[rhin0]

Hello every one.

Im quite new to this forum and thought it will be quite helpfull to search here.
Now to my story: I started playing about 6 monthes ago on a rental alto sax.the problem is rental costs money .
so my father thought it will be better idea to buy a new sax. where i live (israel), we found a new Yani a901 for about 3.5k$ while in the us on kesslermusic it being sold for about 1.7k.

Im going to get my sax from the US (dont worry how) and my budget is about 1.5k$. I also noticed 'Kessler custom' and 'Selmer LaVoix'. Id like you to help me choose a good sax for myself that will last few good years, Im also planing to buy a new mpc and I dont have a cleu what to buy.

right now my main directions are the yani and a Vandoren ?A28? :? what is the eqivalent of vandoren to the selmer C*?
what do you think about the Kessler Custom and the Selmer LaVoix?

I really need your help.
Many thanks

 

[bluesaxgirl]

I would suggest the Yanagisawa A901. You can get it for about $1500 in the U.S. It would most likely be used though. It will last you for a long time and it is a great sax. You could get a used Yamaha and have money for a nice mouthpiece though, like a Yamaha YAS 52.

 

[ratracer]

Kessler's house saxes are excellent. I have one of the custom deluxe tenors and it's a very nice horn. Very solid and cames with an excellent, high quality mouthpiece. Couple of members have played these horns pretty hard and have reported no issues with them.

Unfortunately, I can't speak from direct experience with the altos. But I have read good things about them and understand that they have a very nice line of hard rubber mouthpieces for alto.

I believe the Selmer LaVoix (and/or LaVie) is made in Taiwan or China, not sure which at the moment. Someone will be able to come on and clarify.

Give Kessler's a call. Dave and/or Chuck are very knowledgeable and straight shooters. They will question you to ascertain your needs, wants, and desires and recommend accordingly. Do a search and you'll find posts where they have not recommended their own horn in order to meet what the customer really wanted! I highly recommend doing business with them. They pack the horns very well. Mine played well out of the box after being shipped across the U.S. But I bet they'd recommend the Yani and they'd know immediately if one of their mouthpieces would give you the sound you're looking for.

Otherwise, hang on. You will get plenty of advice on this query! If you have the time and patience, I'm sure someone here would have something used that would be very nice!

 

[rhin0]

Thank you for your quick reply.

Right now my two competitors are the Yanagisawa and the Kessler Custom.
Id like to hear some more opinions about these horns especially on the Kessler Custom. (I know the Yani is great but there is alot of money involved).
By the way, time is not such an issue. Im quite patient.

 

[Seasax]

i have only heard and experienced good things with the kessler
my friend has a yanni 901 and, after 6 months of him being very careful with it the LH pinky table keys were bent over each other from the shape of the case and the second octave pip came unsoldered and fell straight off.

 

[BYOB]

I doub't that's a very common problem with the Yanigasawa saxophone.

Kessler Deluxe horns have a very good reputation among SOTW posters. I've never heard any negative feedback about them.

Yanigasawa horns also have quite a high reputation. The A901 has a nice sound to them - I played them one recently when i was shopping for saxophones - and they're a lower budget pro horn.

Either way, you can't go wrong.

 

[Canadiain]

Dave Kessler will tell you himself though that the Yani is a whole level above his house horns though, they are not directly comparable. The Yani is a true pro level horn.

If you are just starting I see no point jumping in at that price point, there are many fine student horns and second tier manufacturer "pro" level horns available in good used condition for well below $1000.