Saxophones How many saxes does one really need?

[Vetinari]

😀

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Don't show this to @Targa.

 

[Targa]

Don't show this to @Targa.

As the words under my photo suggest.

 

[thomsax]

One tenor and one baritone. In good playing condition. Learn to love to play your sax! As player I really have to like what I'm playing. You can own many fine saxes but without dedication and devotion ..... .

"Well, I got this guitar and I've learned how to make it talk". (A line from "Thunder Road", Bruce Springsteen.). We have to get our saxes to talk.

 

[Colin the Bear]

Talk? Make them sing.

 

[Grumps]

Generally when starting out, I'd say one horn and one mouthpiece until you can make it sound like a saxophone. Then you find a better match if needed. You only need two of the same horn (like having two tenors or two altos) if you gig regularly. As for numerous horns in different voices, I'm hard pressed to discourage same, as when I was young I had numerous horns available to me to borrow from a player in my father's group who let me keep his tenor, bari and soprano at different points in time growing up. Playing such a variety of the sax voices enabled me to get chairs in bands accordingly.

 

[cappers]

Thanks Grumps. Not sure if the above was directed at me or addressing the question in general.

After nearly 15 months I'm beginning to sound like a sax rather than an animal in distress. Apart from the original 5C my only mpc is the Soloist. I don't have a need to change that at the moment.

My newly found YTS-32 (and my YAS-25 which got me on the sax journey) are all I really need/want. However as I gig regularly now (monthly at present) I'm going to keep my original YTS-25 just in case as a back-up (and for a slightly brighter tone). As mentioned above, the outdoor gig on Sunday looks like it might be wet and crowded so I'll take the '25 not the '32.

Thanks to all for your thoughts.

 

[Pete Thomas]

So do I (or would you in my situation) sell all of them except the '32 or sell the YAS & Vito ('25 as spare), or the YAS & YTS-25 (Vito as spare)?

Most of my professional career I’ve only had one of each, though have gone through periods of having two or more if I found something I was interested in to try out. But would usually then decide on one or the other. I tend to like a clutter free environment.

Early on I was mostly touring, so even if there was a road crew I’d prefer to have just one instrument with me.

 

[MikeMorrell]

Hmmm, I've read the thread and IMHO your decision depends a lot on your budget, your sax 'future-proofing' and your storage space. I have (as an amateur) just 1 (tenor) sax,

Years ago, I kept my previous tenor sax for a year or so as a 'back-up' sax before realising that in that year, I'd never played it. Yes, I had the storage space but it just seemed so sad to me that I had a good, playable tenor sax which I never used. And that someone else would be delighted to play it. So I sold it (via the café) to another member. Not because I needed the money, just because I wanted my 1st sax to be played (rather than just sitting in its case for a year or more).

Some 30 years ago, I discovered that I really enjoyed both the feel and resonant sound of the tenor sax. Over the years, I've had occasional 'try-outs' on borrowed alt, bari and sop saxes. None of then probably long enough to learn to play them. But my strong preference remained for playing tenor sax.

My motivation in learning to play sax has never been about 'learning to play different saxes' but about 'learning to play sax in bands'. For the past 30 years, tenor sax has suited me well in this 'ambition'. I've also never had the inclination (or money!) to 'collect' saxes.

So my (humble) advice is to keep the sax(es) that you enjoy playing now or that you might enjoy playing in the next 1-2 years. And sell the rest.

On maintaining (largely unused) 'back-up saxes', it depends IMHO a lot on how frequently you play, how important your solo contributions are and how much 'back-up' you have I have the benefit of having a wonderful local 'sax repairer' who (on a walk -in basis) quickly 'fixes' any problems 'within 10-15 minutes (while I wait) and usually free of charge. So I very rarely need to have a 'back-up' sax. And even if I ever did, this would involve lugging 2 saxes (usually via public transport) on the off chance that my 'main sax' suddenly developed a 'problem' (which I couldn't myself fix) shortly before a performance. In 30 years, I've never experienced this kind of 'sudden problem' shortly before performances.

Funnily enough, a tenor sax player - who I've played with for very many years in a previous band - did experience a 'sudden problem' a couple of weeks ago. During an initial 'warm-up' rehearsal before the concert, it was clear that many of his 'intended notes' just sounded 'off' and that he was really struggling with his sax Something he immediately picked up on. Neither he nor I could identify the problem. Initially he tried out my sax (as an alternative). But he couldn't 'tune' my sax with his mpc. So he borrowed the tenor sax from an 'interim' (break) sax player which worked fine for him.

So on the subject 'reserve saxes', just think about how often you need them, what 'minor repair' times on your 'main saxes are, whether it's worth taking 2 (main and reserve) saxes along for every performance and what your alterative 'fall-back options' might be. Again, I'm very lucky in being able to phone local sax players with a request like "Hi, I have band performance coming up in (x hours/minutes. My tenor sax has a sudden problem that I can't solve and can't be repaired in time, Can I borrow yours?'

If you don't have access to a 'local speedy repairer' or local 'fall-back' options, then maintaining your own 'back-up' saxes may be a wise decision!

 

[Zasterz]

Most of my professional career I’ve only had one of each, though have gone through periods of having two or more if I found something I was interested in to try out. But would usually then decide on one or the other. I tend to like a clutter free environment.

Early on I was mostly touring, so even if there was a road crew I’d prefer to have just one instrument with me.

What would you do if your sax broke on tour? Were you experienced in some level of repair yourself?

