Alto sax dilemma: Walstein v.s. Yamaha

[Kumimajava]

Long story short - my gf wants to start playing an Alto sax, having heard my (frankly pathtic) attempts at practice with my tenor (& even more painful adventures on the soprano).

I don't want to spend too much time 'researching' this issue, so I've narrowed it down (based on web-searches & forums), to the following 2 options:

- a new Walstein (phosphor-bronze, around ?380) or,
- a second-hand Yamaha 62 (I have a chance to get one for around ?730 + possible tune-up).

Primairly, this is to be a horn for my GF to learn on, but, obviously, the ulterior motive is that I'd also have access to the alto, whenever i like

At this moment, my playing isn't good enough to give a rigorous comparison of the two horns (why? see my intro thread...), so I'd defer to your guys' judgement here: Which one would you recommend?

Obviously there's a difference in price-range, but that's not a massive concern (either is feasible - though the walstein obviously less painful on the wallet 😉 ) And all those years back, when I first learned to play sax, it was on a Yamaha 32 - which was sweet, but i have no experience of the Weinstein, so can't compare...

thanks in advance,
Daniel

 

[old_git]

What a nice gesture, buying an alto for his Grandfather.

 

[Pjonah]

Both are great saxes, I'd probably get the Walstein because I see little point in shelling out the extra dosh. Obviously residual value of the Yamaha will be better long term.....or will it?? Watch this space...for a long time to find out!

 

[yamaha_mad]

As a starter instrument I'd go for the cheaper option rather than the quality side just in case the new owner doesn't get on with it.

If money no option and you know that they will keep on play then the yamaha is a better sax in the long term.

A question of choices.

Yamaha mad.

 

[Lockjaw]

There again, if you went for the 62 you might have a sax for life. I'm not denigrating the Walstein's undoubted quality, but you may never want to 'upgrade' from the 62 - I haven't!

 

[Kumimajava]

Thanks for your responses guys.

Actually, GF here stands for 'girlfriend' rather than grandfather apologies for the confusion - granddad is not a major fan of Jazz, he's more of an 'opera' kind of guy 😛

... so since we're living together, the idea was (with respect to the Yamaha) that even if she doesn't end up playing the alto in the long term, well, I wouldn't mind having one around - i'm sure you know what i mean :laugh:

 

[sax_starved]

Difficult, shmifficult!

Let's see, 2 saxes, no appreciable difference between the two. One is ?350 cheaper than the other.

To quote Basil Fawlty: -
Your Name: Kumimajava.
Specialised Subject: The bleedin' obvious.

It comes down to personal choice in the end, but with the money saved you could invest in a really good mouthpiece/reed/ligature set up and still have enough left over to get your grandfather some pipe tobacco and Worthers Original.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[yamaha_mad]

In truth you want the 62 for you, just its easier sold as a sax for the GF (girl freind/grandfather doesn't matter which) so why not give her you sax and have the 62 for you.

Yamaha mad

 

[Kumimajava]

Hi Yamaha mad.

well, indeed I would like the 62 for myself (as well 🙂 ) , but i can't give her my sax since that's a tenor & she finds it too big. either way, we can share - I doubt she'll be using it all the time anyway.

I do have fond memories of the Yas-32, though - and i've kept my mouthpiece from those days (Meyer HR), so i'm just missing the sax.

 

[phil_edwards]

Kumimajava wrote:
Actually, GF here stands for 'girlfriend' rather than grandfather apologies for the confusion

Hi Daniel, lesson one on the Breakfast Room - don't take too much of OG's comments to heart, he's a bit of a tease and keeps us all amused, the rest of us knew what you meant. 😉

So, back to the alto dilemma.

Toss a coin in the air, Heads = walstein, tails = Yamaha. As soon as it's up there you'll know which way you want it to land - and there's your answer. Ignore how it lands, go with that instinct.

Maybe of more use to you... how sure are you you'll get a look in once the GF gets hold of this alto? If you suspect it's a whim, and she might not stick with it then perhaps the Yam, as that sounds like what YOU want.

If she ain't gonna let go of it, perhaps spend the same money on two Walsteins so you're not left out...

Have you tried the Yamaha? Sounds like it's one you know.

You can buy a Walstein mail order and will have seven days to return it if you're not happy (less return postage usually) so maybe get one on order and, if you can, try it alongside the Yamaha - then you'll be able to decide what you like.

Either way you need an alto!

regards, Phil

 

[Col9]

From what I have seen of 62 Yamaha's its a bit of a no brainer. Save the cash and get a Walstein. Yamaha's are very very good (and traditionally there would have been no contest) but they are no where near the price difference better than a Walstein. You can buy a lot of goodies with the saved ?350 if you need to spend it all 😉 😛

Col.

