To add an alto...?

[frankb]

When I started playing the sax I didn't much care for the sound of the alto. However, the more I hear it the more it's growing on me. (Now, you just know this is going to end expensively, don't you?! 😉 )

Given that I have a serious birthday coming up towards the end of January :cry: , I'm considering spoiling myself rotten by adding an alto to my tenor. My thought process on this is covering the following options -

1) "Don't be an idiot, Frank! You've only been playing since the start of May '07 and you still sound like a pig that's been fed a kazoo! This is pure GAS and you know it. Concentrate on your tenor for another year or two until you know a bit more about what you're doing and then think about adding to your stable."

2) "Okay, treat yourself, but there's no need to spend a fortune. Gear4Music do a respectable nickel-silver alto for ?180 (or a gold lacquer one for the same price if you prefer). Add in ?25 for a Yamaha mpc and ?50(ish) to have it set up and you're still not breaking the bank..."

3) "Two words - Walstein alto. Nobody seems to have a bad word to say about them. True the price has gone up to ?330 (and you still need to factor in a Yamaha mpc) but it still seems to be a lot of horn for the money."

4) "Customer service is the thing to go for, and nobody seems to do it better than Hanson. The SA5 is very well thought of at the Breakfast Room and, even though it's very nearly the price of a Yamaha, it seems to punch well above its weight." (One fret - there seem to be a lot of posts dealing with how well Hanson sort out minor niggles. This could also be an indication that there seem to have been quite a few minor niggles which required sorting out. This could just be me being paranoid and it is my one and only reservation with the Hansons.)

5) "Frank, you already have a Yamaha tenor. You like the tone, you like the build, you like the ergos... ...in fact there's pretty much nothing that you don't like! You can get a YAS275E from NetMusicalInstruments (who supplied your tenor) already set-up, with a Yamaha 4C mpc and a load of BG extras for ?500. What's wrong with that?!"

I thought of adding a secondhand horn from ebay to this list, however the prices being asked for guarantee-less used Yamahas are along the same lines as new guaranteed Walsteins (and vintage horns don't really appeal to me) so, given that I'm a newbie, I think I'd rather have a brand new horn.

In my heart of hearts I know that this is just GAS (or its close relative, ?Shiny Kit Syndrome?) and I can?t actually come up with any justification for the purchase, anything that an alto would give me over and above what I?m doing with my tenor?

I welcome your thoughts on options 1 to 5 as well as any thoughts on whether there is any point to me getting an alto in addition to my tenor! As you can see I?m still very much in the ?concept stage? and this may all come to nothing!

Thanks for your patience with my waffling!

All the best,

Frank

 

[Rogerb]

Well, Frank, my SA-5 has had no minor (or major) 'niggles' in 2 years,, but I'd guess that most saxes are likely to have a few over a period of the five years covered by Hanson's guarantee... what have you 'long-term' owners found?

Of course, I also get an annual(or whenever) free service, so some 'niggles' just may have been pre-empted!

If you want a really inexpensive alto (at much less than SA-5 money) I suggest you ring Hanson, anyway, as they had a batch of new 'cheapos' in when I was there a coupla weeks ago.
(I liked the sound of the one with rolled tone holes & a big bell which I tried 🙂 )
I believe (on good authority 🙂 ) they are destined to be in the Hanson catalogue/website, before Christmas, at amazingly competitive prices.

(I think Maria is taking a well-earned break towards the end of this week, so you just might get Alastair himself!).

 

[frankb]

Thanks for the information, Roger.

It's probably just my perception. It's easy to get the wrong end of the stick when perusing the forums.

No disrespect to Hansons intended.

 

[spike]

You need an alto Frank, it's a different voice, there are so many tunes that are simply made for the alto, it will open new horizons, you'll be able to buy all those play-alongs in Eb as well as Bb and just think of all those Charlie Parker numbers you can learn and play at parties.

I'm not going to recommend different makes - my alto is a mid range mid price model, is robust, well set up and sounds great, more than adequate and it'll probably outlive me.

gruss - spike

 

[Rogerb]

I'm sure no offence would be taken, Frank.

Alastair says that the saxes which are serviced yearly, or more often, rarely have problems, whereas those which come in every 18+ months sometimes do have 'minor niggles', often due to mis-handling (eg bent keys).

 

[jonf]

Hi Frank

I'd say buy an alto, and treat yourself to whatever you fancy. That's what I would do. Or rather did. Repeatedly. I've got seven of the blighters now.



(PS. Thats seven saxes in total. Not seven altos, that would be ridiculous. Wouldn't it?)

Jon

 

[frankb]

You lot aren't much good as a Spending Restraint support group, you know! It's like having an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting with a two drink minimum! 😛

 

[spike]

Not at all, not at all, we're down to earth realists Frank, face up to the facts, you need an alto, you know it makes sense.

 

[Linky Lee]

I had a few niggles with my Hanson which will be 3 this December. Hanson sorted them out after a trip up there and I play it as much if not more than my Martin alto now.

I haven't played a Walstein alto but I love my tenor and have been considering going down to try an alto, possibly leading on to replacing the Hanson if it's up to it.

 

[suethesax]

Yes get an alto - go play a few and get the one you like best

 

[sandeha_lynch]

It's GAS, all right ... I can tell from the prose.

Be warned ... if you do go out and play a few you're unlikely to go home empty-handed.

 

[frankb]

Sandeha Lynch wrote:
It's GAS, all right ... I can tell from the prose.

Yup, last time I did a post like that first one I ended up with a Jody Jazz HR* 5! Mind you, that worked out okay ('cept for the occasional squeek!).

