Hey there; it's Richard. Say, I was wondering if you can just clarify something for me about those Jupiter sopranos, please? I was particularly encouraged by your comment in reply to my post a month or two back about Yamaha vs. PMauriat vs. Yamaha sopranos, and I would really appreciate one bit of feedback about the Jupiters:

One commenter on another recent post of mine about Yamaha vs. Jupiter sopranos said that she had a lot of trouble playing in a band with a Jupiter JPS 547-model sax, and that a festival adjudicator said she should get a new horn. The culprit of course, was intonation problems

Now since you last commented in reply to me, I have acquired the Jupiter JSS 1000 model saxophone, and it's fair, but these second thoughts about the Yamaha keep plaguing me. Do you believe I would run into the same ensemble intonation problems, or significant problems generally, with my later model, that are due purely to the instrument itself?

I know Yamaha is the better horn.

I also wonder if there is any wisdom in trying to fend off intonation problems by using a more open mouthpiece ( a Selmer D instead of a C* ). They are more open, so you can get more air through them, as a saxophonist friend noted.

Warmest regards, with much advance thanks for your input, from Richard.