yes, yamaha all the way, i`ve been playing mine for about 7 years and i love it. They sound wonderful, and have great balance and intonation. Perfect, if your in an essemble like myself

It depends on what you like to play. For jazz, if u want a sound like the legendary players (Parker, Rollins, Henderson), then I would say go vintage. This is good if you`re strapped for cash. Vintage horns command respect in the field. I just bought myself a conn 6m alto from 1950-1951 and I would rank it just as great as a selmer mark VI in terms of tone and response. I also LOVE yamaha and would say that if you are into classical, go yamaha. All of the great classical players I know either play Selmer or Yamaha.
One note about vintage horns: Ebay is a GREAT place to get them (And CHEAP TOO).......but ONLY IF YOU DO YOUR RESEARCH. For example, at any time you could see a conn 6m on ebay, but more often than not it`s got the n prefix on the serial number, which means it was made in mexico and is, essentially, junk. You have to know EXACTLY what you`e looking for....But vintage horns command respect in the field.....Good luck.

please don`t buy from asian manufacturers, please help the occidental world to survive, as they is no more US manufacturers you should buy from european manufacturers,
Selmer (France) Keilwerth (Germany), Rampone&Cazzani (Italy), Borgani (Italy), Amati (Tchekei)
To our italian friend who can not purchase french clarinet from France I invite him to contact me to solve his problem.

I`m in the same position your in with buying a new sax and looking for an intermediate. I sugested you goto your local music store and try out saxophones. The one I`m looking at is the Jupiter 869SG.

Hi, if anyone is interested, I'm selling my sax on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BRAND-NEW-YAMAHA-ALTO-SAXOPHONE-YAS-275_W0QQitemZ7419214275QQcategoryZ16232QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
It is absolutely brand new, I have never played it before-its a Yamaha YAS 275, and I am looking to sell it for £500, which is an incredible saving for this horn. I am looking to sell it to a UK market, but if you are interested and from abroad, then contact me if you want: harry.thorrington@ntlworld.com ! Thanks

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BRAND-NEW-YAMAHA-ALTO-SAXOPHONE-YAS-275_W0QQitemZ7419214275QQcategoryZ16232QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem sorry!!! my computer went berserk, this is the website-do have a loook if you're interested. Thanks!