School Me On Saxes

Now there's a hole with no bottom.

Here's mine:

 

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Alto and tenor guy here. I gave it up (practice and gigs) in my mid-forties.

I played hard rubber Selmer mouthpieces (mp), and kept an identical mp as a spare. I prepared my own reeds before using them. This mostly involved very light prep. with wet/ dry sandpaper and tap water.

The saxes were never put away wet- tube or pads. Vandoren (some jazz reeds and some others in their lineup) reeds are very good. If you don't buy a full box of reeds, you should after landing on a model and thickness that works for you. Rovner ligatures are a great choice!

The same sax may be available for hundreds less and within reach. Salespeople may be less helpful than you think. Plenty of amateurs are talking sax on the web right now.

Simple tasks or techniques have been posted and should be searchable. I'm still into flute and those guys can often be found on the same forum as sax. Sax players may double on flute as pros, or hobbyists.

 

When a man loves a woman.......

 

Do you live in an apartment building? Playing a saxophone might cause complaints from neighbors. Unlike a bass, you can’t turn down a saxophone’s volume by turning a knob.

 

Tenor? Selmer MK VI. The end.
My Dad had an old one.... to die for~

 

Get a used one. Should be some good deals out there. My tenor is a student model Bundy (actually I think musicians friend purchased the name and gets in made in China or something). It is serviceable. My alto is a mid level Yamaha (YAS-26). Plays super nice, but was pricy. If I played tenor regular I would go with the tenor version of my alto.

 

One consideration is that it's good for you health-wise. Youll automatically increase your lung capacity and strength and cardio health. I'm pretty sure the vibration you feel is good for you too. To Really put in the hours of exercises it takes to get good, get captioned TV.

 

My kid has one. Wish he'd f'ing play it.
I'll second @wazzel -- mid-level Yammy is a good call.

 

I'm a sax-dad. I don't play but my son does for a living. I've learned quite a bit:

1. They're expensive. $1500 for a beginner instrument. Mid-level brings you closer to $3000.
2. You'll be buying mouth pieces and ligatures. My kid has gone through many mouth pieces, rubber, metal, different bore diameters. Possibly hundreds of $ each. One type for classical, another for jazz, you get the idea.
3. Lots of time spent finding just the right reed. I think my kid finally settled on synthetic? That may have changed.
4. They're somewhat fragile. Seems they need more preventive maintenance than (some) other instruments. Pads, valve adjustments.
5. They're loud.

 

Assuming you haven't been playing another wind instrument lately, be aware that a tenor requires significant lung power. You'll probably want to start training on that right away.

I had a tenor I inherited and I was really excited about getting into it, but later in life I just didn't have the air. I continue to dabble with clarinet instead.

 

Check with the local music stores who rent them to music students. You should be able to find a decent one in excellent shape for a lot less coin. Good luck! My grandfather was a woodwind player, and sometimes I wish I'd learned at least the sax.