the first time around, it took me a few weeks to get it to come around...and for a tech...you know what I'm talking about. But it finally did and I began learning how to play it...yay...the fruit! I would be remiss if I didn't also mention the arduous journey taken involving finding the perfect mouthpiece & reed combination!!! All I can say is...years...and I'm still experimenting! This is getting way too wordy and off the original track of the Pro One Tenor...so I'll fast forward years later to just less than a year ago. I began working on re-doing one of my first ventures on this same trusty old Antigua tenor... and I began to get very frustrated fighting certain passages. So I decided since I am now two years retired that I might look into treating myself to a new horn! So I started the hunt...again. Anyway...after days of research I looked back into the newest Antigua horns and after watching this video and many others on this horn...plus the manufacturing process involved...which is impressive...I found an antique lacquer Pro One Tenor on Ebay and got it. There is a but to this story and we'll get to that at the end... Now with all the years of research and so forth I have gone thru with all the different saxes out there...the one thing that has always stood out is that the Mark VI is the supposed standard with which all others strive for. Having said that...I have never played a Mark VI so I cannot offer that comparison. All I can say is when I first played my new Pro One tenor, I knew it was really special...Love at first note was an understatement. Since I still only consider myself a novice at this sax thing I will let the experts have the final say on how nice this horn is...but for me... all I can say is "This is my Mark VI"! I don't know how much better it gets than this...yet again that's coming from an amateur player. All I can say is if you're even considering a new horn...this one is really...really worth checking out! And FYI...I did recently sell that trusty old original Antigua tenor after all those years! Now for the but...I was so happy with the Pro One Tenor I soon there after picked up a Pro One Alto with the same finish. Unfortunately after a few weeks of trying to figure out what I was doing wrong, I realized that it wasn't me. I was physically fighting just to play the alto. The tone was great, but the best and only way I can explain it is balance. It just never felt comfortable...It broke my heart...but I returned it. Side story...I found an older Antigua Alto a few years ago to do a new project and it turned out to be a great horn. After I got the horn and got ready to do some serious record time I called Antigua to check its back round. Come to find out it was made in 2000 and at that time the only Alto they were manufacturing was the pro level. I always knew it was a pretty decent horn, but now I know why. So bottom line... Antigua Pro One Horns...Tenor YES...Alto...eh...very= :( For those the least bit curious, here's a link to some of my tunes. If you scroll down to my cover of "Lisa", I did that on my above mentioned Old Antigua Alto. Enjoy! Keep playing! soundcloud.com/steven-d-402990522

Que tal sale el saxofon alto atigua xp son buenos basicos o intermedios