** Any Advice on buying a First Sax, not too expensive?? **

[beekie]

Hi all, I was looking to buy a saxophone as a gift. It is actually a gift for my father and my mother has given me the job to buy one. I have no clue where to begin....

what I have found out so far is that it is better to learn on an alto sax and I have come across good recommendations for the student yamaha, but is that suitable for a grown man? also, any good deals on a brand new alto sax for under $500, $600 tops? I saw some new ones for under $300 on ebay but they look suspicious to me, plus they never seem to mention what brand name they are??

thank you!
Any help would be greatly appreciated :D

Beekie

[gary]

Hi beekie! Take a closer look around this forum. You'll find a great deal of discussion on this subject.

[Dave Dolson]

Beekie: You've been assigned an interesting and difficult task. If your father has never played saxophone, I suppose any decent horn will do. If he's played before, then the risk of buying one blind is greater because who know's what he will like and dislike?

Stay away from those eBay bargains. The new, low-priced saxophones advertised on eBay are mostly junk (oh, there be some posters who have experienced good results - but not many). The only exception in my experience is the Antigua soprano. I just bought one (as have others on SOTW) and it is remarkable. Can't say the same about their altos, although the one I played was okay (and way over $600).

You didn't say where you live, but most metro areas have decent retailers who sell new horns discounted maybe 25 to 45% from MSRP. If you do not have access to a decent retailer, check out Woodwind&Brasswind, USAHorn, Matthews Music (NL), Saxofoonwinkel (NL) or other Internet discounters.

As to brands, you should be satisfied with Yamaha and Yanagisawa. Even the student-line Yamahas (YAS23 or whatever they call them these days) play well. But I doubt there is much out there for $600 tops. Your other option is to locate a good used alto, but even $600 is a little low, in my opinion. Good luck and let us know how it went. DAVE

[PaulNYC]

I found this advertisement (http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/msg/20453175.html) near new york city. you may be interested

[gary]

edited

[clem]

I wouldn't advise anyone to just go out and buy a saxophone if they don't know anything about horns. Either let your Dad in on the secret or give him a gift certificate from the biggest band instrument dealer in Buffalo.

[PaulNYC]

" It was overhauled by Roberto (on 46th St.) a few years ago".

Uh oh.

Why Uh oh? It seems like a pretty good shop?

[gary]

That was a mistake, Paul. Anyone reading my "Uh,oh" should kindly disregard it. I should've been quicker getting back to this thread.

[Jerry K.]

Beekie, if you are still interested in a good sax to start out on, I have "1" new Prestini SA-453E intermediate level alto available. This is a well made horn with excellent intonation, pads and tone. This is one model below Prestini's top model. I would like to move this sax this year and would sell it for $500 if you are interested. Please email me for details.

[1m1]

A friend of mine just bought one of the Prestini altos that Jerry is mentioning here. It's for his son for Christmas (shhhh) and he asked me if I'd come over to play it to check it out.

I thought it was a really nicely built instrument, good quality. I haven't played a lot of different instruments, but I've owned a Paris MK VI and a Bundy. I'd say it was a lot closer to my Selmer than to the Bundy. Intonation was good except the C# in the throat of the instrument was a little flat. An alternate fingering helps that.

Overall, it's a very good value IMO.

[werkinsnake]

Beekie, if you are still looking for a saxophone, check out my link below.

[Walnuts]

I'd say it depends on how much interest you dad has in the saxophone. If he's really a big fan of saxes, I suggest just getting him a pro model, maybe a selmer ref or a yamaha custom, because if he enjoys playing it, he'll depart with any student model and buy a pro model later anyways.

Some stores even allow financing on saxophones. Maybe talk to all the local dealers and see if you could finance a pro model sax. That way, it'll be much more affordable and the experience of playing on a sax will be more rewarding on a professional model.

[werkinsnake]

Oh, you may want to check out some of the saxophone.com saxes for an economical brand new sax. If you want a pro model, but do not want to spend too much money, check out the vintage market. Be careful with what you buy though. Some older horns are not worth the restoration. Others rock better than any sax out there today.