Where are the innovations?

I had a very interesting conversation with a professional player who was visiting with us yesterday. We were discussing the relative merits of the different saxophones on the market today, and came to the following conclusion: ALL OF THE MAJOR MANUFACTURERS ARE OFFERING ESSENTIALLY THE SAME THING AND HAVE DONE SO FOR YEARS!

If you consider the features offered on Selmer, Yamaha, Yanigasawa, Keilwerth, Mauriat, and other brands you will see an appalling lack of creativity and innovation. They've done nothing new for years. Sure, there are a myriad of models, and in all honesty, the various models are different in various minor details, but the question that begs asking is "where is the innovation"? How are the horns offered to players today significantly different from what was offered thirty (or more) years ago? I would submit that they are not very different. They are essentially the same, and this is a shameful state of affairs. Imagine if the automotive industry offered the same models with no improvements for thirty years. This is what is happening in the saxophone business.

The areas where pitch is less than perfect on the saxophone are well known. The problem of uneven timbre persists. Keywork is still not optimized for the players ease of execution. Mechanical adjustments are often cumbersome and usually cannot be easily accomplished by the player. Most instruments ignore the fact that modern saxophone literature calls for a four octave range.

This is a sad state of affairs. It will continue as long as saxophone players tolerate it. The manufacturers have no incentive to change the status quo. I would challenge the other makers of saxophones to innovate.