Alto Saxophone buying advice

[dazmm]

Suddenly got the urge to learn the Saxophone..
Already had a trial lesson, so need to consider owning an instrument to gain the practice.
Only reason for the Alto choice is cost of the Instrument, as originally was tempted by the Tenor.
Not interested in second hand, as you can never of sure of what your getting.

Was looking at a new Yamaha Alto YAS280.
But have seen varying prices, from £1,000 right down to £680.

What I've noticed is, some specs quote "EB" or "High F" keys..
Are they basically the same or do some instruments get tuned differently?

The £680 model was online from a German Music store... the saxophone teacher recommended using Sax.Co.Uk at Crowborough whom offer one for £799, but a saving of 15% is quite considerable... cheapest I've seen in the Uk is £725 from Normans Music..

Is it the old adage, that by using a local recommended specialist, you can then lean on them for future advice and service repair / support?

So anyone who can offer an instrumental newbie some advice, would be appreciated?

[timbob]

You can’t go wrong with a Yamaha, but they are reasonably expensive for a beginner instrument. I’ve been (from and sax teacher and pro player point of view) impressed with the quality of the Trevor James (specifically their The Horn and The Horn II lines) of instruments, which do come in a little cheaper than the Yamahas.

Jupiter instruments are much better than they used to be also, as are the P Mauriat saxophones - these Taiwan based makers produce some very good instruments nowadays

I would personally avoid anything super cheap and Chinese made - anything sub £300 I would steer clear of. There are stories that some of the super cheap instruments are better than they were, but the Chinese still seem to have a low quality control issues the Taiwanese suffered in the 1990s.

Sax.co.uk are excellent and well worth your business, their Sakkusu (sp?) range is supposed to be very good. I would avoid mail order from Germany, personally.

So to sum up - you won’t go wrong with a Yamaha, but there are slightly cheaper, but still decent quality options you can look at without entering the “not worth it” sector at the bottom of the market.

Don’t worry yet about looking at expensive mouthpieces or ligatures or fancy reeds - get started, find a good teacher you get on with and make some noise! Cross the mouthpiece bridge in a couple of years when you’ve developed the technique to feel and appreciate the difference

Any more questions, fire away, more than happy to help!

(Edit) Re the different keys... All the instruments you’re looking at will have up to a High F# key - there’ll be 3 oval brass keys under your left index knuckle. Anything that only has a high Eb key is a more limited child-friendly instrument with only 2 oval keys up there for smaller hands - avoid those. Some expensive ones will have a High G key. It’s an unnecessary and sometimes expensive extra.

Altos and tenors are tuned differently but it makes no difference with regards to these extra keys you’ve noticed. Playing a “C” on an alto actually matches an Eb played on a piano (hence: Eb Alto saxophone). Play a “C” on a tenor and you’ll match a Bb played on a piano (hence: Bb tenor saxophone). Don’t worry about why!!

Edited by timbob on Thursday 1st February 12:55

[dazmm]

Thanks for that conclusive answer..

Looking back on Sax.co.uk's website, I could get a Trevor James Tenor Saxophone for the same price as a Yamaha Alto...

So, guess where I'm going Saturday, maybe I could get someone there to play both for me, so I can get a good indication of the sound..

Thanks again

[CAPP0]

I haven't played for years now but when I was learning I bought a cheap(er) tenor sax and it caused me more problems, as a student, than it solved. I gave up and chopped it in eventually for a Yamaha which I still have, and it really was night & day different. I did drag it out of the cupboard last year only to find that it needs a major service, all sorts of components either sticking or leaking. Must get round to having that done so I can (try and) play again.

I can't remember the make of the first one I bought, but it was from a reputable music shop, maybe 20 years ago, so it probably wasn't some chinese knock-off.

Pretty sure my teacher back then used to mention Trevor James instruments, I've never played one but I believe they have a reasonable reputation.