Beginner Saxes Looking to start learning Saxophone

[Antidox]

Hi everyone,
I’m looking to pick up this instrument and I face a couple of choices:
- I really like the Tenor sound but I’m not sure it’s best to start with a Tenor, I see everywhere that it’s best to start with an Alto
- What Sax should Invest in as a begginer?


Any advice would be really useful !
Thank you

 

[skeller047]

If you are a small child, then alto is best. It’s just a size issue. Otherwise it doesn’t matter, so choose which you like best.

Most people would say Yamaha is a great beginner saxophone, YTS 2xx - anything starting with “2” is their least expensive “student“ line. Stay away from Amazon or Ebay saxophones, especially those that are under $500.

Depending on your budget go used or new. Or you could rent. Other good student/beginner brands are Jupiter, Jean Paul (maybe US only??) and Chateau. Another possibility is the “house brand” from Thomann or Sax.co. But these, though cheaper, are prone to issues in build quality. I’m sure other folks will have other suggestions.

 

[Pete Thomas]

I see everywhere that it’s best to start with an Alto

Well don’t believe everything you see everywhere.

 

[Jeanette]

As an adult, start with the sax you really want to play. You will quite possibly add more later 🙂

Jx

 

[Wonko]

I started on tenor, never regretted it. Added a baritone about 3 years ago.
Best to choose the one you like the best.
I recommend getting a teacher, if only to make sure that you don't develop some bad habits.

 

[jonf]

If you are a small child, then alto is best. It’s just a size issue. Otherwise it doesn’t matter, so choose which you like best.

Most people would say Yamaha is a great beginner saxophone, YTS 2xx - anything starting with “2” is their least expensive “student“ line. Stay away from Amazon or Ebay saxophones, especially those that are under $500.

Depending on your budget go used or new. Or you could rent. Other good student/beginner brands are Jupiter, Jean Paul (maybe US only??) and Chateau. Another possibility is the “house brand” from Thomann or Sax.co. But these, though cheaper, are prone to issues in build quality. I’m sure other folks will have other suggestions.

Jean Paul are available in Europe, as are Chateau. Jean Paul saxes are marketed at a reasonable student instrument cost, but in the UK at least, Chateau models start at a good bit more than a Yamaha Y*S280, . To my mind, that makes Chateau saxophones a poor buy when you can get a proven and readily serviced Yamaha for several hundred pounds less. John Paul and Jupiter saxes come in at a couple of hundred pounds below the cost of a Yamaha, and about half the price of the Chateau instruments, which suggests decent value. Sax.co.uk own brand saxes start at £400, Thomann even cheaper at under £300.

The OP is in Hungary, and I don't know the market there, but I'd strongly suspect Jupiter and Yamaha are readily available. The nearest Chateau dealer is in Croatia, for Jean Paul I think you'd have to buy from Amazon. For sax.co.uk or Thomann, you'd be looking at a remote purchase.

 

[skeller047]

Here in the US, student Yamaha tenors (YTS-26 and YTS-480) are over $3000. Chateau student tenors are $1800, which is why I suggested this brand. There are other good store brands in the US, such as Kessler Music, that are less, but I don’t know if they ship to Hungary.

If the OP is buying used, then Yamaha is certainly the simplest, and possibly best, choice - especially for a beginning player.

 

[jonf]

Here in the US, student Yamaha tenors (YTS-26 and YTS-480) are over $3000. Chateau student tenors are $1800, which is why I suggested this brand. There are other good store brands in the US, such as Kessler Music, that are less, but I don’t know if they ship to Hungary.

If the OP is buying used, then Yamaha is certainly the simplest, and possibly best, choice - especially for a beginning player.

The OP is actually after an alto, but no matter, your point is valid, and very interesting. A student Yamaha tenor in the UK (YTS280) is sold for about £1500, which is under $2000. I think there's a perception that goods are less expensive in the US than here (certainly is the case for some things like cars) but this goes to show it's not always the case.

If the OP ends up having to order online, it'll probably best to order from a supplier in another European Union country like Germany to avoid the risk of import charges.

 

[Pete Thomas]

it'll probably best to order from a supplier in another European Union country like Germany to avoid the risk of import charges.

It is more than a risk of import charges, I'm fairly sure there will definitely be import charges (duty and VAT) unless there is a specific trade agreement with Hungary which I' don't think there is

 

[finchoid]

As an adult, start with the sax you really want to play. You will quite possibly add more later 🙂

Jx

You will quite possibly add more later - that's the story of my sax-life. That said, nothing in a similar price range has come close to the sheer playability of my Yamaha 23 tenor.

 

[Antidox]

Thank you everyone, I’m still looking for a good deal. I’ll take everything I learned here into consideration!