Beginner Saxes Yamaha VS Buffet VS Trevor James VS?

[DavidUK]

As a beginner I played all the altos in your list, owning all but the TJ Horn and Alpha (forget that one).

I preferred the pricier Buffet 100 to a Yamaha YAS-275 as here:

Saxophones - Mini Review - Buffet 400 and 100 Altos side by side

:) I've had my Buffet 400 Series Alto for three months now and I see no reason to change it. Having also had Jupiter 565-567, Yamaha YAS-275, Beaugnier Vito, the Buffet is a great horn with no bad habits and I'm really enjoying it. So, along came an absolutely mint Buffet 100 Alto the...

cafesaxophone.com

I have had several 275s pass through my hands and preferred the earlier 23 or 25 models, not sure why precisely.

But the first time I played a YAS-280, about a year ago, I thought it was a really good horn and could be happy with it as my only alto.

I would say the 100 and 280 would be very easy to live with. Choose whichever you prefer if you can get to play them both. The Buffet may be more tricky to find locally.

 

[LadyInRed]

I would say the 100 and 280 would be very easy to live with. Choose whichever you prefer if you can get to play them both. The Buffet may be more tricky to find locally.

Thank you for this information. And what about a mouthpiece? I read that the best mouthpiece to start learning would be a Yamaha 4C. Will I need to change the mouthpiece from Buffett to Yamaha? Or are they also approximately the same level?

 

[DavidUK]

I can't recall trying the Buffet MP but I'd recommend to get a Yamaha 4C so that you can rule out any MP issues to start. I say "rule out" as most people get on with the 4C just fine.

But do ask your new teacher before buying one as he/she may have a (sterilised) 4C you can try out before buying. Also they can give you pointers on what reed/s to use. Additionally, ask the teacher's opinion on which sax to buy. They may not know the Buffet and most will say "you can't go wrong with a Yamaha" but Buffet is a big, well regarded company so it's still up to you.

When buying the sax, ask the retailer to throw in as much as you can persuade out of them. "I'll take it if you could throw in xxxxxx..." e.g.: Neck strap; sax stand; reeds; MP; music stand; etc...etc...

 

[LadyInRed]

I can't recall trying the Buffet MP but I'd recommend to get a Yamaha 4C so that you can rule out any MP issues to start. I say "rule out" as most people get on with the 4C just fine.

But do ask your new teacher before buying one as he/she may have a (sterilised) 4C you can try out before buying. Also they can give you pointers on what reed/s to use. Additionally, ask the teacher's opinion on which sax to buy. They may not know the Buffet and most will say "you can't go wrong with a Yamaha" but Buffet is a big, well regarded company so it's still up to you.

When buying the sax, ask the retailer to throw in as much as you can persuade out of them. "I'll take it if you could throw in xxxxxx..." e.g.: Neck strap; sax stand; reeds; MP; music stand; etc...etc...

Thanks a lot 😊

 

[DavidUK]

If you let us know where you are someone here may be able to recommend retailers near you.

If you were in the UK there are also well respected used instrument sellers who service and set them up.

 

[jonf]

If you let us know where you are someone here may be able to recommend retailers near you.

If you were in the UK there are also well respected used instrument sellers who service and set them up.

She's in Jeseník in the Czech Republic, near the border with Poland.

 

[Pete Thomas]

She's in Jeseník in the Czech Republic, near the border with Poland.

And a member info search here shows there are at least 9 members in Czech republic. Some have not been seen for a while but @vzjp is still around.

It is not always easy to find local techs as they sometimes don't advertise if they get enough business by word of mouth, however if you can find a good local teacher they for sure should know where the good local techs are.

Czech Republic should have a thriving saxophone scene, it's one of the very few countries outside of Asia that still has a significant saxophone manufacturer - Amati Kraslice. I would consider one of those. Kraslice is on the other side of the country though.

 

[vzjp]

I know of three technicians through contacts, only one personally though Radovan Hapal, in Náměšť nad Oslavou, quite far away.
Not expensive, but very busy. He recommended the Yamaha YTS280 in a past conversation with me, as the best all-round choice (including easy maintenance). I like vintage, however.
Browsing online, there is a guy in North Moravia, in Hněvotín, see www.klarinety-saxofony.cz

 

[JayeNM]

After ruling out the Alpha sax for the reason already stated, I would put the Yamaha at the top of the list and the Buffet at the bottom. The Yamaha is very well made, durable, dependable and has by far the best resale value of the saxes you list. It can be serviced pretty much anywhere. The Jupiter and Trevor James are both OK.

