Should beginners start with this? - Nuvo jSax review

[@EmsJ1976]

I teach jSax to whole classes of up to 32 primary children here in the UK. Whilst it’s not my instrument of choice for me to play (although I can make pretty good sound on it!), it works really well as a beginner instrument in a whole class setting. It seems more exciting than a recorder to them and is a good introduction to single reed embouchure and as a vehicle to teach music. With good classroom management it is a sturdy instrument. It is also much more accessible price wise and of course so much smaller and lighter than an alto saxophone! 😊

[@lightningrocketcreates]

I actually had this as my first "horn" and I really think it helped me get a head start on the basics, i.e. embouchure, fingerings and other stuff like that.

[@Josephduganmusic]

My 2 and a half year old daughter is determined to practice sax with me and she gets very upset if don’t let her try to make sound on my alto. Haha this sounds great for her.

[@Taj203]

The way my 3 year old daughter’s face lit up when you played those songs 😊

[@nickbarrow2805]

I have one of these. Fun to play around with, but I wouldn't expect much from it. For a kid, it's pretty good. For anyone over 10... it's a fun novelty.

[@philippgrubermusic6852]

Hey Jay! Thank you for the review! I got the jSax and the Dood last year for my then 2 year old daughter. She loved playing curved soprano, but it wasn‘t possible for her to play, when I was not at home. So i got the Nuvo Instruments, and they are fantastic for kids. She loves it, and we play together also (me on sax or clarinet and she on the jSax or Dood) 😍 This September I got a Dood for a new student in music school - it works great! Putting the instrument together is so easy for the kids. 👍🏻

[@ekaufman4800]

I'm always on the hunt for a travel sax to practice with, especially something durable. I bought a BetterSax alto which is very good, even approved by my very picky sax mechanic. That said, I have small hands and the high D key projects up too high for my normal hand position and I have to consciously have to avoid press it down. But, it's fine for traveling, not tossing my Yani in the back seat for camping road trips! Can the high D key be replaced with a lower key? Thanks for everything you do! BethK

[@leewaggers4733]

Great video, thanks. Can I please ask which tuning app you were using?

[@sfxjura8834]

Tonal Energy tuner, its great :)

[@mz8134]

It is what it is. It definitely grabs younger kids' attention and they can play/train alongside an adult without adding on the weight and more complexity of a saxophone. I have one and originally got it to goof off, to peak my nephew's interest with something I could easily hand over, and to travel abroad with it instead of hauling my saxophone in case... I rarely play it and as Jay mentioned, children can quickly adapt to the actual instrument at the right age.

[@charlienyc1]

I'd consider it for my kid if it wasn't $100. I will look at recorders instead.

[@adrian.sage_6803]

Hey man, is this the same as the real alto for the fingerings? And also does it have an octave key, I’m thinking to get this for travel and practice just to not carry my big alto everywhere, thank you man! Neat vid

[@wohfab]

I have thought about it for travel, so I can just do same basic notes/fingerings/scales when I don't have my saxophone with me. I am a beginner adult (1 year playing with teacher). Is this something I could do or is this counter productive?

[@bettersax]

This is really meant for kids.

[@leopoldgreen4627]

im on a tight budget and looking for a bari. do you have any recommendations?

[@Dudeface167]

Nope 😆

[@j0404t]

would you recommend this to beginner adults?

[@bettersax]

Adults should just go straight to a real saxophone.

[@EvanLucken]

This makes me think of it like a stand in recorder, which was the first instrument (4th grade) I learned before starting on saxophone (5th grade). pretty neat, especially since it has a reed. By the way, what app were you using for the tuning? it looked cool. Thanks Jay!

[@bettersax]

That is tonal energy

[@allanjmcpherson]

TE is the best $5 you can spend. I highly recommend it!

