Saxophones Chosing a beginner saxophone

[Matabayahsi]

Hello everybody,
I am new and my name is Salih nice to meet all of you.
I play guitar/piano/drums/bass at the moment and i want to add saxophone to my range of instruments.
So I watched this video how lindsey polak made a clarinet from a carrot got myself one of those and realised i quite like to play a reed instrument and also love the sound of the saxophone! So i went to a music shop in newcastle where they adviced that i should buy a trevor james classic 2 which i tried and enjoyed(but i have no idea what i should be looking for on a sax)
So long story short they said it costs 450£~ so i started working to save this sort of money. My question is should i stick with this decision? Or are there any other saxophones around this price that would satisfy my needs as a beginner player?(i dont want to buy second hand because i wouldnt understand if it is in good shape or not, and i dont know anybody who plays saxophone around either whom i trust to do a check)

Thanks very much already for your answers and have a nice day all of you

 

[ProfJames]

Welcome Salih. There is a saxophone for sale in our "yard sale" area called a Stephanhouser 1500 from Ads (forum member). It is immaculate, a "new" sax that has only been tried out, it is an excellent purchase for a beginner as it will be cheaper than the TJ yet it is also an intermediate/pro horn!

Easy, slick keywork and a great sound! Go get it..! I play one!

 

[MandyH]

Hi Salih,
welcome to the cafe.

you don't mention whether you are looking at playing an alto sax or a tenor sax, but either way, from what I can see online, the price of £450 is good if that is a NEW Trevor James sax. (good for alto, even better for Tenor)

I can understand what you are saying about buying new and being more "sure" about the quality etc of the sax, especially if you don't know anyone that can try it out for you.

Some shops that sell 2nd hand saxes will give it a service and 3 months warranty, so if you bought 2nd hand from a shop, I think you would be safe too.

I have never played a Trevor James, and I don't know anyone with one. But they are a name that is well known, without being too expensive.

I'm sure others will be along to give advice and opinions soon.

in the meantime, welcome again.

 

[Matabayahsi]

Thanks for your reply
sorry i forgot to mention that i want to play an alto sax, probably can try a soprano after a while but to begin with alto for sure.
Yes it is a new one and the second cheapest in the shop the first cheapest she said is not a good idea at all, i dont know why do they still keep it in the shop.
I have read that a yamaha yas23 is a good beginner sax but they seemed to have disappeared on the internet (new ones)
I have seen my options are the trevor james classic 2 or the trevor james revolution series for this price, frankly i have no idea about what the difference is between the two either.
Thanks for your welcoming

 

[MandyH]

the Yamaha 23 was superceded by the Yamaha 25 and then by the Yamaha 275, I believe, which now appears also to have been superceded! maybe by the Yamaha 280? but the Yamaha 280 alto is about £780 new.

 

[Matabayahsi]

Sorry didnt see your reply prof, thanks for your warm welcome also.
I saw the ad you mention but like i said it seems a little of a stupid move for a person who has no idea to buy a second hand sax. Also the price droping from 1100 to 450 from just trying worries me a little. Thanks for your advice

 

[ProfJames]

Sorry didnt see your reply prof, thanks for your warm welcome also.
I saw the ad you mention but like i said it seems a little of a stupid move for a person who has no idea to buy a second hand sax. Also the price droping from 1100 to 450 from just trying worries me a little. Thanks for your advice

Let me explain your worries! I own one and am awaiting a tenor version. The reason that they are "cheap" is the state of the economy and also because TJ used to distribute them in the UK before they launched their higher end range i.e. the RAW version. They sold off their stock cheaply! Ads has been a member on here for some time and so have I, so I wanted to pass on some experience. The TJ is good but not as good as the Step in my opinion.

Good luck.

 

[Matabayahsi]

Do you think a trevor james and yamaha 280 has a huge difference that will change my life forever or will i not even see the difference for at least 2years? :d

 

[Matabayahsi]

Really Prof I appreciate your advice and how much you love your horn and how much you want others to enjoy the same joy however I promised myself that I will never ever buy something secondhand as soon as i dont know every single bit and bop about it and at this moment I dont so may be when I am considering to buy a better sax after my first one I will go for a step
Also while i was looking around the saxophones in france I bumped in to this brand SML A420-2 and SML A620-2
And also jupiter jp-567 gl which all of them seems affordable does any of you have opinions on these?

 

[Jeanette]

I had a secondhand but pretty new Trevor James Rev 11 sop until I upgraded, it was fine.

I bought a secondhand Yamaha 25 alto from a reputable supplier with good back up so you may want to consider that option

Jx

 

[Lafleur]

Hi. I'm new here myself but have been around instruments for a while. People here are giving you great advice. Unless you have money to burn buying a new student sax is a bit crazy. I agree with you that buying a secondhand instrument is a bit of an unknown, but for the same money you can buy a secondhand semi-pro instrument which could easily last you forever. With a similar budget I just bought a 3 year old Hanson SA8 in silver plate (new price 1350) just serviced by Hanson themselves. If it arrives with any problems, a good tech will sort them out which rarely costs more than say 30 quid. In your position I'd jump on that Stephanhouser... almost went for it myself.

