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Hello from Istanbul, Turkey

O

Ozan Ayten

Member
Messages
25
Location
Turkey
Greetings !

My name is Ozan and I'm following this web site for almost a year but I wasn't really serious to buy saxophone back then, nowadays I want to buy one and desperately searching all channels for it.

I'm in need of some advice to buy my alto sax and never held one, there is very limited knowledge here and most of saxophones are not really known or very expensive ones - like Yamaha's advanced saxophones -

Decent instruments within my range are(I think);

Conn-Selmer Prelude AS710
&
http://www.staggmusic.com/en/product_detail/77-sasc.html?backp=1

I'm not all jazz man, I love to listen and whistle most of all kinds of music and I don't know how tones effected on saxophone.

I want to play jazz,maybe a little blues,classical, some pop and rock songs and themes, I don't know if I can reach those in 1 setup and need tons of help on tones and stuff :( :shrug:
 
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Welcome to the cafe Ozan :)

If funds are low for a sax and expensive for the 'better' makes, i can personally vouch for the Stagg alto as it was the 1st sax that was bought for me as a christmas present (i still have it), i kept the original mouthpiece that came with the sax for about 5 months before i upgraded to a better mouthpiece (probably better to buy a better beginners mouthpiece).
I kept using the stagg alto for the first 18 months of my playing before buying my present alto (ebay bargain) the stagg iv'e got never caused me any problems in the time i used it, produced a good sound, ergonomics are good for a cheap sax.
Good luck with your search for your sax :thumb:
 
Welcome Ozan! So good to have a Turkish connection. Hopefully you love your country’s music as much as I do. Kardes Turkuler is undoubtedly the most awesome ensemble I've ever heard. Fantastic ethnic music from your region that is still growing and developing with the influence of western instruments and excellent studios that produce world class recordings. Fuat Saka is another fine musician with a great voice and presence. He sometimes has a sax player that works with him who is excellent. I also like the traditional music but think the music of today in Turkey is world class. It's a shame that people in the West don't get exposure to Turkish music as I think it has much to offer and enrich what is now a very stagnant popular music scene in the West.
There are lots of good beginner to advanced saxes made in China and Taiwan that would cost less, and are of equal or better quality than the “Prelude”. I don’t know who in Turkey would stock these or if there would be a potential problem in importing one directly from China or Taiwan. You might want to check that out first. Others in Europe or England may have a better idea of what’s possible.
Once again welcome.
 
Hi, big welcome from me.

Good comments above. However as you're very much on your own over there, unless there's something specific recommended here that you can get easily, I'd stick to big brands - like the prelude, yamaha.... Wade's more than rght about the chinese stuff, but.... You've no way of sorting out the good from the bad. Also worth taking a look at the yard sale, there's often some good kit there.

Whatever you get, make sure that there's support/warranty with it. You may need to learn to service the instrument yourself - I don't expect there are too many sax techs there, but guys servicing other similar instruments should be able to help.

Get a good starter mouthpiece, doesn't have to be expensive. I'm sure Tom M will be along soon with a few recommendations.
 
Hi Ozan,
Welcome.

I'm not going to recommend anything as you'll be inundated with advice.
Nice that Nav above recommended an Artemis. I learned on a Conrad which is the Artemis under a different name.
It served me well for 11 years!

Regards

Andy
 
Hi Ozen,

Welcome to the site.

navarro said:
Hi Ozan, welcome to the cafe good luck in finding a sax. Artemis not bad either but might be costly re postage etc. Regds N.
Click to expand...

I can also recommend the Artemis, which is made in Taiwan and tweaked and distributed by Trevor James in the UK. You can pick up an excellent condition, second hand, one of these for as little as €150 - €200 over here. You could also consider looking at other models from the Trevor James range, they are seen by many as very good value for money.
 
Thank you all for a warm welcome and advices !