[@PianoFish]

This is more or less what it is, they're designed for whole class tuition for young children and there's also a flute, clarinet and horn in the 'family' so the kids can have a bit of variety and try out different types of wind instrument so they have a better idea of what they prefer when they're ready to move on to a proper instrument (which is certainly an improvement on 'choose an orchestral instrument basically at random' which is what I was expected to do when I was 7).

[@saxoQuest]

what's the tuning App? It looks nice!

[@sfxjura8834]

Tonal Energy tuner :)

[@rocko5928]

Content is spot on, thank you 🙇🏿‍♀️🙇🏿‍♀️🙇🏿‍♀️

[@petrusbubba4717]

how would u compare to your venova review from 4 years ago ?

[@bettersax]

This is better imo

[@arnoldjohnson4373]

Your reviews are cool, jSax and those bamboo saxes are the bomb even with limitations. Would you consider reviewing the Solo Paetzold Tenor Recorder by Kunath. It is like a digital sax but acoustic, reedless and pricey. If not I understand. Many start with the recorder, switch to reed horns but the Paetzold Tenor or Bass is recorder reinvented.

[@SharpElevenMusic]

Great timing Jay! I've been looking for something like this for my almost 3,5 year old son. Now he's randomly grabbing my soprano and it's heartbreaking to block him from his enthusiasm. Still wondering how it compares to the bit more expensive version that Yamaha has, did you play that by any chance? It looks pretty descent for what it's designed for, maybe too big a mouthpiece and hold for a youngster though Nice that you do these review videos, it does help people like me find something for the younger kids and these instruments can potentially bridge the gap to when a kid can start playing (a kinda ) sax. The piano and drums for example are way more intuitive, I think we might lose there already some potential young candidates

[@bettersax]

Thanks man. If you are referring to the venova I would recommend this nuvo jsax over that. It is easier to play and sounds better and plays more in tune. 3.5 is a bit young, but he will be able to get a sound and maybe play a couple of notes at least.

[@SharpElevenMusic]

@@bettersax Thanks, that's very helpful! And yes exactly, that's indeed the only goal, just a couple of notes to fool around with, which is generating plenty of joy already.

[@nicksavage4763]

Perfect for your son Showing interest 🎶

[@Jst-a-girl]

what's the app? mu private lesson teacher keeps telling me i should buy it but i keep forgetting the name

[@SaxInstructor]

No, I’ve tested this horn two years ago- waste of money.

[@bernardo9202]

For a kids first instrument 40 bucks seems to be much better that 450 plus, if the kid doens't like it, guess what, it was cheap

[@bernardo9202]

Also for a classroom full of kids, plastic, is always a better choice

[@frankzona5459]

I'm looking for something like this for my 5 year old grandson. He wants to play along with me on sax but his toy saxophone only has built in prerecorded sounds and the mouthpiece does not actually play. This may be a single reed instrument he can actually play and play along with me. Thanks for the review Jay.

[@bettersax]

Yes that is the sort of situation this would be ideal for.

[@Usefulmusic]

What's the price difference between a Jsax and a Venova?

[@CheukTheGreatestOfEverything]

Venova can play up to an octave and a sixth, jSax can only go to an octave an an augmented forth

[@DynamixWarePro]

I have seen Nuvo instruments designed for kids. With this jSax being in the key of C and actual soprano saxophones being in Bb, I thought it might be better for it to be in Bb if a child is going to transition onto one of those, but as it doesn't play the full range of notes, probably doesn't matter so much. A long time ago I thought about getting one of those with the straight neck and bell to have and mess around on as I knew about the limited range and tuning issues. As far as I know, you can use any soprano mouthpiece, reed and ligature on it. Have you tried it with a different mouthpiece?

[@Dudeface167]

@DynamixWarePro There is such a thing as C soprano saxophones.

[@DynamixWarePro]

@@Dudeface167 I know but how often do you see C saxophones (Especially C soprano) being used these days? Most will learn to play and continue to play on either Bb or Eb saxophones.

