HW
The Xaphoon - Indeed a swinging instrument
It's a beautiful instrument with, in my opinion, its greatest potential in jazz and
jazz-like music where you can easily discover the greatness of its sound. Personally, I love improvising along with Django Reinhardt's music. Only your fantasy (and skills) will set the limits for you. Unfortunately, it has some weaknesses. The Low C# tone is really weak, at least on mine. I haven't compared to anyone else's. Furthermore, it's hard to properly hit the notes on the higher octave. If you prefer a little deeper sound, I'll recommend you to go for the Bb. However, it is a small instrument which should fit really small hands, even without exerting oneself. Practice alot and this instrument will perform magic!
A booklet will come along with the fingering charts and further information about the instrument, but unfortunately, it's just written in German. I advice you to consider its accuracy to hit the perfect pitch as this is what I found the most troublesome part of the instrument. Being a brass player might help you on your way. I am, since long, a woodwind player which I think made me experience the Xaphoon as a bit inconvinient. But I'm getting used to it! Also, make sure you keep the mouthpiece as clean as possible.
Good Luck!
jazz-like music where you can easily discover the greatness of its sound. Personally, I love improvising along with Django Reinhardt's music. Only your fantasy (and skills) will set the limits for you. Unfortunately, it has some weaknesses. The Low C# tone is really weak, at least on mine. I haven't compared to anyone else's. Furthermore, it's hard to properly hit the notes on the higher octave. If you prefer a little deeper sound, I'll recommend you to go for the Bb. However, it is a small instrument which should fit really small hands, even without exerting oneself. Practice alot and this instrument will perform magic!
A booklet will come along with the fingering charts and further information about the instrument, but unfortunately, it's just written in German. I advice you to consider its accuracy to hit the perfect pitch as this is what I found the most troublesome part of the instrument. Being a brass player might help you on your way. I am, since long, a woodwind player which I think made me experience the Xaphoon as a bit inconvinient. But I'm getting used to it! Also, make sure you keep the mouthpiece as clean as possible.
Good Luck!
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R
A beginner review
Heads-up: I'm not a sax player, and have only played the Xaphoon for about 7 hours in total. So take my words with a grain of salt.
Overall it's a cool invention and is a lot of fun to play. It's very small, so I always have it in my rucksack and play in the park whenever I can. Learning to play simple melodies in C major was a breeze. Producing the first sounds took some practice but after a couple of 30-minute sessions, I could already play Happy Birthday and the Tetris melody.
The sound is very pleasing and not as squeaky as the recorder which is similar in size. Especially the lower register is surprisingly deep with a nice nasal character.
That said, I don't see myself dedicating a lot of time to this instrument. It's a fun companion with a few gripes.
Gripe #1: the lower C is difficult to get in tune. All the other notes are much more stable and easy to produce.
Gripe #2: anything above the high B requires complicated fingering, and the same for flat and sharp notes. I don't know if this is an issue with the saxophone of clarinet, and maybe I just need to take time to learn the finger positions.
Gripe #3: after about 30 minutes of playing, it becomes soggy and difficult to play.
Overall it's a cool invention and is a lot of fun to play. It's very small, so I always have it in my rucksack and play in the park whenever I can. Learning to play simple melodies in C major was a breeze. Producing the first sounds took some practice but after a couple of 30-minute sessions, I could already play Happy Birthday and the Tetris melody.
The sound is very pleasing and not as squeaky as the recorder which is similar in size. Especially the lower register is surprisingly deep with a nice nasal character.
That said, I don't see myself dedicating a lot of time to this instrument. It's a fun companion with a few gripes.
Gripe #1: the lower C is difficult to get in tune. All the other notes are much more stable and easy to produce.
Gripe #2: anything above the high B requires complicated fingering, and the same for flat and sharp notes. I don't know if this is an issue with the saxophone of clarinet, and maybe I just need to take time to learn the finger positions.
Gripe #3: after about 30 minutes of playing, it becomes soggy and difficult to play.
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N
Why not?
So I saw it and thought...why not. Some much richer sounds emerge from the end of this little thing that you would credit - if you can manage it. Takes quite a bit of puff - more say than a sax, so not for the weak lungged. Also more control required on the reed pressure to get the full range of notes. Very nice quality and feel and you can still smell the hot poker that burned the fingerholes! Small, portable, versatile but challenging. Should you get one? Why not?
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r
fun to play
it's a nice instrument. it takes some time to be able to play if you haven t played any reed instrument before but after it is satisfying. the only con that i have is about the difficulties of reaching the higher notes on the second octave.
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R
The sound is wonderful!
when it came out of the box, it still smelled like fire (it's made by burning the holes) which gave a really authentic feeling. i liked that!
The notes are not 100% in tune but with a little adjustments of your mouth it is doable
when it came out of the box, it still smelled like fire (it's made by burning the holes) which gave a really authentic feeling. i liked that!
The notes are not 100% in tune but with a little adjustments of your mouth it is doable
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GK
Great sound, hard to control
The sound is great and I love it, but what troubles me the most is that the sharps and flats are mostly quite weak, especially the low C# which is a half hole is almost impossible to get. The fingerings are also not the easiest out there as you might expect and I feel like the pitches are not quite where they should be.
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A
Nice instrument but not what I expected
I wanted this instrument to get in touch with the wood-wind family. What I found was a difficult first contact, although a funny one. The problem with this instrument is that you will not find everything you need to know about it, it is difficult to learn by yourself and even more if you've never played any wood-wind, and still more if your intention is in fact to get to know this family.
Although, the instrument is very well fabricated, is a nice instrument, its weight is a joke because even a baby can handle it.
Moreover, its sound is really deep, really difficult to reach though. It is not really sax alike at all, in between a clarinet and a sax maybe, but its name is really confusing.
Would I recommend it? Of course, but only if you really want to invest time on it by yourself and if you really love this instrument. Would I buy it if I had know how it really was? Maybe not in first instance, but once I got to know with its wood-wind cousins, probably.
Again, it is really beatiful. A handmade bamboo
Although, the instrument is very well fabricated, is a nice instrument, its weight is a joke because even a baby can handle it.
Moreover, its sound is really deep, really difficult to reach though. It is not really sax alike at all, in between a clarinet and a sax maybe, but its name is really confusing.
Would I recommend it? Of course, but only if you really want to invest time on it by yourself and if you really love this instrument. Would I buy it if I had know how it really was? Maybe not in first instance, but once I got to know with its wood-wind cousins, probably.
Again, it is really beatiful. A handmade bamboo
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A
Xaphoon actually..
The holes are difficult to handle and the ligature is simply bad! After a lot of compromising, you can play some saxish sounds and it is really nice when you do it!
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