When I started playing the sax I didn't much care for the sound of the alto. However, the more I hear it the more it's growing on me. (Now, you just know this is going to end expensively, don't you?!
😉 )
Given that I have a serious birthday coming up towards the end of January :cry: , I'm considering spoiling myself rotten by adding an alto to my tenor. My thought process on this is covering the following options -
1) "Don't be an idiot, Frank! You've only been playing since the start of May '07 and you still sound like a pig that's been fed a kazoo! This is pure GAS and you know it. Concentrate on your tenor for another year or two until you know a bit more about what you're doing and
then think about adding to your stable."
2) "Okay, treat yourself, but there's no need to spend a fortune. Gear4Music do a respectable nickel-silver alto for ?180 (or a gold lacquer one for the same price if you prefer). Add in ?25 for a Yamaha mpc and ?50(ish) to have it set up and you're still not breaking the bank..."
3) "Two words - Walstein alto. Nobody seems to have a bad word to say about them. True the price has gone up to ?330 (and you still need to factor in a Yamaha mpc) but it still seems to be a lot of horn for the money."
4) "Customer service is the thing to go for, and
nobody seems to do it better than Hanson. The SA5 is very well thought of at the Breakfast Room and, even though it's very nearly the price of a Yamaha, it seems to punch well above its weight." (One fret - there seem to be a lot of posts dealing with how well Hanson sort out minor niggles. This
could also be an indication that there seem to have been quite a few minor niggles which required sorting out. This could just be me being paranoid and it is my one and only reservation with the Hansons.)
5) "Frank, you already have a Yamaha tenor. You like the tone, you like the build, you like the ergos... ...in fact there's pretty much nothing that you don't like! You can get a YAS275E from NetMusicalInstruments (who supplied your tenor) already set-up, with a Yamaha 4C mpc and a load of BG extras for ?500. What's wrong with that?!"
I thought of adding a secondhand horn from ebay to this list, however the prices being asked for guarantee-less used Yamahas are along the same lines as new guaranteed Walsteins (and vintage horns don't really appeal to me) so, given that I'm a newbie, I think I'd rather have a brand new horn.
In my heart of hearts I know that this is just GAS (or its close relative, ?Shiny Kit Syndrome?) and I can?t actually come up with any justification for the purchase, anything that an alto would give me over and above what I?m doing with my tenor?
I welcome your thoughts on options 1 to 5 as well as any thoughts on whether there
is any point to me getting an alto in addition to my tenor! As you can see I?m still very much in the ?concept stage? and this may all come to nothing!
Thanks for your patience with my waffling!
All the best,
Frank