[@PianoFish]

All the Nuvo instruments are in C (except the jHorn which can be set to C or Bb), they're mostly designed for group tuition so I think the idea is so they can all play together and do a variety of ensemble arrangements without needing to transpose a bunch of different parts.

[@davidwood351]

Hmm, are extra reeds available?

[@prideaxolotl1395]

Nuvo does sell more reeds. I’ve seen them on Amazon.

[@BobBattyMusik]

Our school bought one for an 11 year old boy to play. He didn't like it! (He was a decent recorder player) Actually Nuvo's Clarineo is pretty good in comparison. All the more disappointing that the ersax is so feeble.

[@saxpoobielex7769]

All the classics!😂

[@mattlee2405]

If you can play this in 2.5 octaves, you should be the next sax legend.

[@charlesfranks1902]

You can get the sharps and flats by playing one note.

[@jazzrat2000]

I say yes, that might cure them

[@elmo93111]

Sound is not a question of the horn, it is the *player* 😂.

[@EricaSimmons-z2w]

Fay Glens

[@LongfellowCyril-h2u]

Giles Tunnel

[@wtmqwq]

Somehow, your tone on jSax reminds me of a typical over-sweetened Kenny G tone! Hahahaha

[@TracyNorman-r3e]

Orion Meadows

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

I thought it was going to be an electronic/digital sax.

[@organist1982]

I did, too!

[@rinahall]

Should beginners start with this? YES like every sax legends!

[@AdelaAbraham-r3b]

Hahn Loop

[@normalizedaudio2481]

Beginners NO. Just NO. NO.

[@Dudeface167]

Yes it sounds bad. Kids don't give a bleep.

[@marshaflorom730]

It's fun but it is not a soprano sax!; Maybe later?

[@precisionhoops365]

😊

[@MaybeFluffeez]

It looks a lot like an alto clarinet-

[@easonwang7902]

Hell no, beginners should start with an actual horn

[@sreeser3512]

A beginner wants to make progress, to feel like they are learning the instrument. How can a beginner expect that of an instrument even a professional can't make to sound good or play in tune with itself? Crappy instruments discourage beginners, and discouraged beginners quit. If a recorder isn't scratching the itch, get a quality saxophone and keep it properly maintained.

[@Dudeface167]

@sreeser3512A 5 year old would have no idea if it were crappy. This would be fun for them and would ENcourage them to keep making progress. You were 5 once, weren't you? I was.

[@sreeser3512]

Sure, a 5-year-old would get a kick out of this, and for that use it would be fine. A 5-year-old playing with a toy is not the same as a beginner learning to play music.

[@nicksavage4763]

NO BASICALLY A TOY GET SERIOUS PLAY REAL HORN

[@Dudeface167]

Dude this guy actually has kids. I don't even care if you do. He's a saxophonist with kids, are you? Are you sure you're the smartest dude in the universe? Kids like toys dammit! Forgive me I can't take this dang world.

[@charlesfranks1902]

That thing offends my hearing.

[@TiburziusLackmeyer]

A Child Trumpet!

[@vbd1357]

God.. If my kid would be playing this at home I would kill myself. Sounds bad even when played by Jay with good breath control and embouchure. 😂 what about a plastic Clarinet instead?? 😅

[@charlesfranks1902]

That is pretty rubbish.

[@JazzbLu]

Just the intro song, sounds like crap. Why would you train on crap?

[@Dudeface167]

KIDS DONT KNOW THAT ITS OUT OF TUNE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU WERE A KID!!!!!!!!! NOW IM GETTING MAD!!!!!!!!! EFF THE COMMENTS SECTION!!!!!!!! EVERYBODYS STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!! sorry

[@Dudeface167]

Btw, you don't, even know, where to use, commas.

[@charlienyc1]

= what I sound like compared to Jay 😆 This thing is awful!

[@spenceredmond8641]

No.

[@ihateuserids]

We tried one, it was bloody awful! Wold have been better and a hell of a lot cheaper with a recorder!