Saxophones Not worthy of my new Sax!

[Jobylou]

I have been playing sax for 8 months (having previously played brass some years ago) and am really enjoying the Guest Spot books. My Yamaha 275 took a tumble last year and I took it in to be repaired a couple of weeks ago. While I was there I had a look at their sax selection and tried a few, including a second hand Selmer Series 2 which was being sold in memory of its previous owner with the funds going to charity.

My husband and I will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary this month and he very kindly said that he would treat me to the sax (I know I am very lucky 🙂)

Anyway to cut a long story short, when I play the Selmer I just don't feel that I am good enough for it and feel quite disheartened. Last night I even got my Yamaha out instead - is this normal? Has anyone else ever felt like that after upgrading?

The sax came with a Meyer 5m mouthpiece but I am still choosing my Yamaha 4c (with Rovner ligature)!!!

I feel so guilty!
Jo x

 

[Pyrografix]

Hi Jo,

When I upgraded from a YAS 275 to a YAS 62, I kept going back to the 275 (until I sold it!), just because it felt more familiar and I could get a decent sound out of it easily - it takes a while to get used to the foibles of a new instrument. You can make the transition easier by sticking with your 4C mouthpiece too. Despite the plethera of m/pieces I have acquired and use, I still sometimes put on the my 4C - usually when I'm learning/struggling with something new, then I can eliminate the m/piece variable!!
Have fun, and enjoy your new sax,
Cheers,
Amanda

 

[jazzdoh]

I have been playing sax for 8 months (having previously played brass some years ago) and am really enjoying the Guest Spot books. My Yamaha 275 took a tumble last year and I took it in to be repaired a couple of weeks ago. While I was there I had a look at their sax selection and tried a few, including a second hand Selmer Series 2 which was being sold in memory of its previous owner with the funds going to charity.

My husband and I will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary this month and he very kindly said that he would treat me to the sax (I know I am very lucky 🙂)

Anyway to cut a long story short, when I play the Selmer I just don't feel that I am good enough for it and feel quite disheartened. Last night I even got my Yamaha out instead - is this normal? Has anyone else ever felt like that after upgrading?

The sax came with a Meyer 5m mouthpiece but I am still choosing my Yamaha 4c (with Rovner ligature)!!!

I feel so guilty!
Jo x

Jo don't beat yourself up over this, just enjoy using it, 8 months is very early days in your saxophone journey and the sax treated right will last you for the rest of your life.
When i started 20 years ago my wife treated me to brand new Yanagisawa alto which she payed for over 2 years and i felt a little of what you are feeling now but has you improve this feeling will diminish.

Brian

 

[Jobylou]

Thank you both for your replies, I will definately stick to my Yamaha mouthpiece for now and keep practising and try to resist going back to my Yamaha sax!

 

[BigMartin]

I think my saxes laugh at me behind my back. I may have to start keeping them in separate rooms.

 

[milandro]

........on the other hand despite its lineage there is no direct relationship between the fact that a saxophone is more expensive and the way it feels for you and the way one sounds on it.

I have had this experience several times since in order to finance my saxophone hobby (some call it an addiction) I have bought and sold many instruments, some being illustrious brands and models. Famous brands and types were not all exciting, despite their price.

Sometimes an instrument does for you more than another.

It's all about results and personal feel.

It might very well be that your 275 is a great 275 and your Selmer SA80II is a not so great horn, these things happen.


Same thing for the mouthpiece. If the 4c floats your boat and you sound better with it....... just make sure that your Meyer is not a lemon because you might be comparing an exceptionally good 4C to an exceptionally bad 5M


I have learnt that finding the right horn gives you a sort of electric shock. One could certainly acquire the taste for a horn by getting used ( in time) to it but my personal experience is that the horns that I love the most and still in my possession have felt great in my hands from the very beginning and those which didn't feel so great (and that included a Selmer SA80II alto).......were not keepers.

