Saxophones First Tenor?

[JacobN.]

(Note: Yes, I did do a search of the forum, and browsed a few pages, but the threads were either outdated or beyond my budget)

Alright, so I'm going to be purchasing my first tenor for a small jazz group (trio or quartet) and was wondering what would be the best horn to get. My budget is around $400-500 (300-350 euros). I was looking at some horns, and have thought of the Hanson ST1 tenor. I was wondering if there were any second opinions or better horns for the price.
I'm currently playing (classical) pieces like Carnival of Venice (Hemke), Introduction Dance and Furioso (Couf), and Sonatina (Worley).

 

[kevgermany]

One question that'll come up is where are you? Cos there are different brands available in different countries.

Hopefully you can get to a shop and try a few out.

And don't forget to budget for a decent mouthpiece in that price.

Buying used, carefully, can get you a lot more sax for your money.

On the sax - concentrate on playability and intonation. Same for mouthpiece.

Hansons are OK. But so are a lof of other makes. And there are many no-name/unknown name saxes that vary from junk to very good for the money.

Do you have any friends/colleagues who can help you pick a sax?

 

[JacobN.]

I'm in the US. I'm just going to get a Yamaha mouthpiece. I'll search around for used saxes. I'm fairly proficient at sax, and I've shopped for my second alto, so I'm pretty sure on what to do. Any suggestions on reeds or anything?

 

[milandro]

well, to be perfectly honest your budget is not very high.

The ubiquitous Yamaha 23 or its Vito close step-brother (also made by Yamaha) come to mind. Another possibility is a Vito Beaugnier , they are undervalued and very good horns.

Another less expensive horn that is within reach and CAN be a very good choice is a Conn 16M “ Shooting Star” (or Director model) , buy one made in USA if possible and not in Mexico (although there are occasional reports of Mexi-Conn being good horns too.......).

Then there are all manners of less palatable saxophones that can be very good players but it very much depends on what you have available around your parts.

 

[JacobN.]

I feel stupid that I completely forgot Yamaha tenors. I have a Yamaha 23 alto that is a great horn, other than some clacky keys. I'll try and find a way to stretch my budget a bit more to accomodate for a better horn. By the way, this is a bit off topic, but do you know of any good books of blues heads for a trio of drums, bass, and tenor, that doesn't need a piano part?