@ Wade I agree with the lots of your statements there but sadly I'm not very fond of ethnic music here, I listen it casually of course along with Raki and my friends ha ! And there is this, when you live in here it gets stagnant to you too. I believe new and undiscovered is always good in short terms. :)

I found Artemis for 675 $ not used, but it seems to not have High F# key , not written in details. Since I want to play many kinds of music, it should be good to have High F# key I suppose.

And Trevor James Classic, for a thousand.Both look really solid but lacks High F# key as it's not written in details.

There is some brands I am able to reach here ;

Stagg - Conductor - J.Micheal - JinBao - Pearl River

If anyone can give advice about those brands it'll be greatly appreciated.
 
I'm pretty sure if the Artemis is a new instrument it will have a high F#. My tenor is 11 years old and has one.

If you're just starting out you'll not be going into the upper registers for a while.

I agree with QWales, it really is worth looking out for a second hand sax as many people buy a sax only to leave it in the cupboard for while never having used it. If you have a sax technician nearby he would be able to set it up for you for only a small fee. If finances are tight it would be a way of saving for a good starter mouthpiece.

Andrew
 
High F# isn't necessary - there are alternative fingerings available.

However it's pretty standard, you should be able to see if it's there from the pics - should be a long key (often/usually stretched out V shape) next to the E/F keys,
 
Hey Andrew, thanks for posting that used one also.

@kevgermany I'll check that, i just never hold a sax and don't know which keys are E/F notes.

I was checking used artemis either for quite some time but no luck in here.

Financing is kind of tight i may go upto 700 $ for only sax, and 100-150 dollars for a mouthpiece I guess. Also have to consider this; 700 $ price is must be in Turkey, since instruments atleast %30-50 expensive from rest of world. uh.Well it's just my problem

Even if I bring used instrument from another country, I'll have to pay up same taxes which makes me think not to buy from out of Turkey because of cost will be high again.

I'm thinking about Artemis,Buffet Crampon student series and Stagg >> http://www.staggmusic.com/en/product_detail/77-sasc.html?backp=1

I wasn't able to found any voice record for Artemis and Buffet Crampon saxophones, I like to hear the sound first.As Ex guitar player I have grown some ear and want to taste the sound before purchase :)

I'd like to hear your opinion on sounds for those sax ^^
 
Hi There!

My daughter is just back from Turkey, so you can all relax now! The Gear4Music alto sax is excellent - may be worth contacting them direct to see what shipping to Turkey would cost. Contact Gear4music Saxophones | Gear4music

As Kev wants me to recommend mouthpieces I would recommend the Bari Esprit II which is £14 in UK, and is my recommendation under £50 especially as it is excellent with all music - classical, jazz, pop and so on. http://www.bariwoodwind.com/new%20site/altosaxtnew.html It was released on to the market in 2011!

Kind regards
Tom
 
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TomMapfumo said:
Hi There!

My daughter is just back from Turkey, so you can all relax now! The Gear4Music alto sax is excellent - may be worth contacting them direct to see what shipping to Turkey would cost. Contact

As Kev wants me to recommend mouthpieces I would recommend the Bari Esprit II which is £14 in UK, and is my recommendation under £50 especially as it is excellent with all music - classical, jazz, pop and so on. It was released on to the market in 2011!

Kind regards
Tom
Click to expand...

Hey Tom, thank you for advices, back to post trimmy also commented for that saxophone and I read nice reviews for it.I'll sure mail for saxophone. As mouthpiece I believe it's excellent and especially great for me. Thanks!

@kevgermany,

I ain't noticed that too ^^ thank you for noticing it.
 
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Okay,

I did my investigate and a get a support by a customs officer. As we calculated the tax and all other charges it's comes here with a 210% price. Thank you all for really nice advices I do really appreciate it and I seek to join you asap as a fellow sax player.( I miss the hug season it seems ha :p )

Btw, I'll still get that mouthpiece Tom.

If you have any opinion on these sax : Buffet Crampon, John Pecker 045, Prelude AS710, J Micheal AL500 and Stagg 77-sc I like to hear it.These ones are that I can reach here so on.
 

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