Saxophone - Consumer Guide to Buying a Saxophone
FIRST THINGS FIRST- ANSWERS THESE QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU BUY OR RENT
- Who is the player?
- What is the player's experience?
- What is the short term outlook for the player?
- What is the long term outlook for the player?
- If an instrument is bought, should quality used instruments be considered?
These questions need to be evaluated while considering your Saxophone decision.
Now, Let's get you smart on saxes.
SAXOPHONE TYPES AND SIZES
These are many saxophones to choose from. Compared to other instruments, the saxophone has a fairly short range of 2 ½ octaves. For example, a clarinet has 3 ½ octaves; a piano has 7. The saxophone inventor designed the instrument with different sizes in mind. The three most common sax sizes in school bands are
- alto saxophones - highest pitch, the neck is at a little lower than 45 degree angle
- tenor saxophones - lower, larger, neck has a hump in the bend
- baritone saxophones - lowest, largest, neck curves around
Note: In middle school and high school bands, the school typically owns baritone saxes and provide them to the players in the bands. Some schools provide tenor saxes to players, particularly at the middle school level. - soprano saxophones - the highest pitched. These are typically straight instruments which look not unlike brass clarinets. Some sopranos can be curved, which look like much smaller altos. Sopranos are a common second saxophone for a player. Few players below professional level will focus exclusively on the soprano. They are not widely used at the high school level, except in jazz bands, and are rarely used at the middle school level. Those high schools that use them typically have a school-owned instrument.
- sopranino saxophones - small, about half the size of the soprano
- bass saxophones - larger than baritone. Ones currently available are EXTREMELY expensive
- c melody saxophones - a little larger than alto, popular in the early 20th century
USERS AND QUALITY LEVEL CONSIDERATIONS
The four top quality manufacturers of saxophones are Selmer, Yamaha, Keilwerth and Yanagisawa.
There are less expensive instruments by off brands and also instruments built by the main brands specifically for the student market.
CAN YOU RENT A SAXOPHONE?
Yes. For beginning students, particularly younger ones, the choice is whether to rent an instrument or buy an inexpensive or beginner model.
The advantages of rentals are that:
- The family can walk away if a student changes their mind
- Most repairs are included in the cost of the rental and do not cost extra. Repairs on an owned instrument can be very expensive, more so if the student has not learned good instrument care habits.
- Some rental arrangements include an equity buildup feature that can be used for an instrument upgrade.
- Stores that have dedicated rental stock generally have decent quality student instruments and are committed to keep them in good playing condition.
CAN YOU BUY A USED SAXOPHONE?
Yes. Used instruments are less expensive and a used instrument in good playing condition can be a tremendous value. Generally, the instrument should be tried before buying, hopefully by the buyer and a professional player and should be evaluated by a professional repairman to see what repairs are necessary right away or in the near future.
The first advantage of purchasing an inexpensive model is that it will cost no more than would be spent on a year to a year and a half of rentals. Another advantage of purchasing is that some rental arrangements are rent to buy the instrument provided. The players start with a new beginner instrument and, after the rent to buy period is over, typically 4 years, the family has grossly overpaid for a beginner instrument, with 4 years of wear, once the player is ready for a step-up instrument.
The disadvantages of buying an inexpensive instrument are:
- The instrument could be junk, just not work and be from a source that will not accept a return.
- The instrument could have bad intonation, which will cause really bad habits in beginning players to compensate
- Many stores will not repair off brand horns for fear that they will fall apart during the repair process.
I have had student families buy inexpensive instruments and the success rate in getting an instrument worth playing was about 50%. That's a small sample, though.
Reed brand and strength are an individual choice based on trial and error. Most students start out on a Rico brand, 2 strength (soft/medium soft)
With a used instrument, you should make sure that the instrument's case is protective. While lighter cases are easier to carry around, they are much less protective. I have my alto and tenor in Walt Johnson cases and am delighted with them.
BEST BUYS - STUDENT SAXOPHONES
For beginners, I typically recommend a saxophone rental, although buying a good used instrument can be an alternative. The new instrument price differential between quality brand beginning instruments and intermediate instruments is slight, and, so I do not recommending buying new name brand beginning instruments.
The saxophones I recommend for purchase in this category are a Yamaha or YTS. I would recommend buying used as the price of these new is only a few hundred dollars less than the cost of the Yamaha intermediate models. A Yanagisawl is also a good used student brand. Early Bundy models are not as good as these other saxes.
