I know this is TH, but I need help choosing an alto sax!

BengeBoy

This is the lounge, so (almost) anything goes

My youngest son is in the 4th grade and starting the alto saxophone. I know trumpets, but I don't know saxophones! Can anyone recommend a good student alto saxophone?

My local sales & rental places recommend these:
Yamaha YAS-23
Selmer AS300
Selmer AS500
Vito 7131

Thanks in advance for your help,
Tim
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Tim Murtaugh

Burbank Benge 3x

308WIN · Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 6:33 am Post subject:

<getting popcorn, and sitting in comfy chair> This should be good.

Seriously,
I would imagine it's hard to beat Yamaha. I have not been impressed with selmer beginner trumpets, I don't see why sax's would be any different.

r
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vivace · Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 9:05 am Post subject:

yamaha's are good. Ask eric... he will know better.
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BengeBoy · Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 9:43 am Post subject:

Who's Eric?
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Tim Murtaugh

Burbank Benge 3x

ValveMaster · Heavyweight Member Joined: 08 Dec 2003 Posts: 546

I'm Eric.
Bengeboy....
I've played a few saxes, and I know stuff about them....
I'd go with the Yamaha. they're decent, reliable, and a good student horn in general. I have one myself that i've had for over 6 years, and have only had to get it repaired I think once.
the Selmers are terrible. They make great proffesional horns, but their student stuff sucks. Vito is just a bad horn, it's under the Selmer name, and they're very low quality horns, they break very easily.
go w/the Yamaha.

musicman77 · Regular Member Joined: 21 Jul 2005 Posts: 70

Do not rent a sax! And do not buy a beginner saxophone! I still don't understand why beginner saxophonists blow $1,500+ on a new student model sax when they can get a used pro model sax in decent condition for half or less the price. Most likely your son will continue playing the sax for a while, so if I were you, I'd buy a cheap pro model sax- Yanagisawa(what I play), Yamaha, Selmer, or a vintage Buescher True Tone, Aristocrat, or a King Zephyr. Check Saxontheweb.net, or eBay for some great deals on saxes. So, do your son a favor and buy him a sax. PM me if you have any more questions.

Thanks,
David
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musicman77 · Regular Member Joined: 21 Jul 2005 Posts: 70

I'd recommend doing what I said above, but if you have to buy/rent a student model sax from a local music store, then definately go with the Yamaha. BTW, how much are you willing to spend?

Good Luck!
David
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Yanagisawa Elimona Alto Sax,JDX 7 Rousseau Jazz mpc,Selmer S90 Legit mpc
Martin Inspiration C Melody Sax c.1919

FLgargoyle · Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 12:44 pm Post subject:

My son is a pretty decent sax player, and the only student model he finds playable is the Yamaha YAS-23. Also, they're durable, which is good considering how fragile these things are in the hands of a kid. He has a vintage Martin which sounds great, but it constantly needs minor adjustments. We got his Yamaha YAS-62 (a pro horn) on eBay for $1200 in like new condition. After 3 years of constant use in high school (including marching!) it has never been in the shop. For a 4th grader, either rent from the school ( my kid's school is only $35 a semester) or buy a used YAS-23 on eBay. Odds are, he'll either quit or change instruments within a year or two, so at least you can get your money back out of it. And if he stays with it, it'll be fine at least into high school.
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Clarino · Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 3:52 pm Post subject:

Tim, I have no usefull advice on which sax is best for a beginner (I know a bit about pro level sax's but not much) I'd say do a Google search to find a Saxophone forum or two (hey, there are trumpet forums, there must be sax forums right?) the members there will probably have a lot more usefull advice than the few sax players that post here. No offence intended to our sax playing members.

R.A.S. · Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 3:53 pm Post subject:

Find a used Yanagisawa (or professional model Selmer).
There are guys who deal just in vintage horns.
The sellers of student saxes often give you less than the total picture.
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Ray

TrumpetersClarinettingSis · Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 3:57 pm Post subject:

Yup id say yamaha too...apart from being a good horn for students and being durable, if ur son decides sometime in the near future that he doesnt want to continue, a well-known brand will be a lot easier for you to sell second hand....

Hooray for the woodwind contingent of this board!

TrumpetersClarinettingSis · Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 3:58 pm Post subject:

and www.saxontheweb.net is a good sax forum

surfhorn · Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 7:34 pm Post subject:

The Yamaha YAS-23 can take a (student) beating and keep ticking. I've had to keep my students' saxes in working shape and the YAS-23 seems to be like a '55 Chevy - it breaks and you can get it back playing w/out having to send it to the shop for major surgery.
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musicman77 · Regular Member Joined: 21 Jul 2005 Posts: 70

musicman77 · Regular Member Joined: 21 Jul 2005 Posts: 70

jazz4yvonne · Heavyweight Member Joined: 18 Sep 2005 Posts: 1088

Yamaha YAS 52's are decent intermidiate horns.

jazz4yvonne · Heavyweight Member Joined: 18 Sep 2005 Posts: 1088

Yamaha YAS 52's are decent intermidiate horns.

THE BD · Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 5:53 am Post subject:

Stick with the newer student level horns. If you can find one that is used, even better cause its the same great horn at a lower price.

Student Horns are student horns because they designed with the young and new to it in mind, ad are designed to withstand alot more abuse, and to be as easy to play as possible.

As for the ones in your list above, the yamaha is GREAT. It is extremely versatile little horn, and actually can be played all the way through university. My sax proffesor at Ohio State, his main tenor was a Yamaha Student horn, and he's been playing basically forever!

So good luck in whatever you choose!

Martin
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Yeah, I did that!

trjeam · Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 7:40 am Post subject: