Advice on Saxophone for beginner

ScribbleNInk

I'd echo the other posters in that it's always a great idea to avoid buying the cheap and cheerful instrument (even if that means considering a second hand one). As soon as you start to develop on an instrument you quickly start wanting a better instrument and end up spending even more money!

And if the instrument you buy has a nice quality sound you'll enjoy playing it more so you'll progress quicker. Well done for reaching your goal, it'll be so satisfying when you finally get your sax! Good luck with it and have fun

Happyscrimper

hi there

I played a tenor sax throughout high school in the states. I recently went to try and buy one over here off of ebay. There are so many brands out there, but seeing as you are a beginner, you wont need any fancy brand or fancy mouthpiece etc.

When i found one on ebay that looked good in the picture, i bought it, however when it arrived it was a mess and not even in playable condition. Long story short, I got my money back, but the moral of the story is go to a local shop, get a standard sax and it should cost around £180-250 give or take a bit. If its any more expensive than that, tell them you've seen one of a similar quality for £190 and see if they have any wiggle room on it.

When going in, don't tell them that you don't know anything about saxophones because they might start trying to sell you everything under the sun. You will need a mouthpiece, ligature(the thing that holds the reed), reeds ( i recommend a thickness of 2-2.5 to begin with) and a neckstrap, preferably padded. Sometimes places will have a starter kit with everything included, it is a good idea for a newbie. As you gain experience, if you want to try another mouthpiece or brand of instrument you can, but if you get a decent beginner and you're not planning on becoming Kenny G, they will probably do you fine.

I would recommend telling them you have a son/daughter that is interested in taking it up for school, as they think it is for a child they wont try and fleece you. I'm not saying that they will just arming you with information.

Any other advice that you might need, drop me a note:)

calleyw

try https://www.sax.co.uk

You can rent one for 3 months for £99 so if you don't get on with it you can send it back.

They are really helpful.

Yours

Calley

mccristo

Did the OP ever manage to get a Saxophone? :O

giggles_alot

mccristo wrote: »

Did the OP ever manage to get a Saxophone? :O

Not just yet... Spoken to local shop about servicing/repairs etc. Got my eye on a couple of second ones on eBay and looking at different one tomorrow, amazing how my mind was opened to this idea thanks to you lovely lot

Btw, love your cover of Somebody that I used to know :):)

mccristo

I just had a play with a new student who turned up with one of the saxes sold by gear4music. It's exactly the same saxophone as sold by many other companies around the web. They seem to import the cheap Taiwanese stencils and then brand them as their own. They sell them for £200 + £10 delivery on a popular internet shopping website.

Needless to say...it was unplayable...the soldering was so poor that the saxophone had practically disintegrated in transit. The bottom of the guard had come away from the keys and the crook wouldn't even fit in the neck of the saxophone.

Another case of getting what you pay for, I'd stay clear of Gear4Music saxes and custom branded siblings :S

And thank you for the kind words about Somebody that I used to know...it was fun to make despite not having the right tools to record it properly!