There's a reason I thought that Yamaha don't bother with this end of the market, and why a Yamaha sop. is four times the price of a JP043.

So I really wasn't expecting much - both that it would be unplayable and that I'd hate it.

But neither are true.

I did have trouble with the supplied mouthpiece being VERY stiff to put on and playing rather flat, but replacing the mouthpiece and I can't believe how in tune this horn is - certainly with the soprano's reputation for being the wild-one of the sax family.

So the Rose brass horn I have has no obvious flaws in the finish, plays cleanly all the way down to the bottom and I'm happy it's me and my fledgling embouchure that makes top D and above a bit lairy.

After only about a month and a half I can't comment yet on how robust this horn is, nor how long this good set-up will last.

However, as my first soprano I can honestly say I love it and am impressed by what good value it is.

I purchased this instrument with no prior information on the brand, but did my research and found decent reviews. I made the purchase, and expected very long shipping times, but was pleasantly surprised as it arrived within the week! The instrument came in an amazing case, and the mouthpiece and reed supplied were OK. The instrument came well assembled with no visible errors or broken pieces, and my first impression was overall good. I have had it for a few weeks, and am surprised with the value for the low price, however I could not give a 5 star review for a few reasons... 1. The silver plated parts are terribly scratched, and was just not what I was hoping for with a new instrument (however JP clearly stated in their support section that they do not cover silver plated blemishes, so I suppose I should have read more carefully, but still disappointing...) . 2. The ligature is a little small to fit standard reeds (however it still does the job) 3. The corks on both crooks came with tears in them, so putting on the miuthpiece promptly ripped off pieces of the cork. Overall, (never having played a soprano before) I have found it is fairly easy for a student to play, and have not had terrible intonation issues, as many other sopranos can have. The Black Laquer and silver key finish is amazing, and I have received many comments about how elegant it looks. I would say this is a good instrument for anyone wanting to build on saxophone skills and experiment with soprano at a modest price for people with a budget. The one downfall is craftsmanship issues, which if remedied would have easily boosted my rating to 5 stars.