Wow, what an informative thread. I have taken the time to read every single entry. You guys certainly clear a lot of things up.

I started out in the 9th grade learning the saxophone. Learned on a BUNDY II tenor which I had until I recently sold it on eBay. Got tired of the tenor. I also have a BUNDY soprano (from high school). The soprano doesn`t work and I am kinda too lazy to go out and get it fixed. Kinda feeling the alto now. Soooooooo

I am looking to buy an alto. Before I get loads of quality/no-quality lectures, I would say that funds don`t make it possible to buy a quality saxophone, right now. While I do a lot of performing, I am concentrating on LEARNING new tricks on the sax. As a result, I just purchased a Monique Pro SATIN Alto Sax on eBay. Hopefully, it doesn`t suck. Just saw this thread tonight and I bought the sax last week .

It has been said over and over that the quality of the saxophone affects the tone of the instrument. My question is, does it also affect the amount of learning I can do on the sax? Two major areas of concentration for me right now are quicker fingers and altissimo notes. I would appreciate a reply from anyone, including those that had success with Monique Saxes.

Would the Monique sax set me back at all?
How much of a setback would it be?
Should I be worried?

P.S. I have a metal 5* Otto Link (Supertone Master) with a Rovner MK III ligature.

How come noone is saying anything about ligatures or mouthpieces?

(hope that wasn`t a stupid question)

I am a senior in high school going to be a freshmen in college. I just bought a brand new Helmke black curved soprano sax on e-bay for about $300. I own a Yamaha YAS-62 and plan to major in music performance in college. I bought this soprano just for fun to play leisurely, so I didn`t care about a name brand sax. When it comes in (between 1-3 weeks), I will let you know how it plays. Can anyone else tell me about Helmke soprano saxophones?

I am going to be a seventh grader next year, and I was wondering what sax to buy. I want to play the tenor sax. I went to ted brown music and they said I should get a jupiter. do you know anything about this brand?

How much can I expect to pay for a brand new Jupiter tenor sax.$500?$1000?$2000?

Ok.... We bought the silver Helmke sax as I told you It took approximately 7 days for us to receive it (Not bad at all) We are totally satisfied. It is a beautiful instrument and sounds great. Two thumbs up.

Evan,

If you are playing at a level to get into a performance program on sax, you should be able to make the following test.

Find some friends who have other sopranos, Selmer Serie III, Keilwerth, Yamaha-62, Yamaha 875, etc. Get out an audition piece and record it digitally using the same reed and mouthpiece. The audition piece would be technically difficult and you would need to use the whole range of the instrument. Have a friend edit it so that the piece is cut with the parts randomly mixed, so you hear the technically difficult parts in groups of about 16 bars. Grade them by the number and see what the grades are. We did this when my son was purchasing an alto. We did it with a Serie III, Yamaha Custom, Keilwerth SX90, and Yani. We also had his Yamaha YAS-23 in the group. All of them were great sounding, and they were all more resonant and cleaner than the YAS-23. He ended up with the Serie III, because it was a little darker and he liked that sound.

We also did this with side by side comparisons of his sopranos and tenors as he moved up in quality.

You can tell which is better for playing, the blind test will give you an unbiased judgement for the sound quality/

Just as a note about buying an instrument just to fool around, if you are a performance major- you will be playing it for grades. In your first year, you will- most likely- be playing 2 or 3 different saxes. In my son`s freshman year he played alto in Jazz Ensemble and Concert Band, Tenor in Concert Band and Orchestra, Bari in Quartet and Wind Ensemble. Next year he will have the first Alto which includes the Soprano parts in Wind Ensemble, but doesn`t know his other assignments yet.

Keith,

Thanx for the tip. I`m going into editing and I just got a new music studio for my computer, so your idea should work very well for me. My freshmen year in high shcool I played bari, sophmore year I played alto and the school`s soprano, junior year I played alto, tenor, and soprano, and my senior year, all I played was my alto and the school`s soprano so I am pretty well versed in all the major saxes. I just got my Helmke soprano today and it is a typical studnet-intermediate level horn. For $300, I am very pleased

By the way, I do understand that I would need a good soprano for college if I major in music performance. I am satisfied with this Helmke soprano because it was all paid for through band funds I have accumulated over my 4 years in high school, so there was no out of pocket expense for me :-) Thank you for your tips though.

My daughter purchased a Helmke Tenor Sax and we are very pleased. She had previously played a Selmer Professional Series III sax in her school band and her new Helmke is much easier to play well. The problem with an used sax is that (even a value brand like Selmer) any dings in the metal or air leakages can be very frustrating to fix and may never be fully resolved depending on the condition of the instrument. I wonder if this is why so many of these used instruments are on the market; the owner got frustrated, then stopped playing their instrument, and so they are trying to sell it. It is a myth that a value brand instrument will play better. It is true that they are engineered to be sturdy and will hold their monetary value longer based on their reputation. Selmer makes quality instruments but used or reconditioned instruments can be difficult to play well. Buyer Beware of any instruments that have had dings removed and have trouble holding air.

