Beginner Sax Yamaha 280 or Selmer la void II for adult beginner

[franniejay]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to the forum but have read numerous conversations about what saxophone to buy!

I am 32 and committed to learning the saxophone - it's been a long term goal of mine for about 10 years since I first listened to it and fell in love with the sound. I have no experience so will be starting completely from scratch.

I have a couple of options which are - used Yamaha 280 (2 years old) or a used selmer la voix II ( somewhere between 5-10years old). Both in great condition and they are roughly the same price at my budget of about $1000 give or take. I was wondering if it would be better to buy the intermediate sax (selmer) or would it be more difficult to learn on? I want a saxophone that will last me a decent amount of time (learning wise) so am not too interested with the student horns without the high f key.

If anyone has any thoughts I would greatly appreciate it... I'm open to any other advice or suggestions regarding my first horn too!

Thanks so much!

 

[saxyjt]

I'm not familiar with the Seller USA line of products, but the Yamahas are excellent and praised by many here, including me.

@jbtsax must be able to tell you more as I guess he's seen the Selmer in his shop.

Whatever you choose, enjoy the ride and stay tuned here. Lots of help when you need it.

Take care.
Jax

 

[Phil]

When you say great condition are you also looking at the condition of the pads?

a 10 year old lavox seems quite pricey at 1000

Granted I dont know the Brit market that well but it seems to me that you should be able to get more horn than that for the money.

Am I mistaken or are these prices high folks?

 

[saxyjt]

Looks like @franniejay is from down under Perth.

 

[SaxoFREAK]

Thats about £560 in real money, going on E-Bay prices the Selmer seems like a bargain but I don't know the model, the YAS-280 I've seen £500 to £750 in various conditions..

 

[kevgermany]

The la voix is from Selmer USA, not Paris. Not the same price range as the others. No real idea about them, but I seem to remember some posts saying they were ok.

Suggest you get someone experienced to test and play both for you, as well as try them yourself. For some the cachet of a French name is irresistible. But try to be objective. However the Selmer is unlikely to be more difficult to play. You may find it's lighter spring and easier...

 

[nigeld]

They should both be good saxes. Get the one you like best, (I'm serious.)

 

[saxyjt]

Suggest you get someone experienced to test and play both for you, as well as try them yourself. For some the cachet of a French name is irresistible. But try to be objective. However the Selmer is unlikely to be more difficult to play. You may find it's lighter spring and easier...

Well, well. Marketing is an amazing thing. The Selmer brand name is a blessing to those guys at Conn-Selmer who manage to confuse everybody on their website by naming many brands, including Henry-Selmer-Paris and Yanagisawa that are independant companies as far as I know. Henry-Selmer-Paris by the way has just been purchased by an investment firm: Argos Wityu that owns another company I almost worked for.

It's possible that the Selmer USA products are excellent. I have no idea, but they should not be confused with THE overwhelmingly well known Henry-Selmer-Paris that produced the MKVI and many other very highly regarded horns, that are not exactly cheap...

 

[tatooandy67]

If you’re able to I would say have a play/feel/listen to both, maybe take a friend with you to the store(s) who’s able to play sax so you can get a second opinion, but definitely get your hands on them and see how they feel to YOU as there may be some quite notable differences. I personally have a yas280 and love it, to me it feels good, sounds nice and is very playable and even though the yas280 is labelled as a student horn I feel that monicker does this wonderful instrument an injustice as to me it is much more than that and I know it will serve me well for many years. Try them both and more if you can as there are lots of choices out there, personally I wouldn’t get too hung up on what level/name etc.

 

[PedroHora]

Which Saxophone to start with?

The best and most exciting to see and feel that you can afford.

Not necessarily top-dollar; but out of the two choices the Selmer is the one a lot of saxophonists aspire towards and the Yamaha is a great beginner instrument. I bought my Yamaha tenor second hand last year and I am very pleased with it; I had it serviced and had pads changed and it is playing beautifully. Just a problem with the player.....!?

Any instrument has got to make you feel excited to see, touch, feel and even smell so that you want to pick it up and play. So try both; and the one that makes you feel good and shouts "play me" has got to be a good sign. I say to my wife - its like finding a partner; you have to fall in love........she is not so sure about this......

 

[JazzMatt]

Which Saxophone to start with?

The best and most exciting to see and feel that you can afford.

Not necessarily top-dollar; but out of the two choices the Selmer is the one a lot of saxophonists aspire towards and the Yamaha is a great beginner instrument. I bought my Yamaha tenor second hand last year and I am very pleased with it; I had it serviced and had pads changed and it is playing beautifully. Just a problem with the player.....!?

Any instrument has got to make you feel excited to see, touch, feel and even smell so that you want to pick it up and play. So try both; and the one that makes you feel good and shouts "play me" has got to be a good sign. I say to my wife - its like finding a partner; you have to fall in love........she is not so sure about this......

It's not a 'Selmer' Selmer, it's a USA selmer which isn't something most people aspire to.

 

[Greg Strange]

Looks like @franniejay is from down under Perth.

I was thinking the same - location Perth and a dollar currency budget indicates Western Australia. Perth is a reasonably big city but it is also one of the most isolated cities in the world so I don't what the musical instrument situation is like - musical instruments in Australia and New Zealand tend to be expensive much more than the northern hemisphere because of the smaller populations (for Australia less than 25 million and NZ less than 5 million) and in Perth's case isolation. Australia is a very big country I'm closer to Sydney than anybody living in Perth is...

Greg S.

 

[jambsspiii]

Either horn would be great. I've heard great things about the selmer usa la voix ii saxes. Whatever one works best for you and remember to have fun!

 

[jonf]

the Selmer is the one a lot of saxophonists aspire towards and the Yamaha is a great beginner instrument. ....

No it's not. The Selmer la Voix is a run of the mill Taiwanese sax, nothing wrong with it but nothing special. The sax lots of players do aspitre to is a Selmer Paris instrument, completely different. Personally I'd far rather have a Yamaha 280 than a Selmer La Voix.

 

[griff136]

Selmer La voix horns aren't bad but I find them heavy.
Given a choice I'd take the Yamaha - reasoning:
Parts readily available.
Resale value - yamaha's hold their price well.

 

[franniejay]

Wow guys!

Thanks for the replies.. I didn't realise I had any replies! Thanks a lot.

Hmm yes I am in Perth, Western australia so my budget of $1000 is like £560 (real money haha...

Also yes Perth is quite isolated from the rest of Australia so options are more limited over here unfortunately.

After a bit more reading and speaking to my "future" saxophone repair guy, I think I will steer toward a yamaha. General consensus seems they are a solid option with good resale.

Now I'm just trying to decide between the same 2 yr old 280 or an older (15 yr) 32. If anyone has any opinions I would greatly appreciate!

I'll make another post in case no one is looking at this one.

Thanks again for all your help!

Fran