Saxophones Which Tenor for a first sax around £500?

Phil · Jul 29, 2021

Buy a used better horn and you wont be sorry. Im no tech but 500 for a new horn is buying really, really cheap. Most the time you get what you pay for…especially in horns.

dreadnet · Jul 29, 2021

MarkSax said:
What happened to Michael White's shop? James BRADLEY I believe is here:

BRADLEY WOODWIND
37 Palestine Grove, Colliers Wood, SW19 2QN, London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom

james.bradley56@icloud.com

07804309448

Michael White has been closed a few years now.
Bought my first learn saxophone book from them.

thomsax · Jul 29, 2021

I used to buy from private sellers. Not Ebay or sites like that. I like to play and look before I buy. Here is 4 tenors I've bouhgt for less than £250.00. If you're going to spend £ 500.00 maybe you can spare £ 200.00 - 250.00.

1. "Klingsor" (1956) by Hammerschmidt, Bavaria, Germany. A looker but not a player. At leas not to me. No RockSax horn. Very closed tone/sound. It has double octave toneholes on the body. Tricky to adjust. I did the pad job and adjustment myself with a littel help from my friend. In very good condition. A Lelandaise HR mouthpice came along. A classic mouthpiece and that is also the mouthpiece that plays best on this sax. Original case in good condition.
2. "Diamond" (1963) a Dörfler & Jörka, Nauheim, West-Germany stencil made for Eric Pettersson, Stockholm. Body made by Keilwerth, neck and keys by Dörfler & Jörka. In good shape. But Eb tonehole have a ding so the rolled tonehole is not even. I took a thick pad to cover the uneven tonehole. No original case, but a sax shaped nylon bag with "teddy inside". The plastic mouthpice is not much to write home about. Good player. Soundwise like a Keilwerth from the 50's and early 60's.
3. "The Newking" (1968), Keilwerth, Nauheim, West-Germany. A wide bow Keilwerth sax. Big sound. Good condition. I did the pad job myself. But I think it deserve better pads and some care from a sax tech. Two Berg Larsen ss bullet mouthpeces came along with the sax. 95/2 and 100/2. To small for me. Orginal case in good condition.
4. G4M tenor (Yani copy). A modern construction. Needs some some adjustments on the keyworks. There was lots of cork wedges in the case to cure leaks? Off centered keycups, leaks, adjustments on keys .... things that should be taking care of at the factory. A tech can make the quality control!!! Terrible original plastic mouthpiece. A soft shell case that looks like a heavy duty case. Bad protection. But a good sax for the money. Fiendly to my old body.

So don't be afraid to buy from private sellers. Or pawnshops.

dreadnet · Jul 29, 2021

Hi Thomsax,
Thanks for the advice.
What are the costs for taking care of issues on the GM4 tenor?

Regards

Patrick

thomsax · Jul 29, 2021

dreadnet said:
Hi Thomsax,
Thanks for the advice.
What are the costs for taking care of issues on the GM4 tenor?

Regards

Patrick

I don't what a repairman in UK charge/hour. I guess to fix my G4M tenor I have to pay like an ordinary service. 1500.00 -2000.00 s e k (£ 126.00-168.00?).

Phil · Jul 29, 2021

Id snag a newking at that price without looking twice. Nice find.

eb424 · Jul 30, 2021

I'd agree with everything written here...I have bought 2 saxes from Curly woodwind both were set up great they are a pleasure to do business with. My only other suggestion would be that if you can use the £500 as a deposit and buy from a shop but up the spec. A cheaper sax will be harder to learn on and may put you off. If youre sure the tenor is for you its worth investing or renting if your unsure. Dawkes / sax.co.uk are close I would really recommend try before you buy and get the mouthpiece and reed while you are wherever you buy from. I didn't and its been a stressfull 5 years TBF...Lol... I am not saying Dawkes over Curly's but whoever you buy (or rent) from visit you must....

dreadnet · Jul 30, 2021

eb424 said:
I'd agree with everything written here...I have bought 2 saxes from Curly woodwind both were set up great they are a pleasure to do business with. My only other suggestion would be that if you can use the £500 as a deposit and buy from a shop but up the spec. A cheaper sax will be harder to learn on and may put you off. If youre sure the tenor is for you its worth investing or renting if your unsure. Dawkes / sax.co.uk are close I would really recommend try before you buy and get the mouthpiece and reed while you are wherever you buy from. I didn't and its been a stressfull 5 years TBF...Lol... I am not saying Dawkes over Curly's but whoever you buy (or rent) from visit you must....

