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Saxophones Chosing a beginner saxophone

So back to where we have started, do you guys know where it is wise to buy saxophones in france (rhone-alps, around lyon)
Or does anybody know what are the downsides of buying a first hand sax on the internet? (gear4music) for example?
 
Be careful about buying budget saxes by post. If there's a problem, returning it may prove expensive. I remember a couple of years ago one of the members nought a Bauhaus Walstein by post, had a problem and they carried all the repair costs. But check this is still the case. You could also check with SMS about their Jericho saxes. They have/had an option to get a good technician to check/tweak the sax before shipping, and as long as it's packed well, you should be Ok.

I think TJ have agents all over Europe, so check with them as well.

You need a decent a decent local technician, as well as the sax.
 
kevgermany said:
I think TJ have agents all over Europe, so check with them as well.

You need a decent a decent local technician, as well as the sax.
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That is exactly why I was asking this question why do i need this technician? What is it that they are doing touch the horn with holy tech water and baptize :p?
In the pdf it says it will be checked by Tj technicians in kent do you think it is legit and they are holly enough?
Because living in the middle of nowhere(with no care or transport) i have no access to a sax church. And i am growing tired of the risks and research needed for second hands, this looks quite a good deal to me what do you guys think is the baptizing really necessary?
http://www.gear4music.com/Woodwind-Brass-Strings/Trevor-James-Classic-II-Alto-Saxophone-Gold/UTH

I
 
Matabayahsi said:
That is exactly why I was asking this question why do i need this technician? What is it that they are doing touch the horn with holy tech water and baptize :p?
In the pdf it says it will be checked by Tj technicians in kent do you think it is legit and they are holly enough?
Because living in the middle of nowhere(with no care or transport) i have no access to a sax church. And i am growing tired of the risks and research needed for second hands, this looks quite a good deal to me what do you guys think is the baptizing really necessary?
http://www.gear4music.com/Woodwind-Brass-Strings/Trevor-James-Classic-II-Alto-Saxophone-Gold/UTH

I
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The G4M range is notorious for needing adjusting as soon as they come out of the box! Search the forum for more information! You are unfortunate that where you live has no techies, therefore you need to be a little more tactile yourself.

You appear to be stuck on "new v secondhand". Yet nearly everyone on this forum has suggested that you buy a secondhand horn. There are also great horns for sale within this forum but you appear to have doubts about how genuine they are. The advice is as good and genuine as the purchases.
 
ProfJames said:
You appear to be stuck on "new v secondhand". Yet nearly everyone on this forum has suggested that you buy a secondhand horn. There are also great horns for sale within this forum but you appear to have doubts about how genuine they are. The advice is as good and genuine as the purchases.
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I always buy new unless buying something because it is vintage.
The last thing I bought second hand when I could have bought a new one was the house in 1977.
 
Lizengar said:
What should I look out for and stuff? I only held a saxophone once and tried using the mouthpiece for 15 mins but that's about it...how do I know if I am getting a good deal?
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Any photos? Any history of the sax i.e is the owner the original buyer? Has it been maintained? How old is it? Has it needed new pads? Who was the techie that looked after it (if there was one). What is the price? Have you looked to see if that is a reasonable price?
 
ProfJames said:
The G4M range is notorious for needing adjusting as soon as they come out of the box! Search the forum for more information! You are unfortunate that where you live has no techies, therefore you need to be a little more tactile yourself.

You appear to be stuck on "new v secondhand". Yet nearly everyone on this forum has suggested that you buy a secondhand horn. There are also great horns for sale within this forum but you appear to have doubts about how genuine they are. The advice is as good and genuine as the purchases.
Click to expand...

I understand that everbody suggests i go for second hand and I tried to go for second hand on this forum and on boncoin(the french ebay) but after a chat with the Saxdon(the seller of the jupiter at the cafe) he mentioned that he doesnt have the time to make a video and he wanted a quicksale and fair enough i understand that, but i just cant buy something with no return policy that i dont even know if it makes sound even. And the step clearly is over my budget considering it is a very unknown brand (if it was a yamaha i would probably consider or if it was the same price as the jupiter. But still probably have big question marks on my head since the only reviews this sax has on the internet is made by you and the seller, and another person who just said yeah they are alright.)
So i thought yeah no horns for me on the forum, and i got on a search on boncoin messaged every single person, around 20 if i could go and try with no answers and i mean no answers.

Which makes me understand clearly that i should consider a brand new sax since it can be delivered to my door with return policies and i would be sure without trying.

