Thomann MK IV Handmade Tenor Sax

What more can you ask for than an instrument that brings a smile to your face? This Tenor sax is a pure delight and fun!

I am a professional woodwind instrumentalist and bought this instrument to replace a recently sold Selmer - 1937 Balanced Action Tenor, owned for 30+ years, that wasn't getting enough use to earn its keep!
As an Alto/Soprano specialist I have never been an enthusiastic tenor player and thought that the Selmer deserved to played.

This Thomann MK IV has been a revelation, I just love it! Tone, from the 92% copper body, is as warm and full as my Balanced Action, and has even an timbre across the full range, the key work, obviously inspired by the legendary Selmer MK VI with hints of the MK VII, is well positioned, intonation - totally acceptable (not as good as my Buffet Senzo and S3 Prestige altos but......) and there are screw adjusters everywhere - fantastic. The double mounting arms on low 'C', 'B' and 'Bb' keys, are a great addition and ensure a good pad/tone-hole seal. Even the supplied mouthpiece works well - although I will continue to use my Selmer Soloist for Classical work and a Otto Link Tone-edge for Jazz.

Minus points: there is a slight 'flat' spot on the bell rim (QC??) but that has no effect on the playing and, for me, the right-hand 'Eb' and 'C' little-finger keys are totally flat making a smooth slide between them a little difficult. I will give them a slight tweak (bend) if they continue to cause me a problem. The case isn't wonderful but works.

What I have discovered is that this instrument wants me to play it.... a lot. I've got out all my old jazz tenor sax transcriptions and am having fun. Isn't that what an instrument should do - inspire one to play!

It really doesn't matter what the name is engraved on the bell, be it Selmer or Thomann, an instrument is for playing and not an investment item so if it works for you - great!

Thank you Thomann, again I can only praise one of your instruments..... you have taken me back 40 years to when I aspired to be a great jazz player!

I’ve purchased the thomann MK IV tenor saxophone as a student model, since i’ve never before owned a tenor horn and I was not ready to spend the money a P. Mauriat is worth. I’ve been an enthusiast alto sax for the last 10 years and decided to go for the lower register.
I’ve own a few alto saxes collected over the years, yamaha, conn and restored 20’s dolnet, and i used to play a borrowed yamaha’s YTS475 tenor.
This horn has been a revelation to me of how good a sax can sound, and how easy it should play. the sound is very rich and stable, I play it with a meyer and a STM mouthpiece and legere reeds, i use a 1.5 studio cut on meyer to play a dark sound, and a signature 2.0 with the STM most of the time.

It was shipped with exceptional padding and the case is a perfect fit, there is no movement of the saxophone while it’s in the case, I'll buy a new one more stylish and durable for gigs. It arrived in perfect playable conditions.

To my surprise the horn is fully adjustable, all sync mechanisms can be calibrated with screws.
the slight inclination of the bell to the right, typical of Tenon industrial saxophones, allows me to play the horn resting on the side of my hip, making it a great instrument to play for hours a a time and to rock on the stage!

the negatives:
1 - the top post of the G key has an empty screw hole, you can see it in the pictures in the website, look at the arm that controls the lower octave key, Its probably standard. It affects nothing but it would be prettier with a regular post.
2 - Some key cups are deformed probably in the setup, the setup itself is a perfect 10, but it would be prettier again if the keycups were perfect.
At this price range, I'm just being picky with the negative sides, the sonority is the same you get on a P.Mauriat.

I have been playing Sax for a couple of years. I am not good but I enjoy it and I am improving with lessons.

First off, this is a beautiful instrument. The engraving and finishing is very impressive and the contrast between the reddish body and the gold hardware looks great. The horn is slightly asymmetric which threw me at first but it makes sense and it makes the horn more comfortable to play.

Cons:

The case is OK rather than great. It does the job but it is really heavy. Add in the sax and some books of music and you will need the straps.

The included strap is incredibly thin and cheap.

Pros:

Exceptional tone and playability for the price. Setup was perfect out of the box. Visually remarkable.