Thanks for the advice, leaning towards Curly woodwind used Elkart Series II or I might wait for a while.

stitch · Jul 30, 2021

eb424 said:
A cheaper sax will be harder to learn on and may put you off.

Not necessarily. A cheaper sax in good playing order will be easier to learn on than an expensive one in poor condition.

eb424 · Jul 30, 2021

stitch said:
Not necessarily. A cheaper sax in good playing order will be easier to learn on than an expensive one in poor condition.

I think I would still prefer a more expensive sax in poor condition...once brought up to spec I believe it will take you further....A more expensive sax should have better build quaility better fitting pads, better response intonation and tuning: hence being more expensive...If you become semi-serious you will want to upgrade so my belief is you may as well cut to the chase if you can...I started on a JP141 blues alto and thought it was great but up graded because the oppurtunity arose financially... They are quite hard to come by but alas I pinned for the tone again so when one came up on e bay i snapped it up. After playing a mid range sax 1500-2000 the flaws in the JP ( well not so much flaws but difficulties) became apparent and I sold it... Not to say if you are a great sax player you couldn't make a cheap (er) sax sound great but (I believe) you would make a better sax sound better.....easier...

stitch · Jul 30, 2021

eb424 said:
I think I would still prefer a more expensive sax in poor condition...once brought up to spec

Ay, there's the rub.
We are talking about a limited budget.

eb424 · Jul 30, 2021

stitch said:
Ay, there's the rub.
We are talking about a limited budget.

Sorry I saw the budget was based on a certain figure but I am not aware of the ops financial situation.. I was not saying that the sax from Curly's wouldnt meet needs but was just saying that with the sax needs change (or at least mine did) and if you can get a mid range sax now it may save changing in the future. I have found that consistancy is key...

Colin the Bear · Jul 30, 2021

A wise man speaks because he has something to say. A fool speaks because he has to say something.

eb424 · Jul 30, 2021

A bi

Colin the Bear said:
A wise man speaks because he has something to say. A fool speaks because he has to say something.

A bit like the above paragraph eh @Colin the Bear...its a feckin thread people give opinions; please don't character assinate me on a public forum its slightly rude. If you don't agree with what I say that's fine but if theres no difference between cheap saxes and more expensive saxes why do they make them. I realise there is a cut of point where it becomes snobbery but there has to be a difference. Again I am not saying that the sax makes the player but that it has to be easier to learn on a good instrument.. I think phil said similar but didn't get a snotty snidy reply....I realise i'm only a beginner and know feck all....

Jimmymack · Jul 31, 2021

The issue with a used tenor needing a tech, which has been alluded to, and is probably obvious, is that you are then looking at an unknown added cost, not to mention finding the tech. As you don’t have experience in checking over a horn I would recommend buying from a shop that will have set it up and give you a warranty. It will cost more than buying on the secondhand market but will likely save in the end and remove a lot of potential aggravation.

Really you need to up your budget, £500 isn’t going to get you much unless you are very, very lucky and you are better spending more on something you will want than less on something that will only disappoint you. I would try to up your budget before looking too hard, but check the market so that you can get a sense of a realistic price. There are Yamahas going for around £850 and for that you get a well tested, good quality horn. I don’t know anything about the horns discussed here but there are also a number of Trevor James “the horn”, going for around £650, that had some reputation once upon a time.

Colin the Bear · Jul 31, 2021

Bob has put a yam up today for under £500.
Curlywoodwind.

jonf · Jul 31, 2021

I've bought some great tenor saxes for under £500, so if that's all you can budget for, then you can still get a good sax for that money. Elkhart Series II (not the initial version, the revised ones with a high F# key are better), original Sakkusu with hideous black touchpieces but play well, Vito (made by Yamaha) and loads of others can all be found for that sort of money. All will play just fine.