On February 29, 2024, my new Chateau VCH-800 alto saxophone was delivered. That’s it on the photo above. For over a year, I had been looking to purchase a new alto sax. I had been looking on the Chinese DHGate.com website at all the pretty Chinese copies of my favorite saxophones like Selmer, Yamaha, Yanagisawa, and Keilwerth, which appeared very well-made, but not a lot of detail or good, close photos. And certainly, at a cost of around $300-$400, these horns were most attractive. However, I was hesitant because I really wanted to be sure I purchased a quality horn and some of the photos looked a bit suspect. Also, the web-chatter was that these horns were hit or miss, some were okay, but many were poorly made. Plus there were import charges and a long delivery period to contend with, -I just couldn’t hit the button even for that low price. It was not until I saw this particular Chateau saxophone for sale on E-Bay, just by looking at the well-taken photos, that I became completely confident that this was a quality horn, but it was for $1500, which was quite a bit more than the $300-$400 Chinese saxophones. So I decided to wait and save. I saw this horn in November of 2023 and kept watching, hoping that nobody would buy it in the meantime. By February of 2024, the $1500 was saved and the horn was still available, so I “hit the button!”

Before I “hit the button,” I read every review on the internet I could about Chateau saxophones, as well as all the saxophone sites, and every review said that these were surprisingly not merely good, but excellent quality horns. I did not find even one negative review of a Chateau saxophone! This horn checked all the boxes I was looking for, but how would it play? From the very first blow, I was AMAZED! I was completely blown away! From the bottom Bb note to the very top high F#, every note came out clear, even, warm, and FOCUSED. In accessing the ergonomics of the horn, it felt to me exactly like a Selmer Series II! With this horn, now I could totally concentrate on the music I was making in the moment without any distraction coming from the limitation of the horn such as on my previous alto sax. This horn just sings! The true test came with playing it for the first time with my quartet which you can hear in this YouTube video below of us playing the jazz standard “It Could Happen To You.”

During my solo, you can see me tentatively feeling out the new horn and then building the solo more and more with each chorus. When I finish the solo, you can see my bass player’s reaction as he points to the horn to give kudos! The following weekend, I played my new Chateau alto sax out publicly for the first time. I was playing at a benefit concert for a great jazz drummer who had just passed away. I was on stage with several top LA tenor saxophonists, all playing their Selmer Mark VIs. As a friend in the audience told me afterward, the Chateau just cut through all of them and soared. I soloed after all of them and actually backed away from the microphone concerned that my sound was too clear and powerful! It was truly next level. When I finished, several members of the audience came up to me to remark on how much they enjoyed my playing, and without exception, everyone remarked on how beautiful my horn looked, and asked what brand was it!

During my research into Chateau saxophones, I found myself doing a deep dive into learning about the Taiwanese saxophone history and culture. I realized, that Chateau saxophones are the culmination of a concerted effort by the Taiwanese people to build quality saxophones equal to the best international quality standards of top saxophone makers such as Selmer, Yamaha, and Yanagisawa. I learned that the Taiwan government, the private sector, and various communities all invested in making saxophones that are competitive with those top brands. There is a lot of confusion among Westerners who combine Taiwan and Chinese instrument makers as the same. Because labor costs are lower in Asia, there is a lucrative market for selling products much cheaper than in the West. Especially large orders for schools. This is why Chinese instrument makers can sell a saxophone for prices of just a few hundred dollars. However to the Taiwanese, quality is more important than profit. And this makes their products stand out from the Chinese. They cost more than the Chinese saxophones in the low thousands of dollars, but these are still half the price of the top old-world instrument makers. This raises the Taiwanese saxophones beyond the “intermediate level” instruments for students. Unlike the cheaper Chinese saxophones, the quality of these instruments were now able to satisfy the needs of the professional saxophone player.

The Taiwanese have been at this longer than the Chinese. The Taiwanese have been making instruments since 1930 by companies such as Jupiter saxophones’ parent company KHS. Other well-known Taiwanese companies are Lien-Cheng, Sahduoo, Weissenberg, P. Mauriat, and many others. But the move to making top-quality instruments is a fairly recent phenomenon. During the 1980s, the Chinese started making their products and flooded the market with low-cost instruments that hurt the Taiwanese companies’ profit margins. To survive in that market, Chateau’s parent company Tenon decided to concentrate on making quality saxophones that were still affordable. To that end, Tenon Industrial founder, Jerry Chang decided to consolidate instrument manufacturing in-house to ensure quality control. In the past, component parts of the saxophone came from various sources and were finally put together. When Tenon, decided to launch Chateau saxophones in 1979, Mr. Chang by then had made significant investments in learning every facet of saxophone production and instituted a specialized process where each saxophone stays with a trained Chateau master craftsman from beginning to end. Unlike other saxophone manufacturers who use the assembly line process, Chateau saxophones are made the old-world, hand-crafted way. Every single component is manufactured in-house. And every process from shaping, soldering, buffeting, lacquering, and engraving from assembly to final inspection, is done under the same master craftsman who ensures strict quality control of each instrument.

As I mentioned, my new Chateau VCH 800 BBY2-2018 is definitely comparable to a Selmer Series II alto sax in every way. And in my opinion more so, because visually it looks better. It has way more engraving than any Selmer and the black/silver finish is unlike any other saxophone brand. In the dark light, the horn looks black and in the light, the horn looks more silver. Incredible! I think this is a very innovative concept. But a saxophone is all about sound. To this end, unlike most other saxes whose chassis are made of brass, this Chateau is made with 85% copper which gives each note a focused and consistently warm, and human sound. Internally there are Pisoni pro pads and Italian blue steel springs ensuring attentive responsiveness from note to note. Externally, in addition to the high-quality copper chassis is the luxuriant full-body engraving that to me is the Chateau trademark. Topping it all off are the Mother-Of-Pearl finger buttons. This horn feels really good under the fingers, very natural, and comfortable. All this and my horn is not even their top-of-the-line saxophone! Chateau’s top-of-the-line 90 series saxes include many extras like the Air Channel Focus system on the neck, 92% copper body, and Abalone finger buttons! (see below) Wow!

I have always been of the opinion that a top quality horn should not be costing $5 – $7,000.00 dollars such as the Selmers, Yanigasawas, etc. Most folks (like myself) can’t afford it. But we can afford $1,500 to $2,000! I am glad that I bought the Chateau saxophone and am truly enjoying making music with it. I am finally able to manipulate the sounds and vibrations that I hear in my head and sense in the Universe effortlessly with my new Chateau VCH 800!

I invite you to view the YouTube videos below from some of my recent rehearsals with the great pianist, Jane Getz where I am playing my new Chateau alto. Keep checking back, as I will add more videos and performances! Also, please visit my official website: https://dalefielder.com/ for further information on my activities, and please visit my recording label website: https://clarionjazz.bandcamp.com/ to listen and purchase my recordings! Thanks for your kind attention, and see you out there!