It would be interesting to hear from 2 groups of people with regards to Asian bass saxes: 1. Players who own, or have actually played the saxes, and who don't have endorsement deals with a company, and 2. Techs who have had an opportunity to work on these new horns and would be able to comment on the quality of the build vis-à-vis the vintage bass saxophones which have stood the test of time such as the Conn and Buescher. Or even better, would be comparing the quality of the new Asian horns to the European ones, if a tech had had the opportunity to work on some of those.
Unfortunately, this is very unlikely to happen. The main reasons are that:
A ) Bass saxophones are very thin on the ground, new or otherwise, and bass saxophone players almost as much so. Like any behemoth, there are bound to be few of them around - manufacturing cost ensures this alone. Then too, there are very few calls for the things in the first place. There are bound to be a few more players (hell, I've even played them now and then), but still their numbers are dwarfed by those interested in altos and tenors.
B ) The sheer difficulty of moving them around to make them available. Manufacturers are reluctant to ship out a selection of bass clarinets for examination. Doing the same for bass saxophones would tax both financial and logistic resources to the max. With bass saxes, it's pretty much "Here one - if you like it, you can buy it." Musicians used to a choice (I tried twenty five clarinets before selecting my first professional horn) just don't have this option with a bass saxophone.
The ongoing smash up in the economy will have an effect on musical instrument collections as well, including those including the bass saxophone. As money gets tight, what was once a "nice thing to have" will become a burden in the eyes of some. It costs a lot, tying up a lot of precious resources, and it's really not all that useful in the grand scheme of life. The call for them will start to decline (as it already appears to have done) and it follows that the demand for new ones will decline as well.
While not as much of a drag as would be a collection of fifteen tenors, owning a bass sax will still be seen as a luxury by most. Those who need money would see a bass saxophone as a source of same in dire straits, and would try to move it at that time. More of these on the market equals a depressed market and lower prices over the medium to long run.
However, I doubt that prices will get depressed to the point that I could land one for $600.00, an opportunity that I once had and foolishly let slip through my fingers. Sigh...