 

[ProfJames]

Really Prof I appreciate your advice and how much you love your horn and how much you want others to enjoy the same joy however I promised myself that I will never ever buy something secondhand as soon as i dont know every single bit and bop about it and at this moment I dont so may be when I am considering to buy a better sax after my first one I will go for a step
Also while i was looking around the saxophones in france I bumped in to this brand SML A420-2 and SML A620-2
And also jupiter jp-567 gl which all of them seems affordable does any of you have opinions on these?

Matabayahsi......there is great advice above and this forum is very genuine. However it is still your decision and you need to be happy with whatever you decide upon.

We have all been in the same position - me especially! - when we started. The TJ horns are very good - the RAW is supposedly a formidable saxophone. The Step is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated horns available.

Search this forum using "Stephanouser" and read a lot of the comments. I wish I knew about this forum before I started to learn! Take a little time to make your decision and good luck whatever you decide upon, ask questions and enjoy!

 

[kevgermany]

There are different categories of student sax. Top end like Yamaha, Jupiter. Budget like G4M, Jericho. And the ones in the middle. Any new sax you buy will lose value the day you buy it.

Used is a good option, provided you have a good local tech who can check the sax over and advise you on quality, value, repairs needed. Music teachers often aren't good at this, so they tend to stick to top end recommendations. Top end also generally play better and are more robust.

With care, you can pick up a good used instrument for about half the new price, often including a decent mouthpiece. And if you decide the sax isn't for you, you'll be able to sell for about what you paid for it.

Don't forget to add in the other costs. We tend to focus on the cost of the instrument, but you'll need lessons. And these quickly outweigh the cost of the instrument.

Take a look in the yardsale, often some really good saxes at fair prices, and the members are trustworthy, so will be open about any issues. Just make sure whatever gets posted to you is well packed, a lot a damage can occur in the post.

 

[kevgermany]

I just looked again in the yard sale. The Jupiter and the Stephanhouser would both be good choices. Of the two the Jupiter would be easier to sell on.

If you're decided on new, the TJ is a good choice, especially as you have a local music shop to support you. Like any product, new saxes can have faults and the warranty/support from a decent music shop is good to have.

Might be worth asking if you can rent it. Often you can do this and the rental fees come off the purchase price if you decide to buy.

 

[ProfJames]

"I just looked again in the yard sale. The Jupiter and the Stephanhouser would both be good choices. Of the two the Jupiter would be easier to sell on"

It's not purely about resale value when you are starting to learn. You want a horn that can grow with your experience. I have owned both and would put the Step ahead of the Jupiter. That is my experience! Read the reviews on the forum.

 

[thomsax]

I would go for a good used Yamaha 23 or a Jupiter 700-series. Both are good horns and you can get them for c £ 300.00 (here in Sweden). Don't spend all your money on the sax, save some so you can have a tech to do a service. Both Yamaha and Jupiter are easy to own and easy for the tech to do a service on. All spare parts are availalble via the agents. That's not the case when you look at other beginner saxes.

 

[jonf]

Hi. I'm new here myself but have been around instruments for a while. People here are giving you great advice. Unless you have money to burn buying a new student sax is a bit crazy. I agree with you that buying a secondhand instrument is a bit of an unknown, but for the same money you can buy a secondhand semi-pro instrument which could easily last you forever. With a similar budget I just bought a 3 year old Hanson SA8 in silver plate (new price 1350) just serviced by Hanson themselves. If it arrives with any problems, a good tech will sort them out which rarely costs more than say 30 quid. In your position I'd jump on that Stephanhouser... almost went for it myself.

Never mind the sax, I like the Ducati

 

[jonf]

To be honest, any of the saxes mentioned here will be fine to learn on. They're all good. The key thing is to learn to play the thing, that'll make vastly more difference than faffing about over small differences in saxes. Once you get over a certain quality threshold (which all the above do) the main impact on sound is the player, then the mouthpiece/reed combination, and lastly the sax.

 

[Matabayahsi]

I just looked again in the yard sale. The Jupiter and the Stephanhouser would both be good choices. Of the two the Jupiter would be easier to sell on.
.

You mean the jupiter 567? Considering the price difference jupiter being 200 and the step 500 i think i can consider the jupiter which i can afford in a week's time anyway. But how do you think I can understand if it is good or not? May be a video illustration could help? If you think it would what do you think should be involved in the demonstration so that I am sure that it is alrright?

After all of yous saying secondhand is a good idea and checking prices and seeing the difference is half and considering that in a year i will surely need to upgrade i think i can try getting a cheap starter sax and the jupiter was already on my options list.

 

[ProfJames]

You mean the jupiter 567? Considering the price difference jupiter being 200 and the step 500 i think i can consider the jupiter which i can afford in a week's time anyway. But how do you think I can understand if it is good or not? May be a video illustration could help? If you think it would what do you think should be involved in the demonstration so that I am sure that it is alrright?

After all of yous saying secondhand is a good idea and checking prices and seeing the difference is half and considering that in a year i will surely need to upgrade i think i can try getting a cheap starter sax and the jupiter was already on my options list.

Send a PM (private message) to the seller and ask to speak to him!