Advice on first sax

[Frosty]

Hi

I'm totally new to sax so aplogies if these questions seem really dumb. First off has anyone heard of the make Odyssey, and if so, any good? For a total beginner is this a good deal: Click here (http://www.piedog.com/PDGShop.asp?WCI=htmProduct&WCU=PROD_PKEY=7829,VIEW ALL=Y)?

What does 'eb' mean? It always seems to appear before the word alto.

Also for a general maintenance kit does this have everything I need: Click (http://www.piedog.com/PDGShop.asp?WCI=htmProduct&WCU=PROD_PKEY=9653,VIEW ALL=Y)?

Thanks for any help.

[Saxmania]

Eb= E flat .Alto's are in Eb, Tenors are Bb, B flat.

If you get an alto and buy a book of music it will be written for an Eb instrument.

Never heard of Odyssey. I 'm sure someone will answer this for ya.

[BobMac]

Here's the word on sax brands:

In the beginning was Selmer, for they took over from Adolphe (God's peace be upon him) and it was good.

And lo, there arose also many other brands, many of which were good, but many of whom either fell off a cliff in terms of quality, or ceased to function.

And most tragic was the case of C.G. Conn, who made really hot stuff up until about 1970, when a gang of marauding morons bought out the company and moved the production to a fender and body shop in Guadalajara, where the quality suffered briefly, before it died altogether. And while others have tried to rebuild the company and the quality, they have been working a long way uphill.

So the brands that you can trust are: Selmer. Old Conns. Yamaha. Yanagisawa. Keilwerth. B&S.

And many good things have been said about some of the Jupiters and Cannonballs, although the debate still rages.

And there's one guy on a sax newsgroup who bought a Jinyang from mainland China, amid the lamentations of his friends who tore their garments, and poured ashes upon their heads, and prophesied a ripoff, but he's as happy as clam at high tide, who saw that coming?

But of the Odyssey we know not, and of the Monique, Bird, and Parrot we know nothing good.

rm

[DougR]

Odyssey is the brand name used by JHS (John Hornby Skewes) http://www.jhs.co.uk

One of our local shops became a JHS dealer so, just out of interest, the sprog tried out one of these and one of their flutes.

Both instuments were brand new, still with the shipping corks in place, and played tolerably well straight ot of the box.

Sprog's Verdict: Much better than you have any right to expect at this price.

I tried, and bought, on of their guitars and have been well pleased. Good solid piece of kit plays well after a careful setup.

[Holiday]

I would recommend a Yamaha alto. I think they make a great, inexpensive student horn. Worked for me.

[Perfect Pitch]

Your maintenance kit will suffice, though I would price the componenets separately. All you need initially is some cork grease and a cloth to care for the finish, along with some form of pullthrough/rag system for swabbing moisture from the sax, when you have finished your (diligent) practice..