Startone SCS-75 Curved Soprano Sax

I recently got the opportunity to play soprano sax for a short time and lo and behold: I had fallen in love with the instrument. The sax was promised to someone else for next season though, so I had to turn it back in.
Bummed about that and scrolling this site I found that this instrument had pretty good reviews for its price so I decided to take a chance on it. Boy am I not disappointed!
It speaks easily and the intonation is no more difficult to get right on this soprano than it is on any other soprano. All it takes is some time to get used to the instrument and a good ear.

That being said, I would recommend some upgrades and additional purchases.
-This instrument doesn't come with a proper cleaning cloth. Definitely spend a few bucks on getting a set, if you don't have one already.
-The neck strap is an elastic one. I don't know if there's people out there who like this, but it's certainly too long and too dangly for me. You have to put a lot of effort into holding the sax up on your thumb and that costs in fingering agility and eventually starts to hurt. Buy one that's specifically meant for bent soprano saxes instead.
-The mouthpiece is functional and it lends itself better to jazz players, but I'm more of a classically trained player, so upgrading makes a major difference! For me, using this with a Selmer Concept really makes this baby sing.
I think the TLDR here is: it's an incredibly solid, fun little student instrument that is definitely worth the additional investments!

I bought this saxophone after years of not owning one. I needed something that wouldn't break the bank to get back into it, and after talking to an expert on the site I decided to go with this one. For my needs, it's perfect - any soprano saxophone will have difficulty with intonation and this is no different, but the projection and sound quality coming out of this little horn is fantastic and I've received compliments from my co-players during rehearsals. Build-wise, it can feel a bit flimsy at times but that's to be expected at this price point and if you're careful with it, it'll be fine.
Overall I'm really happy with this and was pleasantly suprised with how good it is for its price. Another plus is that it fits on my carry-on suitcase with its case, which is fantastic if you travel a lot.
The included mouthpiece is nothing to write home about and I upgraded to a Yamaha 5C which improved the sound, intonation and control by a lot. The case is a welcome addition and it feels sturdy and secure. The included neck strap is very basic but in a rut it's fine. I use Vandoren Java and JAZZ reeds and it can produce a very sweet, elegant sound.
Definitely recommended!

Packing and shipment was perfect, arrived on time. The case is very handy, light and small but also fits perfectly to the instrument (with the end plug provided, no movement in case at all). Saxophone itself looks beautiful. Response and playability is perfect however palm D key is a bit strangely positioned. If you have a small hand like me, you may find yourself a lot times accidentally pressing the palm D key. This is my first curved soprano so i don't know if all curved sopranos are like that. I think that palm keys are designed for adults or maybe children/teens with big hands. Pads are seating perfectly fine. I had to take my sax to a local store for a small fix which costed me nothing (around 3-5 euros). I have changed the sensitivity of low bb key, probably most people won't notice the different because it wasn't effecting the playability. I am happy with my purchase, for me it is an awesome instrument to carry everywhere as it is light and small. Looks so funny and cool by the way :)

Bei diesem Preis war ich war schon etwas skeptisch, aber ich habe es ausprobiert und bin mehr als positiv überrascht. Die Ansprache ist superb, die Mechanik ist solide und sehr angenehm spielbar. Der Klang kommt zwar nicht an die deutlich höherpreisigen Instrumente von Yamaha, Yanagisawa oder Selmer heran, ist aber recht gut und angenehm in den Ohren. Vom Preis-Leistungsverhältnis ist dieses Instrument hervorragend -- deshalb die 5 Sterne.

Das Originalmundstück hat eine deutlich größere Bahnöffnung als z.B. das Yamaha 4c (entspricht meiner Einschätzung etwa einem Yamaha 6c oder 7c), lässt sich aber mit einem leichteren Blättchen (z.B. Royal 1.5) auch von Anfängern sehr gut spielen.

Zum Thema Kindersaxophon:
Generell wird ja wegen der schwierigeren Intonation davon abgeraten, mit einem Sopran anzufangen. Für unseren Sohn (ca. 130 cm groß) war aber ein Alt einfach noch etwas zu groß und zu schwer -- er wollte aber unbedingt Saxophon spielen. Also haben wir es mit diesem gebogenen Saxophon probiert und es klappt sehr gut! Bei den höheren Tönen braucht man im Vergleich zu einem Alt schon deutlich mehr Lippenspannung, aber unser Kleiner hatte den Trick relativ schell heraus. Die einzige Einschränkung ist, dass die Klappen für das tiefe H, B und Cis noch nicht in Reichweite des kleinen Fingers liegen -- aber bis zum tiefen C sind alle Klappen problemlos für ihn erreichbar.
Der Original-Tragegurt ist für Kinder nicht geeignet -- und auch für Erwachsen eher etwas unbequem. Eine gute Alternative ist z.B. der Kinder-Tragegurt von BG (BG-S-42SH), den es auch bei Thomann zu kaufen gibt.
Alles in Allem eine klare Kaufempfehlung für Kids, die noch etwas zu klein für ein Alt sind, aber trotzdem unbedingt mit dem Saxophonspielen anfangen wollen.