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Saxophones First tenor

Deep inside I know that you are right, but something forces me to give this horn a shot: a Luxor Solo tenor that I found here for a cheap price.
 
Edit: I just did some further reading
As far as I can gather the Luxor Solo was an Arta Guban horn.
I suggest you do a little research, I hesitate to make any suggestion.
 
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All good advice given so far. I wish you every success in your sax journey!

I just want to add one point. The quality of any sax is - initially - not the make but the condition (playability). If you have the money to pay someone to fix a "good make" (but unplayable) sax, it might be a good investment. But you don't.

As everyone else has said, the main thing is to buy (or perhaps rent?) a sax that is 'playable'. And that needs no expensive work. To be honest, 200 euros is (in europe) a very small budget for a tenor. You might get lucky. You might find someone who just wants to get rid of a sax that's in reasonable condition. Without getting the best price for it.

But you might see cheap saxes because the owners don't want to spend any more money on getting them fixed. Although you've done good work on a trumpet, a sax is a completely different instrument. More complicated. Yes, you could eventually learn to repair a sax. But it's very different from a trumpet.

One problem is that - as a beginner - you won't be able to assess the condition and 'playability' very well.. If you don't know any experienced sax players, perhaps you could hire someone a sax teacher) to go with you. He or she would be able to give you advice. Whether the sax is worth the money. And what needs to be done to get it playing as it should.

Another option is to buy a second-hand tenor from a shop. Yes, they're more expensive than on E-bay. The advantage is that they were checked before they were bought, any problems fixed, and checked again when they were sold. If you buy from a shop, you pay more but you know that you have a 'playable' sax.

I realise your budget limitations. That's why I think that when you buy your first sax, a more experienced player should advise you on either "yes, it's worth the money and plays OK" or "yes, it's it's worth the money but this needs to be fixed and will cost roughly x euro'" or 'no, for the same money you can get a better sax than this one".

Up to you. If you're willing to take the risk, just go for it. If it was me, I'd want to know that my money was well-spent.

Mike
 
Now, that's also a lot of good advices and all make sense. I will think about that too. Thank you. I am glad to have signed in this forum. I thought that only trumpet players are nice people :D, but sax players are also ok :rofl: . Just kidding, I am really thankful.
 
I thought that only trumpet players are nice people :D, but sax players are also ok :rofl: .
We're generally a friendly bunch, although a bad reed can make the best of us a little cranky. ;)
 
Edit: I just did some further reading
As far as I can gather the Luxor Solo was an Arta Guban horn.
I suggest you do a little research, I hesitate to make any suggestion.
Start by reading THIS:


Arta Guban horns aren't bad, really.

Anyways,

...you might see cheap saxes because the owners don't want to spend any more money on getting them fixed. Although you've done good work on a trumpet, a sax is a completely different instrument. More complicated. Yes, you could eventually learn to repair a sax. But it's very different from a trumpet.

One problem is that - as a beginner - you won't be able to assess the condition and 'playability' very well.. If you don't know any experienced sax players, perhaps you could hire someone a sax teacher) to go with you. He or she would be able to give you advice. Whether the sax is worth the money. And what needs to be done to get it playing as it should.

I realise your budget limitations. That's why I think that when you buy your first sax, a more experienced player should advise you on either "yes, it's worth the money and plays OK" or "yes, it's it's worth the money but this needs to be fixed and will cost roughly x euro'" or 'no, for the same money you can get a better sax than this one".

Up to you. If you're willing to take the risk, just go for it. If it was me, I'd want to know that my money was well-spent.

That is about the size of it. Starting sax repair, even for someone who has dabbled in brass repair...there is a learning curve there, and a time investment. If you are in no hurry to really start playing and are OK with trial and error learning to do some sax work, then heck, buy the Keilwerth 3 ! BUT if what you want is to get playing, then do what you can to buy a horn which is playable. There will be other days in you sax future where you can start to hunt for potential refurbish/repair candidates. Doing that with your first horn is probably not the best way to start.
 
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I read the rewie that JayeNM did on the Luxor Arta Guban saxes and I found 4 of them here in Romania. Half of them lood quite nice, frankly. Maybe just some pads replacing needed, if any. They have some very elaborated engravings on the body/neck
 
So, which seller guarantees the saxophone is in good playing condition ? And if it is not, that they will accept a return. That is the sax you should purchase. You are in Romania; there will always be Arta Guban project horns to buy ;)

"Needs a few pads" sounds innocent enough. But again, this is where you get into the intricacies of sax/woodwind repair. Because it is more than just 'replacing' 4 pads with new ones, making sure they seal, and you are done.

Half of the pads on a sax are on keys which are interconnected with one another, and those interconnections are regulated with corks or felt material. So if you replace one pad on any of those keys, the pad thickness will not be the same as the pad which it replaced, and the regulation materials will need to be adjusted or more likely, re-done.

So you buy the pads, shellac, cork material, felts, a couple of screwdrivers, a set of flatnose and roundnose pliers, a pad slick, a leak light, contact cement. This is assuming 1) the toneholes are reasonably level. If not, then you need tonehole files....2) the keys do not have 'play' (they fit each other snugly and not too loosely), in which case you need swedging pliers and possibly a bench motor and some reamers,

Or, quite simply, have a repair tech do the work, but they will charge for a few hours of their time, so build that into the price. Then at least a pro has done the job and if there are further problems you can bring the horn back to them for correction.

Replacing 4 or 5 pads can end up being a week to month-long or more affair for a novice. Because you think initially you have it right, then a few days later something goes funny again, so you revisit it and make the correction then a few days later it is off again, etc.
In other discussion here I have often shared that for me, who has always been mechanically inclined, it took me around 10 saxophone projects before I really began to develop the touch and skill and eye to begin to understand things as a whole, and start to mostly 'get it right' the first time through the horn.

This is not to 'scare' you - you clearly have technical/mechanical ability. I am just pointing out that descriptions such as 'it is in good shape but is going to need a few new pads' sounds very manageable, but it will end up costing you both time and additional money.

On the opposite side, it is fun to learn.
 
:oops: You made me rethink it all over again ...
You know Winnie the Pooh-Bear?: "what to do?... what to do?..."
 
I finally got a tenor: a nice used Arta Guban that sounds fantastic in my unexperienced ears. I changed the majority of the corks and of course I messed up all the horn. Then I did it again and again ... and now is fine again. I checked the hirn for leaks and filled up a hole. I filled the biting marks on mouthpiece that came with the horn. I also have a Yamaha 5C mouthpiece, but that noname sounds better and easier to me. Just need to change the neck cork. Oh, and I made my own neck strap out of leather.
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Cool horn, I had never seen one with that engraving before (only "Luxor" which was a stencil name of theirs). Congrats !
 
Would somebody recommend a reed for soft, dark, smooth tenor playing (as a beginner, of course)? I don't like my loud playing and my harsh attacks. I am currently playing on a 2 Vandoren Classic, I think.
 
I think that loud playing and harsh attacks are fairly normal for a beginner.
Just keep practicing and things will get better.
 

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