Beginner Saxes Used sax advice for uninformed uncle

[DavidUK]

I can recommend Griff's work, and the 280 as all the sax your nephew will need for a fair while. You may have worked out Yamaha are the go to student sax. Plus, kept in good condition he'll get almost all your money back if he ever wants to trade up.

 

[thomsax]

Yamaha student saxes are good. I played a YTS 25 for two ans a half year. Did two annual services. One day the F and E had slow action and it become worse. Then suddenly the F and E key were stuck. My tech drilled out the rod and replaced it with a new one. He told me that it was rather common. No big deal for him and it was an extra "1000" for me. So I went back to my 1938 Martin Handcraft and sold the YTS 25.

I use to help parents and young players to buy used saxes. The latest saxes: Keilwerth ST 90 alto, King 660 alto, Evette (Jupiter) alto and King 613 alto (KMI) and all these saxes were less money than a used YAS 23 or 25.

With all the nice writing about Yamaha student saxes, the prices went up as well.

 

[MikeMorrell]

Hello all,

Firstly thank you for reading this. So I'm looking to buy my nephew his first alto sax as he's started playing and is really enjoying it. Problem is I have absolutely zero expereicne in saxs and therefore dont what good and bad things to look for in a second hand sax. Obviously these instruments still comand a fair cost second hand and i really don't want to buy a lemon. I have come across a second hand Yamaha Yas 25 on a local facebook selling page. I was hoping someone might be able to take a look at the photos and offer a little guidance to how it check out vs the price asked for. The seller is asking for £495. Thanks in advance for any advice.

It's all been said above. The Yas 25 is in principle a great sax. But don't judge it on the pictures but on it's condition and 'playability'. Only a good sax player would IMHO be able to assess this. It may require a 'service' to replace worn components and make adjustments.

In general, I agree with previous posters that buying a 2nd hand sax from a reputable dealer is perhaps the best option for 'peace of mind'. The sax will have already been checked out and- where necessary - adjusted.