I want to start learning the saxophone but no idea where to start in terms of what’s a good one to go for. Seen some decent looking intermediate level Yamahas but is there other manufacturers I should be looking at. Anyone out there got any advice they can fire my way?

I’ve played a few instruments at a pretty decent level when I was younger so hoping I’ll at least pick up the basics fairly easily. Therefore would rather look at a decent quality one rather than a cheaper ‘beginners’ version

tin

Have you made the first basic decision: soprano, alto, tenor or baritone?

That’s step one normally.

Sorry ye meant to include that, I’m going for Tenor.

If you’re an absolute beginner, an alto will be easier/more fulfilling to play in the early stages. Worth considering at this point maybe?

I played a Selmer for years and loved it. Not too expensive, US made (at least mine was), good quality… you can pick them up pretty cheap on eBay etc sometimes, which is a good way to avoid the new premium, but I’d probably go for a new mouthpiece! 😉

Ed Hornby (edhornby on here I think) is a very fine sax player indeed. Nice bloke too.

Trevor James Saxaphones.

As always it’s a lot down to personal taste, try a few alongside each other if you can.

Sorry ye meant to include that, I’m going for Tenor.

As a beginner, get an Alto not a Tenor. It’s easier to play as a beginner and if you want to you can move to a Tenor later. There is also far more music written for Alto. All saxophones use the same fingering and notation so moving between them is easy, and in the past I’ve done just that although it was a long time ago.

As someone said spend your money on a good mouthpiece and reeds as these will make the biggest difference to your playing, not the quality of the rest of the instrument.

You used to be able to rent a saxophone this may be worth a look just in case you don’t get on with it. There are many good saxophones out there with a very different price range. Go to a specialist shop and ask for advice and a cheap beginner sax would be appropriate. You can always sell this on if you don’t get on with it or if you want to get something better. When you do know more about the sax and what you want from it then look for a good second hand or new model and remember you can always replace springs and pads. Just ensure the action feels good.

Good luck

No, but despite that I’ve repaired and played one 🙂

An ex who was a good clarinet player had a battered old one that had belonged to a cruise ship musician, so it’d been all around the world in the 40s and 50s. The pads were knackered, so I bought some cork and repaired it all so that it was playable. I then found I could play quite a few tunes on it passably well using my school recorder knowledge 🙂

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1kLxLdtIiE[/video]

Bought my daughter’s one from Thomann, as recommended by various posters on here. Great price and great service, recommended.

(Can’t tell you much about the quality of the sax itself, nothing to compare it to!)

Thanks folks some really useful advice there. Think I’m going to have to go to a few shops and have a look.

I’ve got experience of Woodwind instruments in the past so hoping I can pick the basics up fairly quickly. Might also have to follow everyone’s advice and look at a Alto instead.

wood wind is all very similar

Grade 8 sax (classical, 7 Jazzthen i stopped taking assesments as i started getting proper gigs)
6 claranet(dont play anymore)
7 flute (dont play any more)

playedfor19 years,for big bands jazz band solo, played at festivals and in bars and do a bit of buscking for some extra pennies. Don’t doas much as i used to which is a mega shame.

If you are looking at tenors and you have a budget that fits a yamaha you wont go wrong. I own a yamaha tenor and a Boozy and hawk alto((not in buisness any more)name used by a rubbish company) but themain thing to understand is that the mouth pieces and types of reeds can alter the sound of a saxophone a lot, i use a metal mouth piece that was almost as much as my saxophone and it sounds fantastic but put on the cheep plastic one it comes with and its sounds tinny and horrid which is perfect for busking in the street. If you really want quality go for a yanagaisawa but they are quite high maintance when it comes to pads.

Stay away from the likes of jupiters and the cheeper modles as they are just utter tat with a poor resale value if you decide its not for you.