 

[old_git]

Daniel,
May I propose a third way, I hate Tony Blair for nicking my phrase. Buy two Walstein altos, one for Girl Friend and one for Grand Father. If he doesn't want it, well I do know one elderly gentleman who would appreciate it.

Was going to post, "Form the queue behind me." but on due reflection and knowing the tastes of the board members, will willingly forego that pleasure.

 

[ManEast]

Kumimajava wrote:
Long story short - my gf wants to start playing an Alto sax, having heard my (frankly pathtic) attempts at practice with my tenor (& even more painful adventures on the soprano).

I don't want to spend too much time 'researching' this issue, so I've narrowed it down (based on web-searches & forums), to the following 2 options:

- a new Walstein (phosphor-bronze, around ?380or a Yamaha 62

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Sorry guy's just got home.... 1 glass of sherry too many


:laugh:

 

[Saxlicker]

Kumimajava wrote:

Actually, GF here stands for 'girlfriend'

Don't worry , you'll get used to Old Git's sense of humour.

EDIT: oops sorry Phil, I see you had that one covered.

Sax Starved wrote:
Let's see, 2 saxes, no appreciable difference between the two. One is ?350 cheaper than the other.

I beg to differ....

I have played the Walstien Tenor and Alto. But Walstiens are quite different than the '62'.

It comes down to how much the money means and your gut feeling at the end of the day.

IMO
I did manage to shape the Walstien sound to my liking but it was far far more 'picky' than the 62 which just performs with flexible ease 'as it is' with virtually any mouthpiece/reed set up.

The 62 and the Walstien are priced accordingly though maybe the gap is a bit wider than it should be. Isn't that the same with every value for money verses big name 'does it all' battles in the consumer market?
Taking that into account the 62 is a clear winner with no regrets.

 

[Bobby G]

Would I swap my YAS62 for 2 Walsteins? Probably not. But, the Yammy is due a bit of work such as regulating, sorting out the l.h. pinky table, replacing a couple of suspected missing corks/felts, general maintenance really, plus maybe even some new pads if it needs them. If the cost of that was more than a new Wally what would I do? What would you do? My gut instinct is to get the YAS seen to as it will then be good (well, great really) for several more years.

 

[Lockjaw]

I just had my 62 tenor serviced, including it being completely stripped, cleaned and rebuilt (the silver plate was tarnished in places). One key straightened, just one pad changed as the rest were fine.

Only cost me ?150! Plays like new. Well, better actually.

Don't know what repair guys charge down there, but I highly recommend MIR in Halesowen. Proper craftsmen in a good old-fashioned workshop. Even allowing for courier costs that's a lot cheaper then a new Wally!

 

[thomsax]

I think Yamaha saxes are the best sax to own: plays well and also easy to work on in the repairshop. The repairman can order every single spare part from Yamaha. You just order the spareparts day one and they were at the postoffice the next day. That cut hour in the repairshop!! Even Jupiter is good at this point. I don't know about the new manufactors in China when it's comes to this matter??

Thomas

 

[stephen_howard]

Parts are readily available for Chinese horns - it's something of a myth that "you can't get the spares, you know".
Any half-decent distributor will stock spare parts - they need only contact the manufacturers and say "Oi, send us a box of spare parts".

Spares for Bauhaus-Walstein horns have always been available, right down to the little screws that hold the key guards on.

As for the original question...tricky one.
If it were me I'd have the 62 ( notwithstanding the fact that I've got one already ) on the basis that I play the alto a lot and would probably use it quite a bit.
But, if you're not planning on using it that much then the Walstein makes far more sense.
But then the Yamaha is a lovely horn..
...but the Walstein is great too, and has an amazing tone for the money...
....but the Yamaha will hold its value...
.......but you might never realise that value ( you might drop it etc. )...
.......but ?730 is a good price for a tidy 62....
........yeah, but you could almost get two Walsteins for that, and if you only got one you'd have stacks of wadge left over....
.......yeah but no but yeah but no but yeah.....

Hang on a mo....you said it was for your girfriend??
Oh well, get the Walstein in that case - it's bound to end in tears one day and you'll be forever trawling the forums saying "I once bought me girlfriend a 62 alto and then she packed me in".

..but then again...

Regards,

 

[Kumimajava]

Stephen,
your post is the first thing i read this morning - still have trouble getting off of the floor :laugh:

as an update, though - the deal on the Yamaha fell through 🙁 , so she got a Walstein for now. I've not played alto for more than a decade, but on first attempt it seemed nice enough - certainly a horn i would have felt happy staring out on.

the killer line when it arrived?

'ooh, so cute, so much smaller than your tenor. and it's even - pink '

that's one thing i didn't think of much before hand... but now to come think of it, _this_ was surely always going to be the deciding factor - no?

 

[TomMapfumo]

Thanks for the clarification, Steve 😛

Sounds like it would be better to get a Hanson.