The alto that I ordered was received in good shape in a Jean Paul branded outer shipping box that surrounded the excellent case the instrument comes with. Inside, I received a Rico 2.0 reed, mouthpiece, padded neck strap, luggage tag, cork grease, mouthpiece, two-screw ligature, polishing cloth, and a coupon for future purchases from Jean Paul.
The horn was in pristine shape and fit well in its case with a body plug that protected the octave key mechanism. The case itself was lightweight but veyr protective with backpack straps! The horn was clear of any scratches in the finish and both key stacks were well regulated -- no issue with the synchronization of the F, E, D keys and the F# and bis Bb keys, and the G# key stayed properly shut when any of the lower stack keys were depressed.
A common problem in early reviews pointed out a rough D# to C transition to be a bit rocky, but I believe that was remedied and I did not have trouble sliding across those keys. I also that early reviews pointed out some play in the side Bb mechanism before the key covering the tonehole itself would open, but this may have been fixed as well as the horn that I received did not have this issue.
Overall, the action is even, snappy but smooth, with nice mother of pearl key touches. Coming from my Selmer Super Action 80 II, it was an easy transition with only minor differences in the how the top and bottom stack key touches are clocked vertically in relation to one another. I would not though that the key heights are quite a bit higher on the AS400 than on my SA8II, such that I can feel that the keys must travel a noticeable bit more than I'm used to, but as I mentioned, the action is smooth and the mechanisms well regulated, so I would chalk this up to a preference thing. It wouldn't matter for an early student, and if it was really an issue, the key heights could be adjusted.
One other feature of note on this horn is that there are many adjustment screws/points to help keep the horn well regulated -- I know that some higher end horns eschew adjustment screws on the FED stack regulation bars on the back hedging that the less to go out of alignment the better, but I appreciate small regulation screws that take the place of static corks/felts on a student horn that might see rougher treatment.
Playing, the sound of the horn I was surprised to be quite a bit darker than the Yamaha student horns (YAS23, YAS280 mostly) that I've encountered in the past -- it's a good middle of the road sound that more advanced students can shape on their own. I also find that the intonation of the horn is good, with middle E and D needing voicing adjustments (per usual for any horn) but they feel that they need less adjustment on my part to get them on pitch than on my Selmer if I'm honest.
Overall, just really happy with the purchase and I think this horn represents one of the few really great value on student horns that the player can grow with.
