I read the sticky plus a few pages of relevant topics, and I'm aware that posting to ask for advice on this sort of thing is no way to earn brownie points, but oh well. I'm stuck: my situation seems rather unique.
The long story (You DON'T have to read all this, it's here just in case it answers any questions)
In a few days I'll be meeting up with an old friend of the family who once owned a music store. He's since passed the store on to other owners, but still has a stock of new and used instruments. He's promised to stop by my house in a few days with a selection of used professional models. Thanks to our relations, our family gets special prices. He's offered horns that normally run from $3-4000 (used) for $15-1800. While I haven't yet seen the condition of the horns personally, I trust him: we've known him for years, and he sold me my first sax. Basically, buying used from him is the only way I'm likely to get a professional horn.
I myself am a high school senior, looking at one last concert season before entering college. I have played saxophone since elementary school, but due to lack of funding and misconceptions about professional instruments, I've never gone beyond my student-intermediate Selmer model. I know I want an alto that plays with a deep, less edgy tone, more suitable for a concert setting (I'm keeping my old horn for marching). I recently purchased a Caravan large-chamber mouthpiece to get a better, darker sound out of my aging horn, and prefer to play on Hemke reeds (strength 2&2.5). I've done some research and I really like the dark tone of the older sax models such as the Buescher, but I doubt the seller has anything vintage like that. I've tried my darndest at looking up info online, but it's really rather difficult to tell which sax i want until i can play them, and even then i'm aware that there will be a learning curve that may screw with my perceptions on a trial run.
The short story:
Basically, I'm a High School senior about to be presented with a variety of used professional alto saxes from a well-trusted source, and I don't have any particular models or brands in mind. I want a richer, darker, less edgy sound suitable for a classical/concert band setting. I prefer to play on a Caravan large-chamber mouthpiece with Hemke reeds strength 2-2.5. I enjoy the sound of Bueschers and other older models, but it's doubtful that the seller has any. Most likely his stock will consist of more common brands such as Selmer and Yamaha, and there's nothing wrong with that! If I were given a good idea for an instrument that the seller doesn't have, i could at least tell him to be on the lookout for one. Given these parameters, what are some possible models to look for? Once i actually try them all out and can narrow it down, I can look up information without making another topic, but at the moment i'm rather overwhelmed and scarcely know where to begin.
The long story (You DON'T have to read all this, it's here just in case it answers any questions)
In a few days I'll be meeting up with an old friend of the family who once owned a music store. He's since passed the store on to other owners, but still has a stock of new and used instruments. He's promised to stop by my house in a few days with a selection of used professional models. Thanks to our relations, our family gets special prices. He's offered horns that normally run from $3-4000 (used) for $15-1800. While I haven't yet seen the condition of the horns personally, I trust him: we've known him for years, and he sold me my first sax. Basically, buying used from him is the only way I'm likely to get a professional horn.
I myself am a high school senior, looking at one last concert season before entering college. I have played saxophone since elementary school, but due to lack of funding and misconceptions about professional instruments, I've never gone beyond my student-intermediate Selmer model. I know I want an alto that plays with a deep, less edgy tone, more suitable for a concert setting (I'm keeping my old horn for marching). I recently purchased a Caravan large-chamber mouthpiece to get a better, darker sound out of my aging horn, and prefer to play on Hemke reeds (strength 2&2.5). I've done some research and I really like the dark tone of the older sax models such as the Buescher, but I doubt the seller has anything vintage like that. I've tried my darndest at looking up info online, but it's really rather difficult to tell which sax i want until i can play them, and even then i'm aware that there will be a learning curve that may screw with my perceptions on a trial run.
The short story:
Basically, I'm a High School senior about to be presented with a variety of used professional alto saxes from a well-trusted source, and I don't have any particular models or brands in mind. I want a richer, darker, less edgy sound suitable for a classical/concert band setting. I prefer to play on a Caravan large-chamber mouthpiece with Hemke reeds strength 2-2.5. I enjoy the sound of Bueschers and other older models, but it's doubtful that the seller has any. Most likely his stock will consist of more common brands such as Selmer and Yamaha, and there's nothing wrong with that! If I were given a good idea for an instrument that the seller doesn't have, i could at least tell him to be on the lookout for one. Given these parameters, what are some possible models to look for? Once i actually try them all out and can narrow it down, I can look up information without making another topic, but at the moment i'm rather overwhelmed and scarcely know where to begin.
