Beginner Saxes Beginner Looking for Quality Alto - What would you buy?

TonyMoroney · Jul 25, 2007

Hi All,

Now I fully expect this to cause some controversy but here goes anyway, please bear with me here and be a bit gentle.

I've picked up the Alto about 6 months ago and feel I am making some good progress, I used to play Tenor when I was much younger about 20 or so years ago. I feel comfortable in the knowledge that I'll not likely be putting it down again, and with that have decided to upgrade from my entry level alto to something nicer. Now this in and of itself should distress people, but I'm looking at some models that would be considered professional level. I am I likely to ever go pro?? Unlikely, nice as it would be, I'm not fooling myself, it might be nice to play with a band live at some point in the future for sure, but not pro level by any stretch. But I do get distressed when I try to spend this sort of money in a store, regardless of my ability and it's met with smirks and patronization (this happened earlier this week), so all I'm asking is while you read this please don't judge me like the shop staff did (I'd be pleased for the sale if I were a shop owner and try and help the customer make the right choice, rather than making him feel unwanted)

I've narrowed my choices down to Yamaha EX or Z Series, Yani 9933 (Silver / Bronze) or one of the Selmer Ref 54 (Limited might be nice but only if I can get a bargain on it, otherwise, Standard Ref 54 is fine)

Everyone has their opinions, most say things like the Yamaha is a great horn and will be the easiest to play than the Selmer, but with the Selmer "ohhhhhh the tone" is often the response, Selmer is less easy to play, but the tone rocks. The Yani never seems to invoke the same passion from people as the Yamaha or the Selmer.......

Cheers in advance for your feedback 🙂

T.

P.S. I read a bunch of posts before I joined and you seem like a very friendly bunch 🙂

fecklesseric · Jul 25, 2007

The thing that would worry me is that you started out "2000 + change" and by the end of the post it was a definite "2.5K"

:laugh:

TonyMoroney · Jul 25, 2007

fecklessEric wrote:
The thing that would worry me is that you started out "2000 + change" and by the end of the post it was a definite "2.5K"

:laugh:

Sorry my bad, when I said 2K and change I meant up to 2.5K I'm looking to spend less, but the Ref 54 comes in at a little below 2.5 depending on where you shop, but that was to be my upper limit 🙂

T.

Simon · Jul 25, 2007

Hi Tony,

I don't know how anyone answers this question. I play a z series but I only chose it after trying several other brands and models, in fact chose between several z series altos themselves (they varied). I also play an old Conn 10M tenor which should suck in comparison to Selmers, Yamahas etc cos I got it for very little money. I like it - it sounds good.

You've played 6 months? Does more dosh = better quality ? There are many here who play and endorse Hansons, Walsteins and various other cheaper brands. They play them, they like them.

If you want a 'name brand' and you have the money, get it. You'll probably only hate the cheaper horn (even if it plays as well) cos of the 'prestige' associated with a brand.

Try before you buy - although at 6 months I'd be getting an more experienced player / teacher to do this with me.

Simon

Pete Thomas · Jul 25, 2007

Simon is right, these days there are some very fine and inexpensive horns.

If I needed a new alto and had that budget, I would probably spend maybe 20% on an alto and the rest on a nice holiday.

If I really had to spend the 2.5K I'd probably look for a very nice vintage horn, not necessarily because it would play better but because it's a nice thing to have around.

TonyMoroney · Jul 25, 2007

simon wrote:
Hi Tony,

I don't know how anyone answers this question. I play a z series but I only chose it after trying several other brands and models, in fact chose between several z series altos themselves (they varied). I also play an old Conn 10M tenor which should suck in comparison to Selmers, Yamahas etc cos I got it for very little money. I like it - it sounds good.

You've played 6 months? Does more dosh = better quality ? There are many here who play and endorse Hansons, Walsteins and various other cheaper brands. They play them, they like them.

If you want a 'name brand' and you have the money, get it. You'll probably only hate the cheaper horn (even if it plays as well) cos of the 'prestige' associated with a brand.

Try before you buy - although at 6 months I'd be getting an more experienced player / teacher to do this with me.

Simon

Hi Simon,

I think what I'm looking for is a Sax I can grow into, reliable, and likely to not leave me wanting every time my playing moves forwards a level. I also use it as an incentive, both in terms of making the most of my investment and not being able to blame the tool on days when my playing sucks!! 🙂

The Yamaha being well known for being "much easier to play" is a very big draw for me right now, and the Yani with all the silver and stuff feels a bit like overkill..... but the Selmer, I keep hearing great things about.

T.

TonyMoroney · Jul 25, 2007

Pete Thomas wrote:
Simon is right, these days there are some very fine and inexpensive horns.

If I needed a new alto and had that budget, I would probably spend maybe 20% on an alto and the rest on a nice holiday.

If I really had to spend the 2.5K I'd probably look for a very nice vintage horn, not necessarily because it would play better but because it's a nice thing to have around.

