P Mauriat Grand Dreams 285 Alto Saxophone

This newer addition to the P Mauriat range comes in with a more contemporary-focused sound, aligning very well with jazz and pop styles of music. 

Description

Finished in a beautiful cognac lacquer, this new professional model in the P Mauriat range not only slots in at a more affordable price point, but it also benefits from an improved ergonomic key action. The right and left-hand stack key layouts have been slightly altered to follow the optimum curve of the average hand; the palm key heights have been altered slightly and the octave key has a short concise action, allowing much more fluidity when shifting octaves. The Grand Dreams alto will project with more ease over and above other mainstream P Mauriat models due to the emphasis on having a strong core tone, with a mixture of depth and brightness in equal quantities.

Features

• Material: Brass Body

• Finish: Cognac Lacquer

• Key Touches: Dark Pearl

• Neck: Super VI neck

• Engraving: Floral Engraving

• Case: ABS Pro Contoured Hard Case

• Mouthpiece: Manufactures Own

• Made in: Taiwan

• Free Professional Set Up & Free Check over within a year

• Recommended for: Advancing students, professionals, pop/jazz styles

Review

I like the fact that P Mauriat has moved in a slightly different direction with this new alto. Their saxophones are famous for producing a very luscious and spread sound with their flagship models, particularly the PMXA 67R, but the Grand Dreams takes you in a much more contemporary direction. The tone is very obviously focused and ripe, to me a little reminiscent of the Reference 54 alto actually! It carries a weight and depth that you would always associate with P Mauriat, but it is just noticeably more pointed on the top part of the sound; I really like this combo, especially when playing in pop styles! I also love the feel of the ergonomics – I would personally go for a lighter key action, but this is always something that can be customized. Considering the price, this should prove a really popular sax! - Jim Cheek