Saxophones
How to buy a Saxophone.
How to buy a saxophone? Let common sense prevail here. Saxophones are plentiful. Your first port of call should be a specialist shop. Mainly because you can get to play the instrument and speak to someone who actually knows what they are talking about. Not only that but there is no doubt they will stock several different types of saxes for you to choose from.Sound
You will need to decide what sax sound you are looking for. A beefier more sultry sound might lead you to want to go for a Tenor. A lighter sound would lead you to an Alto. Take a bit of time to listen to the
saxophone sounds
I've listed. Hopefully it will help you make your choice or at least give you an idea of what you are looking for.
Type
First thing you are going to need to determine is what type of saxophone you want to play. The main choice you have to decide is whether it will be an Alto or a Tenor. Why? Because these are the easiest to learn to play. However, if you are hell bent on something else then go for it, just understand you may find it hard at first.
Level
There are three main levels. Student, Intermediate and Professional. If you are new there is little point in going out and buying an intermediate or pro model. They cost £1000 plus minimum and you wouldn't really benefit for the money you are going to pay. Student saxes are more than sufficient to see most new players through the first few years of playing. If you are doing grades then there is going to be a time when you will want to upgrade but probably not until you are around grade 8.
Size
The size of the sax is important if you are young. A great big Tenor on an 8 year old could be problematic due to the size and weight of the sax and the amount of air needed to create a sound. However if you are determined to get a Tenor then do it. Buying an Alto as second best would probably leave you disappointed and wishing you'd got that fantastic looking Yani
Make
Who do you go for? Different manufacturers aim for different sounds and the only way you are going to find out what you are looing for is again by listening to different players. A few makes you could plump for are Yamaha, Yanigasawa, Keilworth, Trevor James, Selmer. The likelyhood is you are going to be restricted by price. Some student models cost a lot more than others. However shopping around can reap benefits. I've seen the same Tenor sax with a price difference of over £100 in different outlets.
Price
Get ready to spend some cash because it's going to cost. Theres lots of choice here. Do you go for used saxophones, cheap saxophones, chinese instruments or a named brand like a yamaha alto saxophone. Don't be led to believing that a Tenor will cost lots more than an Alto. Generally the price difference between the equivilent Tenor or Alto i not a great deal.
Used Saxophones - There are lots of bargins to be had but beware if the price is unbelieveably good then there is usually a catch For example there is an old saxophone called a C melody. Not a desirable instrument despite the fact it's made by a reputable manufacturer and they sell very cheap usually. If you can get to meet the person who is selling it, get them to play it, ask them when it was last serviced. look for dings and dents on the neck which will affect tone. Check the pads. Are they starting to crack? Are they dark and shiny where they come into contact with the tone holes? These are possible signs that you may be looking at having to replace the pads which isn't that cheap. Check the keying action. Is it smooth? Any wobbly keys? What about the rods? Are they bent? Is there any movement around the adjustment screws? All expensive.
Cheap Saxes - There are lots of them out there. Most of them being chinese instruments. Are these bad? Well, they used to be but things seem to be changing. I will say stay away from them on ebay there are no guarantees there. There is an online store who will let you buy one with a 21 day no quibble money back guarantee if it's a dog. They even inform you to get your teacher to try it to see what they think. Thats quite a confident claim and I know people who are perfectly happy with what they've purchased, and I have to admit they sound just fine, especially for the price. Shop around and maybe you'll find what you are looking for at a reasonable price.
Branded - There's no real issues when you buy a branded sax. Just make sure it's a good brand. They all build to a high specification mainly because they have a reputation to uphold. There have been some comments flying around that the quality isn't a good as it used to be for some but realistically these companies are not going to let something come out that will damage their reputation. It's pretty safe to say that if you buy a brand you are going to get a good quality, durable sax that will see you through may years of playing. If you shop around you can easily find second hand ones that are extremely playable and because they cost a fair sum they have generally been looked after
Extras
As with anything there is a multitude of extras you can buy. You could spend an absolute fortune on all the little things you think you may need. What you do need is basically some reeds, cork grease, a lint free cloth and a pad saver or pull through. You may want to invest in a metronome and a tuner as well but don't go thinking jut because it's there I'll have it! Everything you need to play the saxophone should come with it and the only real extras you will have to but are reeds. Save your money for when you want to buy that dream sax.
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