The low D, which any pro will tell you is a troublesome note on EVERY alto saxophone, is THE BEST SOUNDING I HAVE EVER HEARD. I used my standard setup (Meyer 6M with Harrison ligature and Zonda 3.5 reed), played it and out came a fat sound with good edge, and a warmth to it that was BETTER than my King! What? Unbelievable! I even put my Selmer Larry Teal mouthpiece on it and played some legit, and it played as well as any Mark VI I've played. Pads are all good quality, with nice nickel resonators up through the palm keys. I won't use it - I'll get a sax stuffer that has a good end on it to protect the joint. It's cheap plastic and doesn't fit well - probably won't do a good job of protecting the joint. The neck & body fit together very well, but the plug provided for the body side of the neck joint is not good. Spatula keys have a good feel - I'm having a small issue with the transition between C# and B but it's improving with practice. The right hand palm keys are built down a little bit for my taste, but not so much to be an issue. Left hand palm keys are built out well for a good fit. The action is excellent - right up there with a good Selmer, Yanagisawa, or Yamaha. It is a heavy horn, but all horns are heavy when you've been playing a King as long as I have. The horn is beautifully engraved, with a gold tone lacquer finish - smart looking, not quite as intriguing as the matte finish model but still looks great. Have found exactly that in the Buffet 400.