 

[Zasterz]

whether it's worth taking 2 (main and reserve) saxes along for every performance

Just to clarify- this is not the reason I need a backup. I don’t take 2 saxes to the gig. If I have a problem with my horn in between gigs, the tech might suggest I leave it with them for a week or more. If I have a gig in two weeks, there goes all my ability to prepare for it. Same If I have a stack of material to learn for an upcoming rehearsal. Even if the horn only has a minor issue a few days before the gig, I have rehearsals booked and I have to take 4-5 hours out of my day to drive out to the shop and wait for the repair, that’s still a pain.

If you’re just playing similar gigs that don’t need rehearsal at far apart intervals, maybe this isn’t an issue, but I recently got a backup and it has reduced my stress around these matters a lot.

 

[cappers]

@Mike @Zasterz - Thanks for your thoughts. I don't need to sell any for the money, have the space, and think the '32 is 'future proof'. But I don't like clutter and unused stuff lying around hence my thoughts about slimming the pack down to what's actually needed for an amateur band player. My tech is half an hour's drive away and usualy turns things around quickly if needed.

Tenor is my favourite which I play in the band, the alto is nice for a change at home.
I don't need a back-up tenor and wouldn't take two horns to sessions but as I own the YTS-25 perhaps it might be useful to keep just in case my '32 is o/s for long. I will be selling on the Vito; there's nothing wrong with it, I prefer the '25. If the '25 is not being used in the future I might sell it too.

 

[turf3]

I would suggest having a backup for whatever is your main voice at the moment; hang onto one of each other voice. Some provisos, though:

A backup alto or tenor is not too tough. Backup baritone or bass is another ball of wax.

The backup horn has to be kept in playing condition too. Right now I'm going through my backup also because after five years in storage it needed all the pads reseated ( I did not store it with the keys clamped closed).

I can't predict whether the hassle of keeping a spare up and running is worth it. Despite my love of redundant systems and backup contingencies, I've been playing baritone as my main voice for 40 years and have never had a backup bari. But I can execute a lot of quicky on the spot repairs myself.

 

[Zasterz]

But I can execute a lot of quicky on the spot repairs myself.

I think this makes a huge difference in the calculation. For me, the littlest issue can put me out of service and scrambling for a tech appointment. When I didn’t have a backup and this happened at an evening practice week of the gig, suddenly I’m losing sleep wondering how to fit a trip to the tech into my remaining time before the gig with a rehearsal or two on the schedule as well.

 

[Grumps]

A backup alto or tenor is not too tough. Backup baritone or bass is another ball of wax.

I spent about six years with a brass band playing a curved soprano, which became a sort of signature look for the group in these earlier years. At first I was using my vintage Buescher, with the limited keyed range, but as the horn has a certain sentimental value for me and some of these gigs involved jumping from boat to boat to dock, and other hard-partying hazards, I realized I didn't want to risk it on such jobs. Sure, I could have just brought my beater tenor if something went wrong with the soprano, but then the group would lose the look. So about a year in I picked up another vintage curved soprano, and this one, though otherwise devalued, was keyed up to high F which was highly more convenient to play with the group. Another year or so, that second horn needed tech work I could not provide. So off it went to the shop for an extended period and I thankfully had my original curvy to use instead. This band worked quite a bit though. Multiple weekend jobs were the norm, plus weekly rehearsals. It paid to have a backup.

 

[mizmar]

But I can execute a lot of quicky on the spot repairs myself.

I think this makes a huge difference in the calculation. For me, the littlest issue can put me out of service and scrambling for a tech appointment

Hence my suggestion

Keep them all.
Pick the one you like least and sacrifice it to learning some repair skills.

 

[Zasterz]

Hence my suggestion

That only makes sense if the backup isn’t too good for “sacrificing”. And if you have the time and workshop space/tools needed to embark on that study.

 

[mizmar]

That only makes sense if the backup isn’t too good for “sacrificing”. And if you have the time and workshop space/tools needed to embark on that study.

It doesn't make a huge amount of sense and was a bit tong-in-cheak; but knowing your way around the horn, pretty intimately, is probably worthwhile.

 

[Pete Thomas]

What would you do if your sax broke on tour? Were you experienced in some level of repair yourself?

It’s only happened once (maybe twice) The first time (with Bill Haley) the handbasin in the dressing room broke away from the wall. I just happened to be standing on it at time and unfortunately fell to the floor along with my tenor.

The tour manager sent off for a hire instrument. Sadly it was an alto so I had to play the Rudy Pompilli solos on alto that night. 😞

 

[Wade Cornell]

It's good (I guess) that many seem to have a special affinity for a specific horn's voice that they get into and identify with. However some of us play different horns for their specific voicing that fits specific styles or tunes. If this is done regularly it's not like one suffers from being used to playing just one voice and with an instrument in just in Bb, Eb, C, F, or whatever. It's all comfortable. There are tunes that require those different voices. A delicate lullaby for a child may sound best with a C soprano voice. If you're strictly a baritone player, your playing a lullaby could sound more like child molestation.

Some of us relish the idea of those different voices and have no difficulty is making any and all of them sound OK. In a small group it gives variety to performance and doesn't take a huge amount of space to accommodate. Electric players (keys, guitar, bass etc.) have boxes/pedals so don't need other instruments to change their sound. Since we play a somewhat loud acoustic instrument the boxes don't work for us unless it's a big space and we're amplified beyond anyone hearing our acoustic sound. I'd honestly feel like I'd lost a finger or limb if I didn't have those five different voices to use on a regular basis.

 

[turf3]

It’s only happened once (maybe twice) The first time (with Bill Haley) the handbasin in the dressing room broke away from the wall. I just happened to be standing on it at time and unfortunately fell to the floor along with my tenor.

Hmmm...

Were there any adult beverages in the room?