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Accessories Long-term sax investment and accessories for beginner.

stringy

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I want to invest in a quality Alto Sax, which will last me along time and accessories: strap, mouthpiece, reeds, stand etc. I've looked at an Elkhart Alto SAXD Deluxe at £549.00 and a Buffett 400 Series Vintage Finish at £976.00. I'm unemployed so it has to last a very log time. Any advice on what to buy would be very appreciated. Both of the above items are advertised at Sax.co.uk

Thanks,
Stringy
 
My preference would be a Yamaha.
Yamaha 32/62 or Yani 901, but neither will be in the £500-800 ball park.
You'd never need to change it unless you fancied a change.
 
Hanson SA5 £500 or SA8 £900.
Stole my thunder !
Hanson's are great saxes, and as Targa says is you look for SA5 or 8 you will not go wrong and 2nd hand go for great prices.
Pity it wasn't a few weeks ago as a band member sold his SA8 for £400...a bargain
 
Thank you for the various suggestions. I'm going for the SA8. Can't find any used one's for sale, so I'll invest in a new model. Any suggestions what reeds and mouthpiece i should use? Swimming in the dark at the moment.
 
If you're going for the Hanson, contact Hanson's direct (phone rather than email) and they'll advise you - and may even have a used or ex demo model in stock. They're really helpful people to deal with.
 
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Thank you for the various suggestions. I'm going for the SA8. Can't find any used one's for sale, so I'll invest in a new model. Any suggestions what reeds and mouthpiece i should use? Swimming in the dark at the moment.
Hanson's supply with a Bari but will upgrade to a Vandoren for £60.
 
Mouthpiece and reeds will be a constant search through your saxophone career. Start with something cheap and middle of the road till your embouchure develops. When you can play a little, you'll know more what you're looking for. When you can play a lot you may settle on something but you'll always have an eye open for something better. At this stage you can try anything you can get your hands on. More money doesn't necessarily get you a more suitable piece.
 
Hi Stringy

Regarding mouthpieces, the Vandoren A35 is an excellent all rounder. It works well with blue box (traditional) Vandoren reeds. It was my first alto mouthpiece 20 years ago, and is still my only one. I use it for big band playing. It's now called the V5 A35. Vandoren recommend reed strengths between 2 and 3, so 2 would be a good start.

Have fun

David
 
rico royal mouthpieces on amazon you carnt go wrong less than twenty pounds new for a product far better than others costing 6 times as much,i have just purchased an x demo jericho tenor i have issues with it, small but non the less important.
 
The Bari Esprit II is cheaper and has been found by many members to be superior to the Rico. An excellent starter piece.
 
The Windcraft Etude costs a little more than the Bari Esprit but it is money well spent. I have both and find the Windcraft to be considerably better in every way.
 
Regarding the strap, the Saxholder II is excellent - comfortable and well made. For stands, I use a SaxRax stand at home and a K and M Saxxy for portability out and about. It looks like SaxRax make a more portable stand now too. These are expensive products, but durable. The poor person pays twice.

I guess you'll get a lot of mouthpiece recommendations. You might be better off going to a shop and trying them, especially if you want to keep it for a long time. This thread should at least give you a shortlist of ones to try, as long as you can find a shop that stocks them all.

Hanson's supply with a Bari but will upgrade to a Vandoren for £60.

This is where I recommend Vandoren again. £60 is half price - a bargain for a very well made professional level mouthpiece.
 
r ico royals come in a variety of tip openings and 3 chambers at under 20 pound each i used a 4c yamaha to learn on however i can not get on with it at all now i used the rico range to find what suited me and used petes chart to find out which way to go, i am on the b7 and find it perfect for me on alto. am working my way through the tenor mouthpieces now, untill you try them you dont know wich is right you can get five different tip openings for less than 100 pounds and then sell the ones you dont want.
 
Regarding the strap, the Saxholder II is excellent - comfortable and well made. For stands, I use a SaxRax stand at home and a K and M Saxxy for portability out and about. It looks like SaxRax make a more portable stand now too. These are expensive products, but durable. The poor person pays twice.

I guess you'll get a lot of mouthpiece recommendations. You might be better off going to a shop and trying them, especially if you want to keep it for a long time. This thread should at least give you a shortlist of ones to try, as long as you can find a shop that stocks them all.



This is where I recommend Vandoren again. £60 is half price - a bargain for a very well made professional level mouthpiece.
Not really half price because, as they say, they deduct the price of the bari which you have already 'paid' for, but a good deal nonetheless.
 
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