My son, who plays alto sax, is starting 7th grade. With the increase in books and other school materials, he won't be able to carry his sax to and from school daily. I'd like him to keep his good one at school and buy a modestly-priced used instrument for practice at home.
My knowledge of saxophones is limited to their general appearance, but I know that some of you are sax players. Any suggestions as to what I should look for and expect to pay for a practice sax?
Thanks.
You can't go wrong with Yamaha, even (or maybe especially) for student instruments. The trick with used saxes are the pads, as a repadding done by someone reputable is expensive. It can run over a grand for good professional quality pads, and may run around half that for a student grade instrument.
The good thing is, most modern saxes have pads that will last decades. Selmer, Conn, Buescher, King, Keilworth, Yawikinasa (horribly misspelled)and Leblanc are all reputable brands if you decide to gamble on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Used-Alto-Saxophone-sale-/170526434781?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0
http://cgi.ebay.com/Yamaha-YAS-23-Alto-Saxophone-Beginner-/260651406317?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0
http://cgi.ebay.com/Yamaha-Alto-Sax-YAS-23-PROTEC-Case-Meyer-mpc-/170528400334?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0
http://cgi.ebay.com/Yamaha-YAS-23-Alto-Saxophone-/120610606934?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0
Here are a few links to get started.
Thanks for those links. I'll bid cautiously and hope I hit the sweet spot between condition and cost.
keep the good one at home and let him take the cheap one to school.
Kelly has two trumpets. The cheap one was for stuff like pep band, etc.
Get her a good cornet for home practice. Nowhere near the volume, and flexibility is so much easier.
My daughter also plays the alto sax and we found this black nickel and silver Giardinelli on Craigs list at a substantial savings. She also liked how the Yamaha YAS 62 played, which was the personal favorite of the musician I talked with at the music store also.