Pete,

That sounds great, I know my existing (far east) horn sounds great, but there are definitely quality issues with it, felt is falling off and squeezing out of the rod guides, etc, the finish and quality is clearly not what I'd call of long term durability..... However, if I found something really nice for a lot less than my budget I'd consider a Tenor too (I miss my Tenor)

T.

Saxlicker · Jul 25, 2007

Pete Thomas wrote:
Simon is right, these days there are some very fine and inexpensive horns.

If I needed a new alto and had that budget, I would probably spend maybe 20% on an alto and the rest on a nice holiday.

I'd go 40% - 60% on used models treating myself to alto and tenor respectively!

Consistancy is one thing to consider regarding how many of Simons trialed 'z's varied .....and I would still say even based on this that yamaha is a great choice.

You could almost get a pair of second hand yam 875 customs for this budget...

I think your pretty sold on one new alto, but just incase...

For me, a choice of
Old YAS62 (purple logo)
Selmer mkVII alto

with

YTS 875
Selmer super 80 seriesII

(Other great horns ruled out by ergonomics due to your thread content)

Please don't start on mouthpieces 😛

fecklesseric · Jul 25, 2007

Hi Tony, a more serious comment this time...

I've been playing sax about 2.5 years or so, and I recently bought a tenor (switching from alto). I started out like you - I've got some spare cash and if I'm gonna buy it, then I'll get myself one that'll last. I was thinking about the same price range too.

Finally, after much agonizing and test playing, I bought a cheap(ish) one. The reason was simply that my playing (and tastes) have changed so much over that time that I can't possibly predict what I will like / want / need in a years time.

Now, you may be in a different camp, given that you've played it before. But given that you can get REALLY good saxes for silly money these days, it'll be less of a problem if you feel the need to change a bit further down the line.

Just my tuppence. At the end of the day, buy the sax that excites you and makes you want to play more.

griff136 · Jul 25, 2007

If you want quality and reliablility I would go for either the yanni or the yamaha.and as for spares and back up, I have been waiting for 4 months for some spares from Selmer - yamaha stuff arrives next day if its in stock from the UK.

But there are other makers out there that you may wish to try out - Rampone and Cazzani, Borgani both Italian hand made horns, you could also try out a P mauriat - nice hornss too and a load cheaper than your budget.

get yourself to a music shop like myalls or sax.co.uk where you can try out loads of saxes you will be surprised you could try 10 yamaha 82 ex's and find they all play slightly differently.

best advice I can give is try as many as you can within your budget and pick the one that you like the sound of most.

Rogerb · Jul 26, 2007

And as my mother used to advise about buying a suit, do take a knowledgeable, trustworthy friend with you, if you can 🙂

You can blow and he/she can listen, then vice versa.

jonf · Jul 26, 2007

Hi Tony

I was in a similar position last year, although I was buying a tenor. Although I've been playing for a long time, I'll never be the world's greatest player, and I know fine well that my playing would be 95% as good or better on a cheaper horn. But I had the money, which I'd worked hard for, so I decided to buy a really good horn. Whether I really needed it wqas immaterial - I wanted to buy one and that's that.

I did what Griff suggests, and took myself down to sax.co.uk, and layed loads, including Yani, Yamaha, Mauriat, Selmer, TJJ Custom. Came away with a Yani T992. Never regretted it for a moment.

Jon

frankb · Jul 26, 2007

Hi Tony,

I'm a newbie myself, so my opinion might not be worth very much! However, I'll have a bash!

If I can try to summarise your requirement -

- You've been playing alto for about 6 months (with some previous sax experience a while back).
- Your existing alto has some issues and you feel that continuing with it isn't really an option.
- You are looking for a top-quality horn that you can grow into.
- Whilst you can hear and feel differences between the saxes you try you haven't yet the level of experience that would give you enough confidence to make a clear decision between them.

As you say, everyone has opinions. However, the only one that matters here is *yours*! The one thing that I have learned from my brief time in saxland is that something that suits one person may not suit somebody else.

One person may recommend the Selmer, another may recommend Yanagisawa, another Yamaha. In the meantime, the horn to deliver everything you're looking for may be (for example) a Keilworth!

At the moment you're not in a position to recognise that and so could well end up with a superb horn that is perfect for the people who'd recommended it to you, but *isn't* perfect for you.

If it were me (which it ain't!), I'd get a well-made, great-sounding Walstein, Hanson or Yamaha student alto, get it properly set up by a good tech, put a decent mouthpiece on it and play the lacquer off the thing (which might take a while, by all accounts they're well-made!) while the rest of my budget sat in a high-interest account!

Then, when I felt experienced and confident enough to choose the tone, ergonomics and look that was perfect for *me*, I'd go shopping...! 😉

Whatever you decide to do, I hope it works out well.

All the best,

Frank