New and not so new.
Aquilasax Bb soprano with neck removed
and 1926 Wurlitzer C soprano
Plays in perfect tune with the Aquilasax C soprano Metalpro mpc

C- soprano test
sample assembly.

Nickel plated Celeste.

Eclipse C soprano test sample.

Celeste and Eclipse comparison.

Black n Nickel Eclipse

Satin Silver and gold option for the Eclipse model

Fanfare etching

Floral engraving

Eclipse C soprano test sample. June 2010

Classic Gold lacquer

Black nickel and Gold lacquered keys

Signature Logo "Eclipse"

Royal combo

Antique Bronze finish. Claytons old

Aquilasax saxophones are guaranteed to play out of the box or we make it right. Money back guaranteed!
Items in stock shipped twice a week.

C Soprano.

We commisioned a factory to make a NEW C SOPRANO manufactured with more comfortable key work in 2008.        New C sopranos were available in early 2010.  Development was behind schedule but  the first batch of the "Celeste" model keyed to high Eb was sold in January.
We decided to make further modifications for comfort before releasing them.
 They were a low budget option, with modern keywork, while we worked on the high F# pro model Eclipse. Production was begun again March 2011.

Around $650 US each plus mouthpiece for the Celeste ii model.  
NOW IN STOCK DECEMBER!  
New Hard rubber and metal mouthpieces are also available. Please go to:  https://aquilasax.3dcartstores.com/C-soprano_c_23.html
and register a backorder, to receive notification when they are available. There is no obligation to buy!

They are here! The new Celeste ii saxes are checked in and loaded for sale Dec 8th. They have modern key work up to high F and just a little lower spec finishing for an easy entry into C sopranos.

 The new "Eclipse" model keyed to high F#  sold out November 2011.
 Looking good and playing well!

Note there is a small price rise for some to cover increased cost of precius metals used in plating.
We have satin silver, gold lacquer, bare brass and nickel silver Celeste ii's now.


Eclipse C soprano Now fielding Black with nickel silver, Black with gold, gold lacquer and satin silver with gold keys.

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C Sopranos are quite a rare saxophone and seem to have been produced solely in the 20s last century. Maybe a spinoff from the C Melody craze which swept America but they were never popular and were mainly used in orchestras as doublers for oboes. (much easier to play) Never-the-less they are a great little instrument for a bit of fun without transposing, suitable for ethnic music of all kinds and once again in Churches where worship music is not often available in Bb.
Being slightly smaller than the Bb sopranos, they are an even better choice as a traveling companion and you won't have to carry music. They have a very sweet tone, quite different from a Bb soprano.
Playing sax has never been easier!
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C soprano mouthpieces.
I bought a Buescher curved Bb soprano some years ago, mostly as a travel companion. I got a Rico B5 plastic mouthpiece with it. The mpc didn’t seem to have that sparkle I was looking for and having limited funds, I bought a Yamaha 4C to try and improve it.
The 4C did little to the tone but threw the intonation out. Flattened open C# enough to make it unplayable with a piano.
When I recently bought a Wurlitzer (Buescher stencil) C soprano without a mouthpiece, I had this experience and those mouthpieces to try on it as well as the new Aquilasax mpcs, one plastic and one metal.
The Rico doesn’t fit the C sop. It’s too long!  The Aquilasax plastic is also too big!The Yamaha 4C seems to work well on the C sop except for middle C (bell) which is sharp but the rest are good. 
Then I tried the Aquilasax soprano Metalpro C # 5. Perfect!
Not an appreciable difference in all the notes and the tone is what I was looking for in the old Bb.
2010 we now have hard rubber mpcs with short shanks with two different baffle arrangements tho both small rail baffles.https://aquilasax.3dcartstores.com/Soprano-mouthpieces_c_18.html

Some of the larger chambered short Bb soprano  mpcs have proven too big for C sopranos and we are currently getting specialized C soprano mpcs made. The new C+ and CO+ Metalpros are smaller chambered and better suited to C sopranos. May not play well on Bb sops.
  
C sopranos have gained an unearned reputation over the years of being inherently out of tune.  There are several factors working against them. Smaller saxophones are more sensitive to changes in embouchure and mouthpiece and reed etc. Sopraninos are very scary!
If you buy a new or a vintage C soprano, check the instrument is set up with correct clearances on the tone holes. Its not likely that it will play out of tune because of poor manufacturing.
Then check the mpc and your mouth for the rest! 
Bb mouthpieces have larger chamber volume than C sopranos require and so don't work well.
Our "C" mouthpiece range are Bb mouthpeices with shorter shanks. This enables them to be pushed further on without fowling the octave key. Pushing further on reduces length and volume enough to play in tune .


We now have new C+ and CO+ mpcs dedicated to C sopranos.

Sound samples

New C soprano Aquilasax "Celeste" model in bare brass with hard rubber
Aquilasax Co mouthpiece and reed.
Playing a jazz doodle by Paul M.


Classical style sound sample


Folk style sound sample

New silver plated Celeste ii C soprano production model . Key work is quite different from the vintage models incorporating the new style pinky cluster, high F and octave key. Beautiful tone!
Satin Silver Celeste ii. Low cost C soprano with plastic thumb rest no strap ring and no adjustment on thumb hook.

Plenty of storage room in the FAB case

Customer comments 2012

 

C-Soprano has arrived. Thank you so much. I managed to get it through the customs somehow (tax was calculated by comparing to similar instruments).  As you might have seen I’ve already done a vid with the C-Sop. Its a fine instrument and I noticed no tuning issues. Its rather more in tune than most Bb-Sops I played through the years. I think I will get accustomed to it very soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB445ZCpnXM&feature=digest_sun

Best regards

Michael

I received the c soprano sax. yesterday. I am happy with it performance. I've got settled with the rubber mouthpiece that came with it and Lazarro reeds. It plays in tune with my set up but I have to work with it to get it's maximum performance. It has a beautiful sweet sound using Lazarro reeds # 3.5. Your reeds I haven't worked with yet. I am a clarinet player but have played some Bb sop. sax before.

