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Saxophones Beginners needs advice please about buying a good Sax .....

saxofiend

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Birmingham
Hi All , I hope u and ur Saxes r v well.

In the future I wish to buy a pro Sax that will last until I am sleeping with the worms .

At the moment I am on a strict medical diet ...it is not Keto , Atkins etc...it is something ALOT more important .

It is the ‘ poor man saving money for an awesome Sax diet ‘ !

It will prob take some time to reach my target but I have noticed slight differences between G4M the other 2 well known websites previously mentioned on here .

If I can save even £100 is it OK / safe to use G4M instead , is the pre sales checks etc..,just as proffesionally done as Sax.co.uk and Dawkes ?

I really don t know at all if the sales talk is just that and that G4 M is still safe etc....

If I am eating alot of eggs to save money and I am also saving in heating bills cos flatulence is FREE ! so win win ! Hahahaha.

Kind Wishes to all .

p.s. I have a sense of humour cos it is v much needed when a beginner like me plays overtones .
 
Please consider the option of hiring a sax. Also you may visit a reliable local saxophone shop, you may get a better deal from there. If you are in sheffield bluenote is very good, allbrassandwoodwind in leeds or Stuart McDonald in Bradford or Hanson music in Huddersfield are all very good in my past experiences
 
I thought you had a sax already?
Yes i have jp as400 , but am saving hard for a pro sax that will never ( or nearly , hahahah ) have any probs etc...jus wondered why G4M is cheaper than other places ....if the presales checks r not 100% then I will not use them .
 
Please consider the option of hiring a sax. Also you may visit a reliable local saxophone shop, you may get a better deal from there. If you are in sheffield bluenote is very good, allbrassandwoodwind in leeds or Stuart McDonald in Bradford or Hanson music in Huddersfield are all very good in my past experiences
Thk u for reply , hoping to have enough by xmas .I have beena v v good boy and santa needs to give me a present ! Hahaha
 
My understanding is that G4M is a box shifter and they won't do a pre-sales setup. That's why they are cheaper.
But you could get the instrument from them and then get it checked and set up by a repairer.
 
I haven’t uses G4M but I think they are indeed box shifters. If you need something that will work straight out of that box then they are probably worth a try. For something like a saxophone any saving will be more than lost if you have to have it set up separately.

You really need to play the thing and not buy blind. By Christmas we should hopefully be somewhat out of the present mess and you will be able to, and should, go and try some out, a horn with great reviews might be a great horn but maybe not the great horn that makes you happy.

These are early days in your playing life so I would suggest you take your time. If the horn you have plays you can learn on it. Which part of the country are you, it would make it easier to suggest places you could visit?
 
If you buy from G4M and then have to spend money on a setup on top, why not get a good 2nd hand and spend the money on a setup/checkover instead? I'm sure it will be even cheaper, unless you are determined to buy new in which case ignore my suggestion.
 
If you are still committed to an American made horn you are destined to visit shops selling used horns. G4M and the like don’t sell them. Just in case, I should add, don’t dream of having one shipped from the US.
 
If you are still committed to an American made horn you are destined to visit shops selling used horns. G4M and the like don’t sell them. Just in case, I should add, don’t dream of having one shipped from the US.
After alot of thinkingI have decided that a secondhand US vintage would be a mistake as I don t and prob never will have the expert playing ability to make a poss out of tune sax sound in tune ....no doubt pros etc.. can butdefo not me . I will stick to the sax diet until Xmas and then I will have enough funds to get an awesome Sax . Kind wishes .
 
I haven’t uses G4M but I think they are indeed box shifters. If you need something that will work straight out of that box then they are probably worth a try. For something like a saxophone any saving will be more than lost if you have to have it set up separately.

You really need to play the thing and not buy blind. By Christmas we should hopefully be somewhat out of the present mess and you will be able to, and should, go and try some out, a horn with great reviews might be a great horn but maybe not the great horn that makes you happy.

These are early days in your playing life so I would suggest you take your time. If the horn you have plays you can learn on it. Which part of the country are you, it would make it easier to suggest places you could visit?
Yes it is v v early days in my playing life ! I will take your advice and play test various horns at Xmas and also NOT buy from G4M .Cos I am not young I have decided that I must play 1000 hrs on the student Sax by Xmas so by then I can atleast know what sound I am looking for from the one I buy at Xmas .NOT that I will be proficient after 1000 hrs at all , just that I will have an idea of the sound I want .I know that as a beginner my sound varies from day to day cos the embouchure has it s good and not so good days .Hopefully by Xmas the embouchure will be more consistent .I live in Brum . Kind wishes .
 