The reason I would put the Buffet last is due to corrosion. I have seen several examples with really appalling corrosion, noticably worse than on other brands of sax. I don't know if this is climate related - I am in the UK, with a fairly damp climate - and have seen severely corroded Buffet 100 and 400 saxes here. It might not be an issue at all in a dry warm climate, such as a dry state in the US. I don't know where the Op is based (she is 'SomewhereHere') but if she's in North Western Europe, or similarly cool and damp location, I'd steer well clear of Buffet saxes.

Hello! I am from Czech, it's the center of Europe 😊. But corrosion is very important for me. Because I live surrounded by mountains and climate is not dry and warm.

Also possible that the 'several examples' you have seen were not treated very well. Put away wet, not wiped down, swabbed, all of that.

I mean.... I can tell you.... 25% of all Yamahas I have gotten thru here over the years (that's around 25 per year since around 2008) had a good amount of red rot, verdgis, etc., pretty nasty looking when they came in.

Kinda hard to conclude that's because of the manufacturers lacquer, however.

I cannot say that of the Buffets that came in (mind you US climate varies from dry desert to temperate rainforest) had a propensity for that kind of condition.


Anyways...as I said...Yama, Jupe, Buffet...there's no real 'mistake' in choosing one from the shortlist.

 

[JayeNM]

Is the corrosion on the Buffet sax just cosmetic or cause playability issues?

While the Yamaha student flutes, 200/300 series, have a good scale, they feel like driving a truck as opposed to a sports car.
Tone is sort of okay, but a headjoint upgrade helps.

Will prudent care solve the Buffet issues?

My point.

I have seen 3-year old saxes of many brands which already have red rot developing on the exterior of their bow ferrules simply because the player has always put the horn back in case without swabbing or leaving out for a few hours.

It's just hard to ascribe a particular reason, sometimes.

 

[LadyInRed]

I know of three technicians through contacts, only one personally though Radovan Hapal, in Náměšť nad Oslavou, quite far away.
Not expensive, but very busy. He recommended the Yamaha YTS280 in a past conversation with me, as the best all-round choice (including easy maintenance). I like vintage, however.
Browsing online, there is a guy in North Moravia, in Hněvotín, see www.klarinety-saxofony.cz

Great, thanks.
From my part I can tell you that I found the guys from Poland, they are not so far from me, around 160 km. They sell via Ebay Kleinanzeigen and they have 3 online store.

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[PiccoloPirate]

Great and easy tune to learn when you can.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt2YIpZWBqA

 

[LadyInRed]

Great and easy tune to learn when you can.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt2YIpZWBqA

Yes, I agree 100%, the song is just amazing.

 

[Stephen Howard]

Another repairer's perspective.

From your list - the Yamaha. Hands down. There's a reason it has such a reputation; it's a design that's been well-honed down the years, its construction is relatively simple and reliable, the playability is superb...and it can be tweaked to increase its performance to the degree that it outshines many a more expensive horn.

Another horn to consider that may be in your price range is the new TJ EVO 2024 model. The standout feature of this horn is that it has quite a tenor-like response, which is not something you typical find at this price point.
Build quality is good...and unlike a lot of the competition it features proper point screws - which make it easier to adjust for wear and tear down the years.

 

[jonf]

Also possible that the 'several examples' you have seen were not treated very well. Put away wet, not wiped down, swabbed, all of that.

We've all, of course, seen neglected examples of saxes of all sorts of brands, and even the finest built sax will succumb to abuse. I've had about 200 saxes through my hands over the last 15 years, and of these, a proportion were in poor condition. I've had six Buffet 100/400 series saxes. One was in OK condition, the other five all had bad to extremely bad corrosion. Curiously, none of these five had the other typical signs of user neglect, such as dents and dings, missing corks, scratches and bends. Just bad corrosion all over the body and keyguards. None of them had mouldy pads either, or cases that stank of damp.

Now, as someone who worked for a long time in a research organisation, I know fine well that this is not a statistically significant sample size - it could be just pure chance I have come across these corroded instruments. But five out of six saxes which were noticably worse than I've seen from other brands? Hence my view.