 

[BeBopSop]

I have been playing sax for 8 months (having previously played brass some years ago) and am really enjoying the Guest Spot books. My Yamaha 275 took a tumble last year and I took it in to be repaired a couple of weeks ago. While I was there I had a look at their sax selection and tried a few, including a second hand Selmer Series 2 which was being sold in memory of its previous owner with the funds going to charity.

My husband and I will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary this month and he very kindly said that he would treat me to the sax (I know I am very lucky 🙂)

Anyway to cut a long story short, when I play the Selmer I just don't feel that I am good enough for it and feel quite disheartened. Last night I even got my Yamaha out instead - is this normal? Has anyone else ever felt like that after upgrading?

The sax came with a Meyer 5m mouthpiece but I am still choosing my Yamaha 4c (with Rovner ligature)!!!

I feel so guilty!
Jo x

Hi Jo, glad you are fixed up with a super sax now! I too have just upgraded, but the only thing I feel is that I have no excuse now, ie cant blame the instrument! I also stuck to my Yamaha 4C (after trying quite a few others) but the yamy is so user friendly! I have just bought a Lomax though after trying it 1st,but will probably swap to the yamy and back for a change in sound.As for not being worthy, I had that problem with a guitar (especially when I showed it to my local luthier) and he said why have you bought that at your level of playing? he made me feel small! It was so beautifull however that I could not bring myself to touch it (I didnt feel worthy of it) It was also perfect in condition and I didnt want to spoil it, I sold it and played my cheaper one from then on.But I would not do that again, I would make myself worthy of the instrument and cherish it forever! and stuff everyone else.Dont feel guilty you deserve it! and its a SELMER hoorah! xx

 

[ArtyLady]

............

 

[Justin Chune]

Your Series 2 is the real deal, enjoy it and play it every day.

Jim.

 

[Nick Wyver]

Are we talking alto? If so:

Flog the rubbish Selmer, buy a Bauhaus Walstein tenor and blow the remainder on binge drinking.

 

[Jobylou]

Are we talking alto? If so:

Flog the rubbish Selmer, buy a Bauhaus Walstein tenor and blow the remainder on binge drinking.

Lol!!! One step ahead of you there - I already have a BW Tenor - I absolutely love it and would never dream of swapping it, I do find the tenor pretty heavy though which is why I am concentrating on Alto 🙂
As for the binge drinking, what can I say - that comes after depressing myself with the noise I am making on my Selmer - my husband decides the dog needs walking and my son runs off to play his electric guitar with his headphones in !!!

 

[Nick Wyver]

I already have a BW Tenor

Soprano then. Curly one on a sling - nice and light.

 

[Jobylou]

Soprano then. Curly one on a sling - nice and light.

I think (and I am sure that my husband would agree) that I have spent enough money for now - just need to get good on the sax's that I have! Maybe in the future though... Ha ha ;}

 

[Jobylou]

... As for not being worthy, I had that problem with a guitar (especially when I showed it to my local luthier) and he said why have you bought that at your level of playing? he made me feel small! It was so beautifull however that I could not bring myself to touch it (I didnt feel worthy of it) It was also perfect in condition and I didnt want to spoil it, I sold it and played my cheaper one from then on.

That is exactly how I feel John. But I guess it is early days yet and I have plenty of time to "grow into it" for want of a better expression! I have to keep reminding myself that I have only been playing for a short time, but somehow my bad playing seemed more acceptable on my Yamaha!
I also think that I can overthink things way too much - need to spend less time worrying and more time playing me thinks! 🙂

 

[BeBopSop]

Are we talking alto? If so:

Flog the rubbish Selmer,

Selmer rubbish?

 

[saxyemma87]

I am a great believer in it doesnt matter the make or model, but the sound you can get on it. Saxes feel different and it depends on comfort in hitting the keys, their distance etc. If you can afford the sax and you like it it doesnt matter how experienced a player you are but the enjoyment you get out of it. I played my earlham until it literally fell to pieces, not the best sax in the world, but I could get a bloody good sound out of it.

