trevor james classic

[luther66]

Hi all,after playing tenor for 5 months ive opted for a trevor james classic sax in nickel black,how long will this sax serve me while my practising gets better and better.

[Dave Dolson]

Seven months and 21 days. DAVE

[luther66]

thanks for the precise time dave,im eager to know where you get the figure from?

[Dave Dolson]

Luther: I guessed, just like anyone else who would answer your question. How would ANYONE know how long any saxophone will last for someone else?

Will it break before you do? Will you tire of it in a short while? Will you outlast the darned thing? No one can really answer your question. I have some saxophones that are 80 years old, others that are a year old. They all work. DAVE

[fballatore]

Seven months and 21 days. DAVE
:sign5:

[Martin Williams]

The trevor james saxes get good reviews in the UK from what Ive seen. On this side of the big ditch they are a huge unknown, and there arent many here. Should be a quality horn though, enjoy!

[luther66]

Thanks for the reply martin.
I wasnt reffering to the quality or build of the life of the james, i was reffering to it being a learning sax and me being a learner,will it become too easy to blow,will it loose tone and attack when my diaphram strength and technique are stronger,obviously there is a difference between a learning sax to a proffesional sax and i dont think its just the budget or they wouldnt be catagorised.............

[Dentarthurdent]

The TJ classics are student saxes. Having said that they are good ones and well screwed together.
You will know when the time comes yourself to trade up. Unless you are some kind of prodigy or you are going to practice for 15 hours a day it should last a few years.

[johnc]

my thoughts on this, for what they are worth is that before you out blow the horn you will out blow the mouthpiece. All the issues you mentioned about getting stronger chops from practice will come down to a necessity to get a better mouthpiece. When I say better I mean bigger opening, stronger reed. The actual sax you have is probably better put together that most pro horns of the 50's and 60's. To say the Trevor James is a student horn is not too true. In the hands of a good player it will really sing. This is not true of a small opening mouthpiece with a 11/2 Rico reed. It is true there are better horn out there and at some time you should trade up but dont get too hung up on the urgency of this. For now YOU are the student not the HORN. I recommed my students work from a 1 reed to a 2 reed then go to a good rubber Link 5 or Meyer 5 /6 after a year and drop a reed size down for a few weeks then back up to a 2.

[luther66]

Thanks for the replies,thanks john,i use a otto link 5 and reco 2 reeds,just for the record are reco royal reeds better than reco reeds,ive been learning now or around 5 months as i said,the mouthpiece that came with the tj is nice but it squeeks alot,the otto is really nice,i little breathy but if i put the sax down for 20 mins and go back its better every time,i know you may think this is early to change to otto but i am a proffesional singer, and have a good breath control and can sustain a note for quite some time,i already can play 5 songs with ease and im getting familiar with notes all the time

[Dave dix]

plain rico are american file cut , royals are french file cut , i prefer the plain rico reed but i much prefer la voz
Dave

[luther66]

Thanks dave,are the la voz very easy blowing,what style of playing do they best suit,sorry about spelling (rico).

[AlistairD]

Luther,

My view (and I haven't been playing long...) is to try Daniel's Reeds. My teacher recommended them and I found them much easier to blow etc and the sound (to me anyway) is great on my JJ Classic. I was using Vandoren Java 2 1/2 or Rico Royal 2 1/2 and now I use Daniel's 3s...

[luther66]

Where do i get daniels reeds,what mouthpiece do you use?.

[AlistairD]

Luther

I use a Jody Jazz Classic 10 (which in modern numbering is about a 7)... I used to use a Yamaha 5C and find the JJ much, much better for me.

http://reeds.woodwindandreed.co.uk/pages/tenosax.html

These seem to be the cheapest around and I've always found the delivery reliable, normally next day....

Good luck and let me know how you get on..

[luther66]

Thanks Alisair,the mouthpiece that came with my tj has only t.j.j. on it ,no number or anything so i dont know what size it is,i think a 7 would be too big for me as i can just manage the otto link 5,if this is any comparison,i love the sound of the tjj mouthpiece but i get alot of squeeks and whistles in between notes,i put this down to my experience but i play the otto ok but a bit breathy,
cheers
luther

[aquatic]

I have TJ classics, an Alto and a Tenor. They come with a 5 year warranty, sound ok, and will take the occasional bump. I changed the mouthpeice on both and im happy,