INTERMEDIATE PLAYERS
Buying used instruments continue to be a good option. If you look for used, I would recommend Selmer, Keilwerth, Yanagisawa and Yamaha, along with the great vintage brands of yesteryear, King, Conn, Buescher and Martin.
If you want to purchase a saxophone, keep in mind that the instruments in this group are more expensive and include keywork that features improved playability and comfort for the player and improved sound. In this class are many very good instruments which can be used by professionals for whom saxophone is not the primary instrument.
Many band directors will prefer that their better middle school and high school students play the same mouthpiece model. For saxophone, the most common selections are from Selmer and Yamaha.
Selmer has an intermediate product line, their USA model. They are less expensive than the Selmer (Paris) professional models but are quality instruments. Yanagisawa, too, has good quality intermediate models. I have has students use their tenors and sopranos successfully.
But, the best bet is a Yamaha. They have excellent intermediate alto and tenor saxophone models.
Other brands among this class include:
Cannonball
Jupiter
Antigua Winds (their straight soprano saxes are particularly good)
P. Mauriat, a new Chinese brand, that is well regarded among stores and players.
There are others as well. Generally, you can have at least some confidence in a brand that is sold by The Woodwind and the Brasswind (see below) or a major music store that also repairs instruments.
PROFESSIONAL PLAYERS
These saxophone models have better construction, intonation and keywork, particularly in their professional model horns.
Among brands, Yamaha has the most acceptance for professional baritone sax players, Yanagisawa has the best curved soprano and the others all have competitive models among the four sizes.
Selmer has multiple models. Some favor the classical players through focused sound and others feature more projection for a jazz sound.
All of the new pro brands have acceptance by professional players. You should try as many as possible and see if the sound or keywork of a particular brand stands out.
Where are the best places to buy a saxophone?
Mail or music stores
If you are going to mail order an instrument, you must have a right of return. The standard period is from 3 days to 2 weeks after receipt. You will still likely have to pay shipping both ways if you return an instrument. If your instrument needs maintenance, you will have to incur shipping cost back and forth to the vendor during the warranty period or pay for a local music store to handle it.
The Woodwind and the Brasswind is located in South Bend, IN and has an extensive inventory at prices that local music stores have trouble competing with. Their prices set the market. If you are near there, it is worth a road trip. If not, you could mail order an instrument, as they do offer a right of return. They are also an excellent source of instrument reviews from their buyers.
The other mail order vendors for that I have used successfully are:
Kessler Music out of Las Vegas - great selection of saxes and clarinets, for that matter, and they deal in Selmer, Yamaha, Yanagisawa and Antigua Winds.
PM Woodwind out of Evanston, IL is a dealer for Selmer, Yamaha, Keilwerth and P. Mauriat. They also have an outstanding selection of vintage instruments.
Other mail order vendors with good reputations include:
USA Horn based in New Jersey stocks new Selmer, Yamaha, Yanagisawa and Keilwerth saxophones and also has an extensive selection of vintage instruments. I have not used them myself, but they do have an excellent reputation among professional players.
Wichita Band out of Wichita, Kansas stocks new Selmer, Yanagisawa, Keilwerth and Antigua Winds models and have an extensive election of vintage models.
Local music stores
These can be an excellent source if they choose to be competitive on price. They will set up instruments to the player's needs and may offer free adjustments for the first year or a service contract. Local music stores can also be a good source of quality used instruments.
The drawback is that many of the stores that remain in business don't have a lot of new inventory. This is because they can't afford to carry much stock at the selling prices that WWBW.com is dictating for the market. However, most stores will order an instrument if a deposit is let and refund the deposit if the player does not like the instrument ordered. If using a local music store, you would want the price of your selected instrument to be at least close to that by the mail order houses. There is no reason to pay full retail price for an instrument.
Band directors and professional players will often know the best sources locally for new and used instruments.
Pawn Shops
Values are possible, but the likelihood of getting a good playing pro model instrument at a good price is pretty low. These folks understand the market and likely will not seriously underprice an instrument due to ignorance. You should have a pro player check out any instrument for playability and also for needed repairs. If you are considering a supposed valuable pawn shop instrument, you would want to check the serial number against online lists of stolen instruments before buying.
Ebay
I've bought instruments on Ebay and, in fact have an article at Epinions on buying instruments on Ebay successfully. You want to buy a name brand instrument from a seller with at least 99.5% feedback and with a right of return. Frankly, you are not going to get a good playing new saxophone for under $600. If you are considering a used instrument, you should get the serial number for a valuable used instrument and check it against online stolen instrument lists. I would stay away from any brand not listed above.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
SAXOPHONE REVIEWS
Saxophone reviews
Good luck!