If you buy from G4M and then have to spend money on a setup on top, why not get a good 2nd hand and spend the money on a setup/checkover instead? I'm sure it will be even cheaper, unless you are determined to buy new in which case ignore my suggestion.
No worrys , thks for ur advice .I am a bit of a recluse and would rather nail down a new Sax at Xmas and then ( hopefully ) reduce the chance of any probs further down the line ..,kind wishes .
 
There are probably some good shops in Birmingham, I don’t know it even though my wife was born there. Other than that you are handy for Bristol and can check out Headwind who have a large selection, they are primarily a sax shop, and they are very friendly and helpful. Their used stock changes fairly often but they also stock new and one of the owners does repairs and overhauls, actually I think two if them do, so you will get a well set up horn. You can spend as long as you like.

Their prices are usually pretty good, at least compared to London prices.
 
There are probably some good shops in Birmingham, I don’t know it even though my wife was born there. Other than that you are handy for Bristol and can check out Headwind who have a large selection, they are primarily a sax shop, and they are very friendly and helpful. Their used stock changes fairly often but they also stock new and one of the owners does repairs and overhauls, actually I think two if them do, so you will get a well set up horn. You can spend as long as you like.

Their prices are usually pretty good, at least compared to London prices.
Thks for the useful info , as u say London is not cheap ........sadly the Marble Arch Primark does not sell pro saxes either .I appreciate your input BAB .your wife can no doubt translate the meaning of BAB .kind wishes .
 
If Primark sold saxes they'd still put them in those cheap paper bags that fall apart as soon as you leave the store.
 
If Primark sold saxes they'd still put them in those cheap paper bags that fall apart as soon as you leave the store.
They'd probably be quite good.

I get all my black T-shirts from Primark, because I (used to) do so many gigs where the dress code was 'black' (unimaginative bandleaders)...and once you've washed a black T-shirt a couple of times it's never quite as black as it once was.
I also got some 'worky jeans' there, for a tenner. Only way I can beat that is to buy used Wranglers from a charity shop.
 
And the problem with Primark paper bags breaking is that poor innocent folks walking around get to see the rather strange fashion choices middle aged / older men have ........in their pitiful attempts to look young .hahahah...
 
They'd probably be quite good.

I get all my black T-shirts from Primark, because I (used to) do so many gigs where the dress code was 'black' (unimaginative bandleaders)...and once you've washed a black T-shirt a couple of times it's never quite as black as it once was.
I also got some 'worky jeans' there, for a tenner. Only way I can beat that is to buy used Wranglers from a charity shop.
To be fair Primark is OK . Charity shops are where I got my clothes from as a kid , But mostly from jumble sales ........( twinkle in my eye ) those were the days ! 5 p for a shirt and 10 trousers and a massive 50 p a jacket .......the TIK TOKERS have missed all the best stuff ! Ahhahah..
 
Well, if you want a really good instrument, shopping the bottom of the barrel el cheapos from East Asia is not the most direct path.

Whatever a jp as400 is, why don't you have it gone through by a good technician first?

And the idea that vintage American horns "play out of tune" is simply laughable. Have you ever talked to anyone who has any experience playing one of these? (I have been playing old Conns since 1978; I do have a wee little bit of experience...)

Your chance of getting a "pro" sax for 100 pounds is as near zero as makes no difference. Your best bet for finding a low cost saxophone that can be used for professional service (that's what I'd consider a "pro sax" would be either one of the less-popular variants of a classic American (King Cleveland, late model Conn Director, Buescher just post-Selmer buyout, etc.), or the Yamaha 21 series; and ugly - ugly horns sell for less but ugliness doesn't affect playing.
 
Your chance of getting a "pro" sax for 100 pounds is as near zero as makes no difference. Your best bet for finding a low cost saxophone that can be used for professional service (that's what I'd consider a "pro sax" would be either one of the less-popular variants of a classic American (King Cleveland, late model Conn Director, Buescher just post-Selmer buyout, etc.), or the Yamaha 21 series; and ugly - ugly horns sell for less but ugliness doesn't affect playing.
The OP never said he was planning to get a pro sax for £100. He was asking if it was worth buying an instrument from G4M if this would be £100 cheaper than from another shop.
 
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