Eastman EBS253 Low Bb Baritone Saxophone

An affordable B flat Baritone! A solid performer that offers incredible value.

The Eastman EBS253 is a robust and reliable baritone saxophone, thoughtfully designed for advancing students and ensemble players seeking quality without the premium price tag. 

Built with precision and durability in mind, the EBS253 features a strong brass body, hand-adjusted key work, and smooth action across the range.  Despite being situated in the 'student' bracket this baritone offers a high quality and mature tone, with no dead spots or areas of difficulty throughout its range.  The palm key notes and upper register in general has a strong and singing quality. All in all there is substantial value here on offer and at a fantastic price.

Low B flat versus Low A!

One of the main considerations when selecting this instrument is the fact that it only goes down to Low Bb and NOT low A, which has become the norm in recent times, largely due to some of the big band repertoire and soul band music that occasionally requires bari players to play the low A.  That said, the Low Bb baritone was how it all started and for many years this was our only choice!  There are many bari aficionados who will insist on only playing the Low Bb version due to the advantages of WEIGHT and SOUND; the weight is an obvious advantage, but when it comes to sound, you can argue that the sound of a Low Bb baritone is more free-flowing and nimble.  It is certainly easier to play more rapid passages without the same demands on the breathing systems that a Low A model will present us with.  The debate is open!  However, whatever your stance on the matter is, you now have a choice, and the Eastman EBS253 represents one of the only choices of Bb baritone at this price point.

Features

• Material: Brass
• Finish: Lacquered
• Key Touches: Abalone inlay
• Neck: Eastman standard
• Engraving: None
• Case: Eastman
• Mouthpiece: Eastman
• Made in: Eastman's Chinese factory
• Free Professional Set Up & Free Checkover within a Year
• Recommended for: Advancing students, higher level players on a budget!

Reviews

Having been incredibly impressed with some of Eastman's more recent saxophone entries - the 52nd St models for alto, tenor and (more relevant here), baritone - I had high hopes for this 'student' model.  The 52nd Street baritone blew me off my feet with its all-round quality of build and its defined tonal centre.  Yes, the EBS253 being reviewed here is a different beast and in a much lower price category, but I think we can take confidence from the fact that Eastman, as a brand, are doing great things with their current line-up of instruments.  Their entire range of instruments, from their 200 series models (this one) up to their 800 series (52nd St models with the advanced DS mechanism) are now being manufactured in Eastman's own Chinese factory - there is no sourcing one model from this factory, and another from that....I believe this centralized approach helps to maintain a consistency through their entire product range.

On to the instrument itself, the EBS253 does everything you need a baritone to do (except go to a low A!) and it does it all rather well.  We recently featured this baritone in a 'Low Bb versus Low A baritone' video where I didn't really have a bad word to say about the instrument.  I'm not particularly a bari guy and only play them occasionally, and so for me it's important that the instrument is easy to play, free-blowing, has a natural key layout and a good, solid tone.  For me this sax does all of these things very well.  If you were to compare with Eastman's upper series models you feel a slight uplift in tonal depth and projection, but the tone on the EBS253 is easily good enough for most situations, and at the price it is being offered at, represents great value for money.

Jim Cheek

Jim Cheek