Soo are there any other pages you can suggest that would have a better service than G4M?
Thanks
 
Matabayahsi said:
I understand that everbody suggests i go for second hand and I tried to go for second hand on this forum and on boncoin(the french ebay) but after a chat with the Saxdon(the seller of the jupiter at the cafe) he mentioned that he doesnt have the time to make a video and he wanted a quicksale and fair enough i understand that, but i just cant buy something with no return policy that i dont even know if it makes sound even. And the step clearly is over my budget considering it is a very unknown brand (if it was a yamaha i would probably consider or if it was the same price as the jupiter. But still probably have big question marks on my head since the only reviews this sax has on the internet is made by you and the seller, and another person who just said yeah they are alright.)
So i thought yeah no horns for me on the forum, and i got on a search on boncoin messaged every single person, around 20 if i could go and try with no answers and i mean no answers.

Which makes me understand clearly that i should consider a brand new sax since it can be delivered to my door with return policies and i would be sure without trying.

Soo are there any other pages you can suggest that would have a better service than G4M?
Thanks
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If you purchase via PayPal for anything you have purchase protection.
Just because a forum member does not have time or ability to make a video does not mean that the product is not as described or performs as described.
I prefer Stephanhouser horns which is why I recommended. If you search on this forum - which you have not done otherwise you would have found a number of recommendations - you will find several people rate the Step 1500. Also if you Google you will find out what the Jazz Times had to say about it!
http://jazztimes.com/articles/14106-stephanh-user-sas1500-lq-saxophone This was the FIRST post to come up as a Google search! I can only suggest that you read up on what I recommend!
So if you don't regard my recommendation for Stephanhouser - various models! - why would you listen to my other recommendations? I am trying to help!
I have not owned a G4M but have heard varied reports both good and bad.
http://www.ebay.fr/sch/i.html?_from...xophone&_nkw=stephanhouser+saxophone&_sacat=0
http://www.ebay.fr/sch/i.html?_from...r++saxophone&_nkw=jupiter++saxophone&_sacat=0

All of these are available from eBay but I don't know the sellers. I have experience of the sellers on the forum.
 
Hi Matabayahsi.

I fully understand your position, and was in the same place a couple of years ago. Like you I wanted a sax with a simple refund policy, and like you I had a strong preference for a new sax (full warranties and all that, hopefully less to go wrong, etc). Also, because I knew nothing about saxophones, it made sense to me to get something new so that, when I made a sound like a strangled goose - and I knew I would - I could be fairly confident that it was down to me and not the sax.

After reading on this forum and others, I bought a Jericho tenor. It did everything I wanted, took me through my first year, and I don't regret buying it for a second. When I wanted to upgrade I did indeed buy second hand, but by then I had a much better idea of what I wanted, what to look for regarding potential problems, and made sure I bought from a well regarded shop with a refund policy.

I know you're looking for an alto...well I bought a (new) Jericho alto a few months after the tenor. I don't play it as much as tenor, so don't feel the need to upgrade, but it's a fine instrument. Any deficiencies in the sound are definitely down to the player, not the horn :rolleyes:

So, two recommendations (for what they're worth, and I promise I won't be upset if you don't follow them...:) ):
  • You want to buy new? Then buy new.
  • Jericho saxes are worth consideration.
Hope this helps,

Tim
 
ProfJames said:
If you purchase via PayPal for anything you have purchase protection.
Just because a forum member does not have time or ability to make a video does not mean that the product is not as described or performs as described.
I prefer Stephanhouser horns which is why I recommended. If you search on this forum - which you have not done otherwise you would have found a number of recommendations - you will find several people rate the Step 1500. Also if you Google you will find out what the Jazz Times had to say about it!
http://jazztimes.com/articles/14106-stephanh-user-sas1500-lq-saxophone This was the FIRST post to come up as a Google search! I can only suggest that you read up on what I recommend!
So if you don't regard my recommendation for Stephanhouser - various models! - why would you listen to my other recommendations? I am trying to help!
I have not owned a G4M but have heard varied reports both good and bad.
http://www.ebay.fr/sch/i.html?_from...xophone&_nkw=stephanhouser+saxophone&_sacat=0
http://www.ebay.fr/sch/i.html?_from...r++saxophone&_nkw=jupiter++saxophone&_sacat=0

All of these are available from eBay but I don't know the sellers. I have experience of the sellers on the forum.
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I never said it means the item is not as described I just said for me that is not acceptable, it might be for somebody else.
If you did actually check what I linked you would have seen it is a TJ not a G4M the seller is only G4M.
When it comes to the step, it is not you or the forum or jazztimes that I dont trust, it is just that for my first instrument I would prefer something that is a more of a known brand rather than a "stephanhauser", I mean I am trying to avoid saying bad things about something a member is trying to sell but what the hell kind of a name is stephauser *** :D clearly anybody who havent spent the time about branding and marketing a product which only lasts 10minutes to think about, havent spent enough time and care on building it. God i wouldnt call my fish a stephanhauser!
I am sorry but you sound like you are marketing a product(with a very bad branding) rather than trying to help. The fact that you never even check what is the question or even the link shows that you are here to do marketing than helping.
So please without making this an annoying internet fight let other people help without trying to market their products.
 
