Hi, I am going to be in the 10th grade when school starts back up, I have been playing since the 6th grade. I began on a YAS-23 Yamaha Alto Sax, it has been very good to me but i think i would like to purchase a new horn.

- any suggestions on what model/company Alto would best fit my skill level?

Any help is appreciated

Steve R.

i`d say go for the yamaha 62 series cos they`re bl00dy awesome without blowing a hole in your pocket. professional quality no doubt abt that, just happens that they don`t cost that much. of course, if you`re feeling a little ambitious or generous for that matter, go for the selmer reference 54. i can safely say that it is probably one of the nicest looking new saxes i have seen in a long long time, not to mention that it sounds really really good as well.

another piece of little advice, besides upgrading just your sax, try experimenting with different mouthpieces as well. i`m guessing after 4 yrs of playing, your embouchure should be more or less developed well enough to start exploring other options. a solid mouthpiece, reed, ligature combination and control of your embouchure will do great things for your playing, probably more so than a better sax.

good luck!

If you are going to be in marching band, it`s better to keep your YAS-23 to march with. You don`t want to march with an expensive horn.

Thanks guys, I am going to keep my YAS-23 for Marching Band. I was thinking about mouthpiece choices, I am in the school jazz band and really love to play rock music (this years marching show will be featuring music like "Born to Be Wild" and "China Grove"). Any suggestions, I was thinking about a metal mouthpiece but I am unsure about which would be a good choice. The music store in my area is runned buy Brookmays so the items on their site are the ones i have to pick from, check them out at www.brookmays.com and see which one you would choose. Also what ligature/reed do you guys play on?

Any help is appreciated.

Steve R.