want to play saxophone again

[princesssarah06]

im 21 now, when i was 12-13 or so i got my first sax, it was second hand and im pretty sure it was a yamaha. i didnt continue playing it, which is unfortunate because i want to start playing again, anyway i have been looking at getting a new sax to play.but as i didnt learn too much about this side of the sax, i have no idea what to look for. i used to play an alto. and i think thats what i want to get this time because im pretty sure the tenor would be to big for me to play.
i have been looking at one on ebay and i saw one its a CIBAILI CAS-450PP/G. now its a fairly cheap one in comparison to some its aus$450. i thought it looked pretty cool as its purple. id like to know whether anyone has heard of this brand and what they thought of it, good and bad, and whether its going to be a decent sax or not.i heard that cheaper ones can be not of good quality, does the sound get greatly affected , and if so is that the only difference with geting a cheaper sax as opposed to a more expensive one. i feel that if i order off the internet i may not like it or may find its not as good as it could be if i had have bought one from a store.any feedback would be greatly appreciated and i hope i havent confused anyone to much

this is the website off ebay for the sax mentioned above:

http://tinyurl.com/2fq5fq

(URL tinied by admin, see www.tinyurl.com thanks)

😛 😛

 

[phil_edwards]

Hi, and welcome back to the sax.

I've never heard of this one, and as you say you're not sure what you're looking for I'd be very cautious about buying off ebay. This seller does have a seven day return policy which will give you a bit of time to check it (and try and get a local teacher or similar to have a blow to see what they feel - can't beat an experienced view).

It's easy to say but get the best you can afford - perhaps rent something to see how you get on. If you do get back into playing and want a better instrument you'll be lucky to get much return on one of these. They are priced so low on ebay that it's great when you're buying, but hopeless if you want to sell and move up in a year or so.

Be cautious about ebay if you're inexperienced, any player should try out any instrument before they buy and they know what they're looking at. I suspect you don't yet, not enough to know a good one from a bad'un.

Ask around at local music shops for teachers who can help you to find a good instrument.

Hope that doesn't put you off, but buying a sax that struggles to play in tune (or play at all in some registers) is not going to be a good experience.

Good luck and keep us posted on how you get on. Any more questions - fire away,

regards, Phil

 

[princesssarah06]

ok so i did a bit of reading and they said not to gte this brand..fair enough. i am now looking at a jupiter JAS 769-767. its second hand looks good thou from the pictures. how does this one seem. is it better to buy second hand froma store?

 

[phil_edwards]

Second hand from a store is good as you get to see and hear the instrument. If you know a player or teacher who can go with you that's great as you'll get a valuable experienced opinion on the instrument. Bear in mind these instruments do need maintenance, so if you buy a cheap one and find you're struggling on some notes it might be in need of a service so you'll have to budget for that - hence try to get someone along with you who can tell you if it all seems it's in order. If they think a service is needed it's a good negotiating point with the shop.

If you don't know anyone who plays sax try and get another musician along with you, and ask the guy in the shop to play it so you can hear how it sounds. Beware some general music shops have a couple of saxes, but may not have anyone in store who can play them! But if they do your friendly musician should at least be able to give you an independant opinion whether it sounds in tune throughout the range. (Even good ones may not be right on every note, so a couple of small ones shouldn't worry you too much.)

But if it sounds good, the mechanism feels tight (no sloppy keys or pads) and you like it give it a shot. You'll soon be hooked.

If it's any help when I started I rented an instrument, but within the 3 months rental realised 2 things - [1] Yep, I was hooked and [2] the instrument I was renting felt a bit sloppy on the keywork. So I was prepared to forego the rental cost and stretch to buy something better. I couldn't play very well at this point but bought from a specialist and was looking at 3 second-hand instruments. I had a go on all and as far as I could tell they all felt good, the deciding factor was asking the guy in the shop to play all 3 so I could hear them in a pro's hands. That settled it - the tone of one was (to me) so much sweeter than the others. 20 years later I still own that instruemnt and would not part with it for anything.

Good luck, a great journey is just beginning,

regards, Phil

 

[Pete Thomas]

Nice purple, but it could be not just the sound that's bad, it might be out of tune and fall apart. In fact , many cheap saxophones have a very good sound, that's not likely to be the issue.

You need to try a saxophone and look at it first, or buy based on trusted recommendation. I don't know this particular brand so can't say it's good or bad.

I'm slightly put off by them saying an alto is in Bb.

 

[peter_fitton]

Pete Thomas wrote:

I'm slightly put off by them saying an alto is in Bb.

Me too. Mind you it does look pretty gorgeous - and I don't normally like saxes in any colour except gold.

Probably best to approach with caution.

 

[justin_chune]

There is a lot of poor stuff out there called SSOs. That's Saxophone Shaped Objects and you don't want to buy one. Why don't you think about buying a new sax with a guarantee and a no quible return policy. Good luck.

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