The Helmke tone is clear (not brash not airy), the pitch is in tune (from the low to high range), and it is very easy to play (you don`t have to make corrections with your embouchure.) I think it is important for people who are learning an instrument to have an instrument that plays well so that they are encouraged to continue. A Helmke can be used by beginners and professionals. It is important on all instruments to be careful to keep the finish clean/ dry and to protect the instrument from getting scratched/ dented.

My experience with playing the Tenor Sax is dynamic. I have played since 1983 in venues; such as, school, college, marching band, church, jazz ensembles, solos, concerts, and am now considered a studio musician. My favorite sax is the Selmer Mark VI because this is what I`m accustomed to playing - I`ve learned how to work around all the quirks that the instrument has. I have recently purchased a Helmke because I am very impressed with the value, quality, and workmanship. I use the Helmke just as much as I use the Selmer. I have no affiliation with Helmke and was also concerned when I couldn`t find a website for the company. My favorite reeds are rico royals and I agree that it is important to upgrade the mouthpiece on a sax.

The most desireable intonation comes with instruments that are made with softer materials. Pitch is determined by the size of the instrument; smaller instruments play in higher ranges and larger instruments play in the lower ranges. Wood is soft but expands and contracts to much with temperature changes and absorbes too much fluid (saliva); so, wind instruments that are used in band are not made out of wood even though saxes are considered wood-wind instruments. Metal is much more stable and can hold a tune better. Saxes made out of solid brass are heavy and hard to keep warm consistently, they have a brash sound and are hard to play in tune consistently. Silver and Gold are soft metals and have a wonderfully clear tone, the pitch is in tune but the metals are so soft that it is nearly impossible to keep the structure of the instrument from getting dents and scratches. Since Silver and Gold are so expensive it is unrealistic for large instruments to be made solely out of these metals. Many musicians will compromise with a silver mouthpiece or goose neck and/ or silver plated instruments. I believe that the finish (laquer) of an instrument is equally important to whether or not it is plated in silver. (Open holed flutes are reported to have better intonation because the pads of the fingers are softer than the fish skin that is used on the key pads.) I think that having a silver goose neck and mouthpiece make a difference in the tone of a sax but I do not have either because I do not do enough solo work to warrant the expense/ investment. Nickel is a soft metal that is a good balance between good intonation and good structure - it won`t dent or scratch as easily as silver.

The Helmke silver sax that I bought has a silver laquer and is not silver or nickel plated. I really like this sax and recommend it to anyone.

Hope this information helps.

=)

Hey, I have been playing a YAS-23 since I was in sixth grade, I am now in ninth grade and playing a Yahmaha "Allegro" Tenor Sax.

Next years marching band show is gonna be rock titles from the 60`s and 70`s, there is gonna be alot of opportunities for sax solos so im swithing back to my alto.

Anyways, this year we had a german exchange student who played a Yanigasawa and i was very impressed, but i want to know if a student of my grade lvl and skill should purchase one. I want to upgrade to a sax that performs well with Altissimo (sp?) fingerings. the sax i buy know may be the one i use in college for marching band (I will probably be playing for Western Caroloina University).

-Has anyone had some experience with the Yanagasawa Alto in the whole jazz scene? Whats good, Whats not so good?

Any input is appreciated,
Steve

personlay, I played the Alto a year, Tenor for a year, and and I currently just finished my first year with the Ber, and with those years I found YAMAHA was a realiable brand.

Yanigasawa saxes have a couple levels, the top line are execellent all around. You should not have problems with playing anything on the pro model. Many professional musicians play Yanis. However, do not sell your YAS-23. Play it in the marching band. When you are marching, you will sweat in the sun and the sweat will damage the finish. When it rains, it will get on the pads and cause damage. The water will cause additional corrosion. Use the new sax of concert work, and the 23 for marching. I have seen a lot of saxes that have taken a beating from marching band use. If you talk to clarinet players, they have plastic clarinets for marching and their good, wooden clarinets for concert work for this reason.

I bought a Yanigasawa 880 in ninth grade and have been using it for close to ten years. The quality is pretty comparable to that of a Selmer (not quite as good, but comparable), the craftsmanship/durability are great, and the price is generally a little less than that of many other pro-type horns.
As far as grade/skill level for upgrading horns, I found that in my development, ninth grade was a reasonable time to start looking at better horns - basically, if you are advanced enough to notice the difference between an intermediate and a pro model, and you`re willing to undertake the financial committment (i.e. you`re sure that you want to spend the money on music equipment), go for it.

Tom made an excellent point, the time to upgrade is when you have the skills to use the better sax. Parents and students, often, think that a pro horn will make the player. It is the other way around.

When a student is starting out, he only needs a good mouthpiece and a sax that does not leak, have poor mechanical operation, or is untunable. At this time, he doesn`t have the ability to use everything a top grade sax can offer.

Somewhere around 9th grade, playing at about level 5, he can notice that he sounds better on a better sax. This is when it is worthwhile to upgrade.

A good musician can make a "student" sax sound really good, but can make a great sax sound great. A beginning student can`t make a great sax sound good.

The purchase of the expensive "pro" sax should be considered when the student makes a commitment to become a serious student and try for the highest level AND has the ability to take advantage of what that sax can give.