 The metal mouthpiece works great with the same reeds. I'm taking it to church with us in the morning as I have been playing the oboe part on a c clarinet for a couple of years now. The sop.sax sounds more like an oboe than a c clarinet does.

Our music director is a symphonic orchestras type person who would rather not have saxes so for me to be playing the sop sax for the oboe part you could almost call a privilege.

 I'm happy with the sop sax as it plays in tune and the price was good.

thanks

Leif

I received your package on Saturday Feb.11, 2012 containing C Soprano Sax serial # C609037.

Thank you very much for "test" playing it. You are right that it is a good horn for the money and plays in tune much better than I had anticipated.

Thanks so much for producing these instruments!

Sincerely,

Elise

The Celeste ii arrived yesterday. After some experiments with mouthpieces I got it playing really well. For me, the Vandoren S35 seems best all round, especially for intonation at the top of the lower register. Nice tone too, which surprised me as this m/p always sounds rather dull on my old Buescher Trutone.

Many thanks for prompt delivery of such an interesting addition to my collection of instruments.

Has anyone expressed interest in a C baritone/bass instrument? Seems to me that C sop(s), tenor(s) and bass would make for a great trio/quartet/choir, especially for beginners. And the bass wouldn't be quite so unwieldy as the existing Bb instruments.

Best wishes

David

Customer Comments
2011

The Celeste ii C soprano arrived unscathed today. I put a C soprano mpc on it (purchased on ebay several years ago), along with a 2 1/2 Legere B flat clarinet reed, and found it played well in tune, up and down the scale, until I tried low B and B flat. It wouldn't play low B flat at all.

I noticed that the G Sharp key cracked open when I fingered the low B flat keys, the adjustment screw needed a lot of adjusting. So I placed a thin piece of vinyl on it (borrowed from a set of vinyl 'cushions') and super glued it to the screw's cork. It worked well. (Ed's Note: a piece of the tiny cork stopper probably came off in transit)

The horn sounds VERY sweet!

Joe  US

The sax has arrived safe and sound - good packaging.
My first impressions are very good.I'll be spending a lot of time on it over the weekend
I feel it has been worth the wait!Regards, 
Ross.

Time for a few more comments!

 

At the outset - still totally delighted.

Intonation is excellent.

 I am using a sop mpc from Soprano Planet

and it is the best I have ever played on either Bb or C.

On the C it really sings and retains the C quality of sound

I note the initial batch is sold-out. This must be a relief for the pocket and the confidence you had to undertake the project.

 

Again, I am a satisfied customer.

 

Regards,  Ross.

 My Aquilasax Eclipse C soprano arrived a week ago.  I was able to play it right away out-of-the-box, which made me happy -- no damage en route. It plays and sounds very similarly to my 85-year-old Buescher C soprano except without sticking G# (and other mechanical woes); and the middle C is not too flat.

 In short, the Aquilasax C soprano is what I hoped it would be. SarahJerusalem, Israel

This email is to let you and Steve know my brand new, and extremely beautiful new Aquilasax, C Soprano sax arrived today, in excellent shape.

Thanks once again for such marvelous service, supportive communications, and great products!

Blessings and peace be with all of you,
Jim  US

First impression: I love it!  ...quality of body, keywork, and finish is excellent, action is smooth and well-regulated. Intonation is excellent, significantly better than my vintage Buescher C soprano or the Conn C - on the minus side, the final setup doesn't quite match the quality of the rest of the instrument.
I would like to commend you on this project as I think I'm going to be very happy with this sax .
K   US

2010
Celeste C409020 arrived safely today with no more 'damage' than a loose screw.  It played straight out of the box.

The finish is good (in particular considering the price)
I am really a clarinettist, of little merit, but have been playing a vintage Holton C soprano for a while.  (I got bored of Bb everything: my clarinets are in C too.)  The LH little-finger cluster on the Celeste is a stretch for my rather undersized hand.  But it's clever and I could see it would be great if my hand were larger; and it probably will be better than the Holton when I get used to it.   Knowing what I know now, I would have paid a premium for it.

The lower notes are already a bit easier to get than the Holton's.  At the top I find both instruments equally challenging (this is a continuing surprise: coming from the clarinet, I thought that embouchure would be the least of my problems).  So the lack of a hedgehog of palm keys won't bother me as I already find D and Eb a struggle.  (The Holton is keyed up to F but I have never been there.)  The tone of the Celeste is more focused than the Holton, which is hoarser (or more complex if you prefer).  And your instrument seems generally quite a bit more controllable.

I'm afraid I don't much care for your C soprano mouthpiece, so far (a Babbitt seems to work best for me right now, on both instruments), but that is the luck of the draw: I already realize that the life of a saxophonist -- pro or rank amateur -- consists of a continuing search for mouthpieces which give personal satisfaction: and it's about as likely to be ultimately successful as the quest for the Grail.

  The case is not Louis Vuitton but looks effective, and certainly was effective in transit.  I may buy one of yours for that C mel.

My idea behind buying the Celeste was to have an ongoing reference for the Holton, to avoid building such saxophone technique as I may acquire around that single, rather quirky instrument.  And I think it will be a success: obviously there are lots of annoyances when you change instruments, but this is only Day #1.

I hope these comments are of some use, and that the marque will be a success.

Regards

John W.