I'm in need of assistance from the musically inclined among the group. Our daughter switched from flute to tenor sax over the summer. She loves it and picked it up quickly. We are currently renting a King sax but would like to get her something more permanent for her birthday in October.

We're looking to spend $700-900 +/-. Not a big budget for an this kind of instrument, I know. The King that we are renting would run about $1100.00 to buy but we found out after the fact that the music store we are renting from is not the most reputable and feel like we're paying a premium for a "so-so" instrument.

So what would be a good recommendation for a new tenor sax? There are the $399 Mendini versions on eBay and a Jean Paul on Amazon for $700. Other than that what is a good place to purchase a decent used instrument and what are the best brands to look for?

Check out a store called "Sax Alley". It is in I think Colorado Springs. Tim Glesmann is the owner and a friend, and please call him, he will give you good advice even if you dont buy from him.

We had 3 boys in high school band and have a sax we don't use and have considered selling it...let me ask the boss if she/we want to sell it.

edit....ours is an alto sax

We found a used instrument shop in Nashville when looking for our Daughter. Likely one in most largish cities... We found a fairly good selection and you can trade in the flute toward a sax.

The instructor should be able to recommend something.

Darn - I just sold my son's tenor a couple of weeks ago after him not playing the past few years.

My only advice would be to have it inspected prior to purchase from a reputable shop if it is used.

Ensure you have a get a good case for whatever you end up with as they tend to travel and sustain abuse.

Cheers~

quote:

Originally posted by sidss1:
Check out a store called "Sax Alley". It is in I think Colorado Springs. Tim Glesmann is the owner and a friend, and please call him, he will give you good advice even if you dont buy from him.

Do you know if Tim is into guns? Maybe we could do a little horse trading . His shop is in Windsor, CO only about 50 miles from here. We may have to pay him a visit.

You won't find a more reputable retailer (or better customer service) than Woodwind & Brasswind. They've been my go-to since before the internet.

Here's a link to their tenor sax offerings. You'll find everything from student to professional quality.

http://www.wwbw.com/Tenor-Saxophones.wwbw

In fact, it looks like this one might be right up your alley. Hell of a deal, it would appear.

http://www.wwbw.com/Allora-Vie...axophone-585575.wwbw

Also, check out their clearance and open box sections. You never know what you'll find in there.

-Rob

What does the band director think?

King is a good brand which I think is now all part of the same company with Selmer, Conn, Bach and other U.S. brands of old. I was a Conn man until I got too old and feeble to power my big Conn tuba, and the smaller King I bought was very good.

A lot of schools are going to Yamaha and similar.

There are two schools of thought. I have experience with both. One is buy the finest instrument you can. These will be easier to play well, sound better, more rewarding all around.

The other is to learn on a tired, leaky, crappy piece of junk. If you can play that well, you can play anything! If you aren't interested in playing well, well, nothing will help you, and you won't be out a lot of money.

I second the idea of dealing with Woodwinds and Brasswinds. They treated me very satisfactorily.

Edit to make sense. Sorry!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JALLEN,

i'm with you JAllen on that one.

I played trombone all through school, I have the same horn in my basement that I got when I was about 14. I played it for a number of years in a swing band when I was in my 50's as well.

It served me well and my son played it all through school as well. It's a very nice Holton trombone,

We both also had a clunker for pep band and marching band. These tend to be tough on any kind of horn.

Mike

EDIT - JUST REALIZED YOU SAID NEW. That's a tough one.

I guess the following does not apply.

Look at Ebay for the sellers that do their own refurbishing and give accurate descriptions.

The reputable sellers with hundreds of top ratings selling instruments.

Yamaha is a good student brand and makes a range like most, all the way to pro. Selmer, Conn, Vito, Bundy all are decent brands with a student selection.

Stay far, far away from a $400 new tenor sax.

There's just too much sax and violins nowadays.

Earlier this year I became interested in helping my nephew into a better alto sax. Did all the research then began looking at used saxes. The ones in really nice shape are expensive, and ones beat up are "mid-price"; seems people will take snazzy images to drag you out there, then you start to see all the issues, and realize their asking price is 2x the value.

I'd always start with the case. Broken hinges are not a good start! Call me silly, but the case tells me the whole history. Every bang, drop, skid, opening, shutting, yanking the horn in and out over and over, it is all there.

The action of all the keys, pad condition, springs, pitting, and lots of questions whenever a repair is evident. That's when obvious deflections and misleading advertisements come to the front. Lots of parents get the mid-grade horn at 9th grade used, then if their kid sticks with it into college, get the kid a better horn and eventually sell the old one, trying to pass it off as a one-owner horn. They defer any repairs, just like my sister is doing on my nephew's horn, a $1,000 POS. Wow, what a clattering mess.

I ended up doing nothing but if I was going to help, I'd get him a Yahama YAS-480 or -62. There are -52's around as well, used. Hard to find a nice one cheap, though.

There are lots of high quality, used instruments in the closet of old geezers, like me, who played years ago but will never blow a note again.

I bought my daughter an excellent Bach Stradivarius trumpet from a retired Doctor for $250 while she was in high school. It was, and still is nearly mint.

Good luck,
Mike

Yamaha Tenor Sax for $500. I would expect there to be similar instruments in your area. Get it inspected at a music store before purchase.

https://atlanta.craigslist.org...hone/6252465971.html

I would much prefer to buy an excellent quality USED musical instrument versus a so-so NEW instrument. And renting instruments through a school system is really expensive.

My daughter plays the clarinet. A few years after she started she was ready for an upgrade from her "student" clarinet. I asked her if she would rather have a used Buffet R13 (top of the line) or a new Buffet E12 (one step down). She wisely chose the used R13 which set me back about a grand 20-some years ago. The R13 now goes for over $3500 new so I think I could get my money out EXCEPT that she still plays the R13.

Buy the best used instrument you can afford. You will recoup more of your money when your child inevitably takes up the guitar!

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, insight and leads! We did find one locally with the assistance of the band director. I'm sure we'll have a happy camper on our hands

quote:

Originally posted by r2mach1:
Thanks everyone for the suggestions, insight and leads! We did find one locally with the assistance of the band director. I'm sure we'll have a happy camper on our hands

Tell her to get to practicing. Maybe she's the next Chloe.

Chloe has been at America's Finest City Jazz Festival nearly every year. She can play!