Sandeha Lynch wrote:
Be warned ... if you do go out and play a few you're unlikely to go home empty-handed.

Yup, that thought had occurred to me too! Still, so far everyone seems keen on me spending some money (and none too particular about on what it should be! 😛 ) and I'm still leaning in that direction myself...

I think I'm going to rule out the G4M model and the Hanson, which leaves a straight two horse race between a Walstein alto and a YAS275 - Has anyone compared these two back-to-back? Impressions?

Also, coming up on the outside is a secondhand YAS62 via a pupil of my teacher's gilrfriend! 😱

Condition? Unknown! :erm:
Price? Unknown! :S
Still available? Unknown! :?


To be continued...! 😉

While you wait, here's some music (no, not me!) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mywdmoLH5BU

 

[spike]

YAS 62 are good horns Frank, the older the better, I regret ever selling mine. They were designed to be easy to play. Price and condition are obviously important, but that's one horn that'll probably achieve collectors status with the passing of time.
gruss - spike

 

[frankb]

I hear you! Steven Howard is also pretty emphatic on the subject.
http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk/Reviews/Saxes/Alto/Yamaha_YAS62.htm

At the moment though the only thing I know is that someone fairly local might have one for sale. I don't know whether it's still available or anything else about it, so I'll just have to wait and see...

 

[phil_edwards]

FrankB wrote:
While you wait, here's some music (no, not me!) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mywdmoLH5BU

Love it, part 1 is good too (no sax, but great guitar blues). Thanks for keeping us entertained whilst we wait...

regards, phil

 

[rhysonsax]

I think I'm going to rule out the G4M model and the Hanson, which leaves a straight two horse race between a Walstein alto and a YAS275 - Has anyone compared these two back-to-back? Impressions?

I am guessing that the G4M model and the Walstein come out of the same Chinese factory with just different body material to differentiate them. Hopefully I can confirm or refute this guess next week when I get to blow on a friend's G4M tenor that he's bringing to big band.

In the last month I tried out a Yamaha YAS275 for a friend whose ten year old is starting the sax. I was very impressed by it.

Then a couple of weeks ago I bought the Walstein alto than Nachoman sold through this very forum. And I am very impressed by that too. It's got intonation that's as good as my Selmer and the Yamaha, and the sound is pretty good too. I would say it's as good as the YAS275 (though different) and I got mine for a third of the price.

I would pretty much agree with Steve Howard's review of the Walstein and say that you can compare it to horns costing six to ten times as much and it might only lose out on the last detail in terms of "body" or "character" and "liveliness" of the sound. When I'm playing through a mic and PA, that sort of detail would be lost, so I'm very happy to take the Walstein on a gig and not too worried that someone might kick it off its stand or walk off with it. Actually I'd be more worried about the mouthpiece !

Good luck with whichever alto you choose

Rhys

 

[jambo]

I used to think that Altos didnt sound that good compared to the other horns.... but I after listened to lots of youtube clips and a few cd's, I realised the greatness of the Alto!

 

[Bobby G]

Frank, stop mucking about, you clearly need an alto. I went the other way - first an alto, then a tenor, then a coupla sopranos, one straight (now gone) and one curved, then a naughty second alto.

If that Yamaha 62 is still available, try and get it or at least have a go - mine is an older one, they are a pro horn although I guess now they are a kind of lower-end i.e. solid, well built, not too many bells & whistles, pro horn, but I love mine and it does what you want it to. Greg Strange also has one, and if memory serves Pete used to own one too.

Good luck with whatever you get - I say that because I know you are going to succumb sooner or later 😉

 

[greg_strange]

As Bob mentions in the above post I have been playing my 62 series Yamaha alto for close to 22 years - there are really good horns. You can throw virtually any mouthpiece on and they never miss a beat.
If you can't get hold of 62 series try the 32 series (intermediate or semi-pro, called the 52 series in the North American market) or even the student models like the 21 series, 23 series or 25 series (high F#) ancestor of the 275 series, 475 series has since superseded the 32 series.
Over the last few months I have imported a Walstein tenor and soprano from the UK, and if the Walstein alto plays as good, that is another one worth considering.
I have always preferred the alto as my main axe, because I think the alto has a special cry in its voice that the other saxes don't seem to capture, although the soprano, tenor, baritone, bass, sopranino, etc, all have unique voices/sounds/tone.
My 10p, 5c, 1 lira worth of wisdom.
Happy blowin', hunting, Frank.
Regards,
Greg Strange.

 

[frankb]

Many thanks for all the comments. I really do appreciate all the help!

If the YAS62 is still available and hasn't been used to drive nails (unknown and I can't hurry the finding out as it's with others!) I will give it very serious consideration.


Rhys - I think there are other differences between the Walstein and the G4M. The octave mech looks different for a start (Walstein conventional, G4M underslung). Thanks for your feedback on the various horns though. It is a big help!

I'd probably be looking at NetMusicalInstruments.co.uk if I were to go the YAS275 route. They supplied my YTS (seems well set-up, no issues with the transaction and a bunch of BG extras) and will do a YAS for ?500 all-in (when they have them in stock!). With the Walstein now at ?330 (when they have them in stock!) and probably needing a replacement mpc straight out of the box the price difference isn't huge, especially if you consider residual value...


Bobby - Have a shuftie at my first post. The purchase is set to coincide with my birthday (an unpleasantly round number!) at the end of January. Whilst I appreciate this may appear to you to be mucking about, I flatly refuse to get older any quicker just to suit you! 😛 😉

(Having said that, if the 62's still up for grabs, in decent nick and at a fair price I'll have his arm off at the shoulder!)