Mendini by Cecilio Tenor Saxophone, L+92D B Flat, Nickel

Very pleased with my purchase, sounds great and looks amazing!

Thought this would be an acceptable re-entry to playing saxophone. Played during my middleto college years with life getting in the way. Wanted to pick up again and thought the saxophone was decent. Tried the scale and played lower tone pieces. Failed to notice the issue with high B until after the return period lapsed. DO NOT BUY EVER. Whether it’s an intro, getting back into, or whatever DO NOT BUY!!!! Tone is meh and acceptable for nostalgia at home, quality is horrible.

The horn arrived in great condition with the exception of a large scratch on the mouthpiece. It was purely cosmetic and didn’t affect the playability. Contacted the seller to see if we could replace the mouthpiece and they offered a partial refund to make up for the scratch. Refund received within 24 hours with great follow up from the seller.
This is not a professional horn but a stepping stone to get used to playing. Great for a beginner or sometime who hasn’t played in a very long time. Get your chops in shelter before buying a more expensive sax.

First of all, it’s much more attractive in person than in pictures!
I attended instrument repair school and I’ve played sax for 50 years, so I checked this instrument thoroughly for flaws and potential problems. I found none. Sounds great and all keys/pads function perfectly. My very expensive Buffet Crampon is no better.

I started playing saxophone in band in 1973. I had an alto sax and was looking for to buy a tenor sax (which I played both in high school and college). After reading the reviews from previous buyers and mostly positive ratings I decided to give this Mendini by Cecilio a try. The instrument came well packaged and protected. As with other comments about the case it is not a hard case but will do the job that I need it for.

As far as the instrument itself, I was pleasantly surprised at how heavy the instrument was. It seems to be a well built instrument. Again as with other comments on the mouthpiece, neck strap, and reeds, they are very low quality, but I had the foresight to have ordered a better mouthpiece, reeds, and neck strap. I ordered a Selmer S-80 C* mouth piece, an Adorence padded Saxophone Neck Strap, and Vandoreen reeds (I like #3). The tone of the instrument was amazing and using the enclosed tuner the instrument played amazingly well in tune after adjusting my mouthpiece. Having played saxophone for nearly 50 years in elementary, high school, community, big band era, and college, for the price this is an amazing instrument. So if you are on an limited budget or just wanting to see if this is an instrument you or a child would want to play it is well worth the money.

I am a professional musician. For the last 25 years I’ve played an EWI (Yamaha’s WX5 with a VL-70m synthesizer). Recently, I was asked to play sax in a local theater production of “Lobby Hero”: I’ve got four weeks. I have not played a single reed instrument in 50 years, and never a tenor sax. My choices were–say no; borrow an alto of unknown quality; buy a sax, but money is tight. I saw several videos on Youtube demonstrating inexpensive Chinese saxophones with good mouthpieces and reeds. I was impressed!

I bought the Mendini Tenor. Out of the box, it did not play. The reeds it ships with might work as kindling (I’ll try in the fall when it’s cooler outside) or cat toys (I won’t try this, I don’t want them to think reeds are fair game). I had the foresight to order a box of good reeds, when I ordered the sax. With a good reed, I got a couple of notes. The octave key would not seat properly, so I bent it a tad, it was off by about 1/32″ (it could have gotten bent in shipping). I had six notes. Suspicious of the no-name mouthpiece, I went out, and bought the only named mouthpiece available in town (Prescott, AZ), a cheap Rico. I got two octaves . . . so I ordered a good mouthpiece.

On day four, I got in an Otto Link Metal #7, and a Legere 2 3/4 plastic reed, just to try one. On day five. I had a solid, in tune, responsive and expressive, 2 1/2 octaves. Altissimo notes will, of course, take time, although I’ve got F#, easy-peasy.

Several YouTube videos talked about the cheap feel of these Chinese saxophones, “the rods bend . . . feels tinny . . . hit something with it and it could break . . .” It feels solid to me. I pick it up by the bell, and I try to avoid walls, doorways, tables, and chairs when I move around with it. I treat it as if it cost $6,000, as one should.

Will it last years? Will it give me altissimo notes? Will I sound like Ernie Krivda (look him up) in a month? I don’t know . . . okay, I know I won’t sound or play like Ernie. But for $500 (horn and mouthpiece), I have an instrument that I am confident in . . . and I have few weeks until the show goes up. Last night (day 9) was the first rehearsal where I played. Good enough, the director wants more.

September 20: six weeks in and I enjoy the horn more each day. I had to tighten the roller screws for the Eb and low C keys. The lacquer on the thumb rest and the octave key is flaking off a little, but practicing 4-6 hours a day might well do that! We’ve had eight performances and people love the sax.