I had it checked out by top repairer and he is a real gear snob. He found nothing to complain about.

Some people have commented that the mouthpiece is not the best. Well, that is a matter of taste. It plays a lot like a Yamaha 5C and that is not a bad mouthpiece.

The intonation is very close to right which is about as good as it gets. The keywork is light and quick so trills are not going to be a problem. I would have liked braised tone holes rather than drawn but they work perfectly well.

I have heard a pro playing my sax and he sounded fantastic. There is no reason that this instrument should not take you all the way from beginner to pro although you would want to choose a mouthpiece to suit your style.

All in all, a great horn for the price and one that stands up very well with the top instruments despite the large difference in price.

(edited to add: Well, it is 3 years later and it is sounding better than ever. I had a good setup done on it and I am playing it with an Otto Link 5* which suits it well. The tone is really nice and it has been a reliable horn. The cork on the neck split but that was my fault. I don't use enough cork grease. I really can't fault it and it is excellent value for money. The case is unwieldy but you can replace that if you want. It works fine though.

My setup guy liked it too - which is saying something. Normally, he is very snobby about anything that isn't vintage and big name but he thought that this horn was very decent)

It looks amazing. It is very well built, the mechanics are great. I love the fact that I am easily able to produce a wonderful sound, something I couldn't do on my Yamaha 280 (beginner here). Very rich sound, with a certain character that I like, but might not work in classical music. If someone told me it costs twice as much I'd believe it. The keys are precise, responsive and there is no play that I could find.
The supplied mouthpiece is kind of meh, but who uses those anyway.
The case it comes in offers reasonable protection and space for accessories but it is enormous and quite heavy. Acceptable if you drive it around in a car, but not suitable for bicycle/motorcycle/bus. I already replaced it. Very happy with the purchase and thank to folks at Thomann which recommended it!

It is not always easy to buy a sax these days. In theory there is a large variety of models available from a large variety of brands, but with most saxophones made in Asia and with supply chain constraints, many models are actually not available before months. And many tenor saxophones are simply not good enough for their price.

I started my search a few months ago for a Tenor sax that had a dark sound. I wanted the sound to be differentiated enough so that the Tenor sax in the upper octave doesn't sound like an alto sax. NB: I am actually an alto sax player (Yani AWO1) and a soprano player (P Mauriat 76 2nd edition) - both have a sound on the bright side.

Apart from having a darker sound, my other criteria were:
- good intonation
- good built quality
- a look that I love

I tried a variety of tenor sax in the €1500- €4000 price category, including various P Mauriat (76 2nd edition, Le Bravo), various Yamaha (all the way to the YTS 62), and the Selmer Axos, the only Selmer Tenor sax below €4000. As well as all 4 Thomann Handmade Tenor: I, II, III, IV.

The Selmer Axos had a middle D timber / colour / intonation that I didn't like at all. The middle D is a bad note of most saxophone and this is something that I wanted to avoid as much as possible on my future Tenor sax.

The P Mauriats had good intonation and better middle D, but I didn't like the build quality of the P Mauriats: there was simply too many issues to be fixed, and that were unacceptable for a €3000-€4000 tenor sax.

The YTS 62 would have been a very good choice: well balanced and in tune. But somehow the ergonomics was a little strange to me. The YTS 62 is 'neutral' in terms of sound, which can also be a good thing: you can play it with the mouthpiece of your choice, and get the sound (whether dark or bright) that you are looking for. The build quality of the YTS 62 (and of all Yamahas as a whole), was also excellent.

In the end, the Thomann Handmade Tenor sax were the best for me. Excellent intonation, no big issue with the middle D, good built quality. I bought the IV because of its dark sound and its stunning look. The price is also excellent.

The case is rather heavy and very large, but with the money saved on the sax, I will buy a nice one.

NB: I play this fantastic sax with a Vandoren V16 T6 mouthpiece, a Vandoren Optimum ligature, and a Légère American Cut 2.5