 

[Gallen]

Keep practising - that's the only way you'll become worthy of your instrument 😀 The last few selmers I've tried had fantastic keywork (haven't actually tried yamahas before) - just keep at it, you'll grow together with the new instrument.

 

[zebrafoot]

I have been playing sax for 8 months (having previously played brass some years ago) and am really enjoying the Guest Spot books. My Yamaha 275 took a tumble last year and I took it in to be repaired a couple of weeks ago. While I was there I had a look at their sax selection and tried a few, including a second hand Selmer Series 2 which was being sold in memory of its previous owner with the funds going to charity.

My husband and I will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary this month and he very kindly said that he would treat me to the sax (I know I am very lucky 🙂)

Anyway to cut a long story short, when I play the Selmer I just don't feel that I am good enough for it and feel quite disheartened. Last night I even got my Yamaha out instead - is this normal? Has anyone else ever felt like that after upgrading?

The sax came with a Meyer 5m mouthpiece but I am still choosing my Yamaha 4c (with Rovner ligature)!!!

I feel so guilty!
Jo x

I'd just like to chip in my 2p to this very interesting thread.

I've only had my sax 3 months or so, so I'm certainly not qualified to say whether you are technically good enough for the new sax, or whether one is better that the other. My gut feeling would be that whichever you like to play best is best for you. However, is this the real issue? My understanding was that you felt that you personally weren't good enough for the new sax, that it was somehow "wasted" on you.

Firstly, I would point out that you say the sax was being sold in memory of someone (presumably now deceased). If it were my sax, I would want to know that the person who got it was enjoying it, whatever their ability or level of experience. So play it and enjoy it!

Secondly, your husband bought it for you as a gift, because he loves you and wanted to give you a token of that love. So maybe you don't sound as good playing it as a pro player, perhaps you never will, but most of the fun in music is the journey and not the destination, so you can enjoy the learning process and look forward to getting to know your new instrument.

I hope you really enjoy the new sax and take it one step at a time. I'm sure you'll reach a stage in your playing career when you think "actually I sound pretty good on this thing".

 

[kevgermany]

Not long before Xmas I bought my wife a concert accoustic guitar. She (of course) selected it for the sound as well as playability. Although she's been playing for years, she went through the same feelings as you. She said this to the luthier who'd built it, but he dismissed it, not because he wanted it sold, but because he could see how much she appreciated it and how big a challenge it meant to her - but she was prepared to take it on.

She's had to really learn to play again, because the new one is so much better, but much more demanding of the player. With the better response, there's no room for error or sloppy play. When she does something wrong, it lets her (and everyone else) know. When she does it right the guitar does exactly what she wants. But she's making really good progress, the guitar sounds fabulous and so does she.

Stick with it and revel in knowing that the bad bits are you - and you know what to work on. No worries about whether it's the instrument or you. And you'll grow into it faster than you expect. Work at getting the best out of it. It's really rewarding.

 

[Nick Wyver]

Selmer rubbish?

You've gathered I'm not a fan then?

The only Selmer I ever really liked was a MkVI soprano that one of my students owned (great sound but Selmer intonation). Don't get me wrong though - I'd be perfectly happy gigging with a new Selmer (or any other decently built sax). It's just that I have a choice and none of my choices (on sat or b) include Selmers. The sound is nothing special and I especially don't like the effort I have to put in to play them in tune. Some people, of course, parade this as a virtue. "It's flexible, man", with the subtext that the player has the ability to tame this. Much in the same way that some clarinettists regard their instrument as superior to the saxophone purely on the grounds that it's more difficult to play. I subscribe to the opposite view. The instrument should not get in the way of the player - it should facilitate expression not obstruct it.

Yeah, if somebody gave me one, I'd flog it.

Disclaimer:

This may all be an irrational, prejudicial response to the irrational, prejudicial adulation given to the dull old horns known as MkVIs.