None of us get upset on this forum Matabayahsi :) we are here to help just as Timbo has suggested. Having bout and sold numerous horns in the past two years I like to pass on my experience.
 
Matabayahsi said:
I never said it means the item is not as described I just said for me that is not acceptable, it might be for somebody else.
If you did actually check what I linked you would have seen it is a TJ not a G4M the seller is only G4M.
When it comes to the step, it is not you or the forum or jazztimes that I dont trust, it is just that for my first instrument I would prefer something that is a more of a known brand rather than a "stephanhauser", I mean I am trying to avoid saying bad things about something a member is trying to sell but what the hell kind of a name is stephauser *** :D clearly anybody who havent spent the time about branding and marketing a product which only lasts 10minutes to think about, havent spent enough time and care on building it. God i wouldnt call my fish a stephanhauser!
I am sorry but you sound like you are marketing a product(with a very bad branding) rather than trying to help. The fact that you never even check what is the question or even the link shows that you are here to do marketing than helping.
So please without making this an annoying internet fight let other people help without trying to market their products.
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Marketing won't help as the company went bust some years back! I'll leave you to yourself ***
 
By the way, this is what you linked........no mention of TJ this time........"Or does anybody know what are the downsides of buying a first hand sax on the internet? (gear4music) for example?"
 
TimboSax said:
Jericho saxes are worth consideration.
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Given your situation I was going to suggest this and if you buy via the link on the TTS the charity will benefit.

You could also contact Hansons, telephone not email (they are notoriously bad at answering emails) and see what they have second hand and if they will ship to France for you to try. Their new horns can be bought on a trial basis just not sure about shipping overseas. They have a great guarantee too. http://hansonmusic.co.uk/shop/product-category/instruments/saxophones/

I think ProfJames was only trying to help he just gets a bit giddy from time to time. :)

My advice read everything written here, look at reviews re Hansons and Jerichos and go with your gut instinct :)

Jx
 
Why do you need a technician? Because like all instruments sooner or later they need servicing and repairs. A small knock that takes a few minutes to fix can make a sax completely unplayable. And if you're looking at a used instrument, they can see what's needed (if anything) to put it in working order. Even if you're looking at a new instrument, they can advise you on what's available locally and which makes they repair/won't touch.
Many also have a side business selling used saxes that they've overhauled and will sell with a warranty. In your situation, local support is essential.

The TJ horns are good and should be OK if well packed before posting. But check directly with the seller what they'll cover in terms of any problems.

For TJ, go to their home page: http://www.trevorjames.com/

You'll be redirected to a local page in France when you click on saxophones, which should lead you to a distributor list. This is probably the best way forward as you'll get a deal in France, with full local protection. If you contact G4M, you may find that their agreement with TJ prevents them from selling outside the UK.

Jeanette's suggestion of Hansons is good.

You can also try contacting John Packers in Taunton. They have stockists in France.

http://www.jpmusicalinstruments.com/home.php
http://www.jpmusicalinstruments.com/Find-a-stockist.html
 
+1 for Trevor James. If you can get a Revolution II brand new, you would be lucky as they stopped making them a few years ago now and production of the Revolution stopped twice as long ago. The Classic 2 will be fine as I am sure any of the above suggestions will be.
 
Buying anything from UK to be shipped abroad will have complications. There's no problem with G4M in UK.

Any saxophone, however carefully packed can suffer transit damage. It can get damaged getting it out of the case and putting it back if it's handled roughly.

The people you are discussing matters with on here are experienced, enthusiasts, to the point of being obsessed with the saxophone. I include myself.

I would recommend you find a local shop or a local teacher or a local band or even a local musician to help you find an instrument.
 
Get a Jericho and be done with it !!!

I can also add they are a great beginners sax as i bought the the Jericho Tenor from TimboSax as my 1st tenor and it plays great for me.....and it's secondhand :p
So you will be happy with a 'New' Jericho !
Good job marketing never named it Jeronimo it would be sold by cowboys !!! >:)
 

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