[koda12345]

I am planning to learn the sax, i dont know anything about saxophones.If u guys would suggest me to start on alto or tenor?? which one is good for beginners?I checked the music store in my area they said they had jupiter and yamaha.Which one should I go for other than these brands.And I cant find any other brands here in India, except some local which i wouldn't prefer.

 

[bkobog]

Yamaha is a good brand to start with and I will like to suggest alto.
remember to set aside part of your budget for a good mouthpiece as well.
if possible, I will ask an experienced saxophonist to go with you, especially if you are looking at 2nd hand instruments.
enjoy the journey.

 

[koda12345]

Thanks for replying bkobog.I cant find any 2nd hand instrument because rarely anyone plays the sax here.I didn't know mouthpiece had to be bought separately.

 

[Enviroguy]

First,

Where do you live? How old are you? What other instruments do you play now? What kind of music do you play? And what are your plans with the sax?

 

[ericpd]

Very important questions to answer Enviroguy threw at you. The Yamaha YAS-23 is the safest best for someone first starting, I think it's called a YAS-275 if you're in Europe. And if you buy one new, it'll comes with the Yamaha 4C mouthpiece. Most consider the 4C one of the best student mpc's on the planet. After six months or so of hard study and exploration, you might want to try others, like a Hite Premier or even a Meyer 5M, but the 4C should serve you well for at least a year. If you go 2nd hand, your horn could come with just about anything, even so, the 4C and the Hite Premier both sell for anywhere between 25 & 35 bucks depending on where and how you buy them. The Meyer 5M is just under 100 bucks but will open up your horn like nothing else. Good luck!

 

[JayeLID]

Thanks for replying bkobog.I cant find any 2nd hand instrument because rarely anyone plays the sax here.I didn't know mouthpiece had to be bought separately.

Koda.....contact Forum member Shirish. Do a search for his name and go to a thread where he has replied. Click on his username and send him a PM. He sells used saxes in good playing shape and he is in India. If he doesn't have anything to sell, perhaps he can at least direct you to someplace which does.

It doesn't matter Alto or Tenor. Some people say that Alto is more suited for beginners....but that is a notion which isn't as popular as it used to be. First, learn how to properly blow into a mouthpiece. There are online videos of that on youtube and elsewere. When you can do that, then go to the shop and try both Altos and Tenors....and pick the horn which you like the sound and feel of more. Period. As simple as that. Then keep in mind a Tenor will cost more to buy.

 

[zorrosg]

Definitely the Yamaha will be the one to buy. Their horns are very consistent and reliable, and if you decide to sell, you will get a better price for it, and find it easier to sell also. So it's a no brainer..

 

[JayeLID]

Well...actually...it's NOT quite a no-brainer.

Because if Koda is just beginning.... and funds are limited....the Jupiter may actually be the more obvious choice.

So it really depends upon the situation as well as the price differences....

You see...if Koda ultimately does gain access to other horns, maybe used ones...buying a new Yammy 23/275 is certainly NOT really a very good choice at all....because they are hella overpriced, new....hella........about 4x the cost of what you can get a very, very good used horn for.

A lot of questions to answer, particularly the ones Enviro stated....

 

[ericpd]

You know JayseSF's got a point. A good one! With the mission of re-enforcing the Yamaha as the world's best first step student horn being accomplished, there are a lot of other factors that may paint the 23/275 as maybe not the best choice. With the money a new 23/275 would set you back, one could easily get themselves into a Barone Vintage Alto or a Bauhaus M2L. In fact, I'd recommend this as a good start for an older beginner,... like late middle or high school. Especially if they have had some exposure to music. And then there's the 'second-hand' market. Me and my Dad went through that debate. Buy something that fits today and when you grow out of it, buy a bigger something tomorrow, OR buy something bigger today and gracefully grow into it as the days move on. Option #2 can save a lot of money. Option #2 can also be a waste of a lot of money too. It's a joke in my family about my uncle deciding to learn how to play golf and running out and spent tons on some golf clubs that Tiger wished he could afford. Took him 2 months to fall off that horse.

 

[koda12345]

First,

Where do you live? How old are you? What other instruments do you play now? What kind of music do you play? And what are your plans with the sax?

I live in mumbai, I play the guitar and use to play classic rock n blues got bored eventually but now I want to shift to Jazz so, i am planning to learn sax for playing jazz.

 

[ericpd]

Oh yeah,... I would think you're a bit out in front of a YAS-23, particularly if you were going to buy one new. Don't know about the pricing in Mumbai, but here they're kinda expensive when put next to some of the horns coming out of Taiwan. If you were going to buy new, look instead at a Phil Barone, a Bauhaus, a Jupiter and few others. You'll get more horn and a better Jazz sound for the same amount of money or less. If you were going to buy used, the formula still makes sense.

 

[koda12345]

Ericpd the model YAS-23 you mentioned is too expensive as my dad wont allow me to invest that much for learning in the beginning.I contacted Shirish, he is offering me Silver plated Armstrong ALTO for 711$,Yanagisawa A4 ALTO for 933$ both 2nd hand.What should I check before buying a 2nd hand sax and are these good for starting with?Thanks

 

[milandro]

get the Yanagisawa A4 it is a good horn , not modern but good. The price is also about right I should say. I don't know what it looks like though

 

[nelly2011]

i was looking in ebay and need advice, i was told that the tenor sax is ideal for a complete beginner, is this true or does someone out there have any suggestions? i looked at a matchetts of belfast sax, are they reputable?

 

[Tiberius]

dude, what do you want to play? Get a kazoo, they're easy to play...jeez. WHY are you buying a sax? Because you want to play what exactly? Nobody here can make that decision for you, decide what you wanna play then get an instrument to play that