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Paralysis through analysis (what to buy, what to buy, what to buy)

2086 Views 10 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  Rowka
Wow! What a mess this is.

It turns out it may end up costing quite a bit and take a long time to get that old King in playing shape. Possibly more funds and effort for a horn of dubious quality to begin with. I am faced with the probability of buying a playing condition bari and the more I read here on SOTW, the more I look at saxpics, the more I browse the likes of Kessler, USA Horns, Vintage Sax, Junk Dude, World Wide Sax, etc. the more confused I become.

Do I look for something like a Buescher 400 or Aristocrat. Do I keep an eye open for something like the Martin Cityscape that just sold on eBay? Do I just go ahead and buy a YBS-52 or Jupiter Artist.

Unless I'm willing to get on a plane, several planes, and visit the above mentioned shops the usual "try as many as you can" advice does me no good at all.

My requirements?
It needs to be playable out of the box (or with an absolute minimal amount of tweaking). It needs to have solid intonation (I'm not willing to fight with the horn's intonation regardless of how good the tone is).

Ergonomics? We'll, I grew up with a Selmer era Buescher Aristocrat alto and spent my teen-years playing a same vintage 400 bari. The new-fangled tilting pinkie cluster still feels a bit odd to me, but either will work. I don't want to fight the horn in this area either, but I'm a bit more accommodating here than with the intonation issue.

Low A? Bb? Much less important than the above.

What will I be playing on it? Community concert band and Rock/Pop.

My budget? I am willing to invest a max of $2500 (that includes purchase and required repairs). But bear in mind, my experience with local techs has left me with little confidence of getting anything but the most basic work done without shipping it off at much expense.

Oh wise and generous keepers of all knowledge bari, what are your thoughts and suggestions?
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Rowka...
Check out Paul Maslin at pmwoodwind.com
He has a lot of cool vintage horns on there (some of them in your price range) and he puts all of them into awesome playing condition before they leave his shop. I know a few people around here who have bought used horns from him and thet have never been disapointed. I bought a new horn from him and it is great! I was reccomended to him by one of the sax professors at UNF. Call the shop and tell them what you are looking for and they will help you. Save yourself the trouble and uncertainty of eBay and finding a repairman around here!
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