Many professional players need to double not only on flute or clarinet, but also need to play at least two to three members of the saxophone family in order to get those competitive gigs.
Once a company can establish itself in the marketplace with decent quality, reasonably priced student and intermediate models, they then have the resources to develop and market higher quality pro horns at price points which gives the pro player many more options. It would have seemed almost impossible just a few short years ago for any new company, particularly from Asia, to join the ranks of the top manufacturers in the world, but it is happening. This has resulted in giving not only students, but also professionals a wider choice of options when looking for a new saxophone. Taking advantage of the low cost of labor and production coupled with the modern factories built in China, the established makers in Europe, Japan and Taiwan have contracted Chinese factories to produce high quality saxophones in their name to their specifications. As for China, it has rightly earned its reputation as churning out inferior junk, but this has now also dramatically changed. Mauriat have placed themselves in the world market as makers of high quality and even innovative professional saxophones.
However, as the demand for reasonably priced professional saxophones grew, Taiwanese manufacturers stepped up, improving the quality of the saxophones.
Until the early part of the new millenium, Taiwan was producing at best, student to intermediate level saxophones of varying quality, mostly so-so or just plain terrible. Where earlier the best saxophones were made in either Europe or America, now the scene has shifted to Europe and Asia, with Japan, Taiwan and China producing more saxophones per capita than anywhere else. It also showed that saxophones manufactured in Asia could be made as well as the best made anywhere else. However, companies like Julius Keilwerth of Germany and Yamaha and Yanagisawa of Japan came along and introduced top quality saxophones into the world market and giving musicians a wider choice. Eventually saxophone production in the US ceased, and for a short while Selmer seemed to stand alone as far as premium professional saxophones went, though Buffet was always present.
The first Golden Age of saxophone manufacturing which went from the 1920's through the 60's, saw some of the greatest saxophones ever made by some of the best craftsmen and women from Europe and the USA, from companies like Selmer, Conn, Buescher, Martin, King, Buffet and smaller factories like Dolnet and SML. It seems that we're in the midst of a new Golden Age of saxophone manufacturing.
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