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Beginner Sax Whats my next horn?

surferdude

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West Country
I've been playing about a year or so with a John Packer JP042 tenor on hire, have decided this is not a fad and its time to buy my own horn. I could just buy the horn i'm using they want nearly £600 for it - or i could hand it back and buy something different - have a budget of around £800. What is a good bet? or am i better off keeping what i have? I was thinking yamaha...
 
Bauhaus Walstein TS-PD Bronze... :) I wish I was on commission
 
I like mine... I suggest you wait for other comments comparing it to Yamaha...
 
yamaha are great all round saxes and quite a lot better than what you have now, for learner to pro, i had mine 20 years and never needed anything else going from student to now pro player.
for £800 you will get a good 2nd hand or new yamaha, i would rather not spend £600 on the John Packer, they go for much less on resale and yamaha hold value well in comparison and are much better over all in quality, so i would go and put the extra £200 to get a much better sax in the yamaha.
others may suggest other brands but drawing from my own view the yamaha is a great sax in general, done me great for 20 years and i don't intend changing it in a hurry ;)
 
Hi Surferdude, first of all congrats on deciding the sax isn't a fad, it's kind of addictive as you've found out. £800 will get you a lot of saxophone, the B+W will take you a long way, also a Yamaha of some description, a 2nd hand 23 or 32 would be one place to look. Perhaps a 'Vintage' horn of some description might be the way to go. If you can I would advise you to go and try out horns in your price range and that way you can make an informed decision.
 
Nothing wrong with Packers; I' ve got 2 of them and am very happy with them, but you can buy an ex-demo tenor from them for £400 so your first call should be to query that price.
 
+1 on what thesaxman71 said.

One note if you decide that you really are getting into the sax and get GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) you may in the future decide to upgrade again. if you get a yamaha it will depreciate less in value over time, compared to say a Chinese made sax.
(nothing wrong with some chines made saxes - so I'm not knocking them.


Where in the west country are you BTW?
 
+1 on what thesaxman71 said.

One note if you decide that you really are getting into the sax and get GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) you may in the future decide to upgrade again. if you get a yamaha it will depreciate less in value over time, compared to say a Chinese made sax.
(nothing wrong with some chines made saxes - so I'm not knocking them.


Where in the west country are you BTW?

Hi buddy, I'm Taunton.
 
I would strongly recommend trying some, you have been playing long enough that when you pick a horn up you will know if you like it.:)

Jx
 
I'll throw in another vote for the Yamaha or Yanagisawa horns.
If you can find a YTS 61 or 62 in your range you won't do much better.
the Yanagisawa 500, 800 series are great horns for a very reasonable price also.
All have very modern keywork, although the Yamahas more so re-pinkie table.
 
+1 on what thesaxman71 said.

One note if you decide that you really are getting into the sax and get GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) you may in the future decide to upgrade again. if you get a yamaha it will depreciate less in value over time, compared to say a Chinese made sax.
(nothing wrong with some chines made saxes - so I'm not knocking them.


Where in the west country are you BTW?

Surferdude, you might find something even better that's been overhauled by Griff....
 
One note if you decide that you really are getting into the sax and get GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) you may in the future decide to upgrade again.

I've had my Sax for a few days short of a month and I have already got GAS (but that's another story, too). Although I won't be spending the cash yet, I'm already talking about when I buy a M2 tenor to go with with BW alto AI. My best guess is 2 years time, whether or not I can play the alto by then is not relevant, I just think they'll look good next to each other on their stands.

In the meantime I find I'm buying too many tutor books, and books like Stephen Howard's manual - I've just checked Amazon again to see if it's dispatched and I can hardly use a screwdriver let alone take a Sax apart.

Plus I'm wasting time I can't afford to spend trawling through Thomann's online store to see if there are any bits of kit I can buy. I now have the Jazzlab Sax holder (which I thoroughly recommend to those who value their neck muscles), some very fancy pull-through swabs and more reeds than I need, just now!

If anyone can recommend any bits of interesting sax kit - please let me know, I think I'm getting withdrawal symtoms since my last purchase.

Amazon - where IS the Stephen Howard book, anyway????

Stephen
 
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I've had my Sax for a few days short of a month and I have already got GAS (but that's another story, too). Although I won't be spending the cash yet, I'm already talking about when I buy a M2 tenor to go with with BW alto AI. My best guess is 2 years time, whether or not I can play the alto by then is not relevant, I just think they'll look good next to each other on their stands.

In the meantime I find I'm buying too many tutor books, and books like Stephen Howard's manual - I've just checked Amazon again to see if it's dispatched and I can hardly use a screwdriver let alone take a Sax apart.

Plus I'm wasting time I can't afford to spend trawling through Thomann's online store to see if there are any bits of kit I can buy. I now have the Jazzlab Sax holder (which I thoroughly recommend to those who value their neck muscles), some very fancy pull-through swabs and more reeds than I need, just now!

If anyone can recommend any bits of interesting sax kit - please let me know, I think I'm getting withdrawal symtoms since my last purchase.

Amazon - where IS the Stephen Howard's book, anyway????

Stephen

Buy a broken/cheap saxophone and when you get Stephen's book, take it apart and put it back together again. No risk, hugely educational and your hands will be too busy to look up more gear!
 
LOL Brilliant. Sounds expensive - I do admit to having an collection of crap mouthpieces...
 
I'd recommend the Bauhaus Tenor TS-PD saxophone for just on £800 or so, if you want something new and good quality. If you want a used sax then a Yamaha YTS 23 or 25 might be worth a try - don't bother with the later versions, though - YTS 275 as the BW is rather better. Finally, it may be worth looking into Hanson saxes http://www.hansonmusic.co.uk/product/286/ST5_Tenor_Saxophone
 
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Thanks Tom - bloody minefield buying a saxophone LOL



I'd recommend the Bauhaus Tenor TS-PD saxophone for just on £800 or so, if you want something new and good quality. If you want a used sax then a Yamaha YTS 23 or 25 might be worth a try - don't bother with the later versions, though - YTS 275 as the BW is rather better. Finally, it may be worth looking into Hanson saxes http://www.hansonmusic.co.uk/product/286/ST5_Tenor_Saxophone
 
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It can be. Lots of saxes seem to do the job and most can be made to sound good with skill and practice. The other thing not to neglect is the mouthpiece, reed, ligature combo but there you go....... Partly why I like the brass world - instrument and mouthpiece and you're done!
 
Partly why I like the brass world - instrument and mouthpiece and you're done!

Not quite as simple as my Yamaha electric piano. Plug, socket, done.

The ligature MP combo conumdrum is my latest puzzle to solve, and without having a good sax shop within 170 miles, trying a few out is the problem for me. I got a Rovner ligature and Yamaha 5C MP when I bought my BW a few weeks ago, on the dealer's recommendation. I don't even know where to start in thinking about alternatives - or if I need an alternative.

Stephen
 
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