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Lupifaro Platinum Series Alto & Tenor Saxophones

Instrument appraisal by Lee Goodall

I have been playing Lupifaro Patinum alto and tenor saxophones exclusively now for over a year, and play many types of gigs but mainly find myself in jazz settings. 

I found right from the outset that these wonderful saxes are a joy to play as well as being visually very pleasing. 

They are lovingly crafted by Luca Cardinali who was responsible for much of the design features found on modern  Borgani saxophones. Luca eventually started his own company and began producing a range of Lupifaro instruments and now produce soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones. Lupifaro make three levels of horn, Silver, Gold and at the top of the range, the Platinum series, which I play. 

The Lupifaro Platinum saxophones are based on the Selmer MK VI instruments which have been a benchmark for jazz saxophones since the early 1960's or maybe as early as the late 1950's.
The Lupifaro Platinum series take all of the salient design features of the Selmer MK VI and bring all of that into the present with the added advantage of a totally handmade instrument with Luca's added design features. These are very stylish saxophones.
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Luca I found to be a very exacting man when it comes to his beloved saxophones! When he came over from Italy to the UK last year to promote his saxophones I had the pleasure of meeting him. He was a charming person and to me had all of the hallmarks of man driven to achieve perfection with each of his saxophones. He set up my alto on the spot and seemed to have his repair kit on him at all times.

The ergonomics of both the alto and tenor are amazingly well designed. The action is very smooth, palm keys sit perfectly in the hand. Subtone playing has never been easier and the altissimo is unbelievably easy to achieve. It becomes a natural extension of the range for me. This particularly on the tenor where I have always struggled slightly with a good altissimo G. On the Platinum it simply appears as easily as could be possible. In short, the intonation is spot on from top to bottom.

Both alto and tenor play straight from the case and seem to need very little warming up. The action is very fast and accurate and these horns produce a beautiful full and engaging tone throughout the range.
I have had many saxophones in my time and can say these are by far the most satisfying instruments I have ever played. 

I would strongly recommend anyone wanting to move to a professional contemporary saxophone to try a Lupifaro early in their search. I don't think they will be disappointed and could save many frustrating hours of playing inferior horns. Reliability is a key issue when choosing a saxophone and I have found nothing to complain about with my Lupifaro Platinum alto and tenor.

Lupifaro Platinum Series Alto

Lupifaro Platinum Series Tenor

For more information visit Sax Lupifaro - Cardinali Saxophones 
 Lupifaro UK Agent & Product Specialist +44(0)7703 722351