A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

If you think guitars are overpriced these days, look at saxophones. My nephew is getting into the sax, and we're getting him one for this Christmas, so he doesn't have to keep playing his school's wretched one.

Now, I know virtually nothing about saxophones, so I've been trying to educate myself a bit. The one he and his mom picked out is apparently a decent enough Chinese beginner instrument, and it costs $400. I don't think I have to tell anybody here that you can get a surprisingly good electric guitar for half that these days! - although you do need an amp too, so maybe that balances out a bit.

I started reading Sweetwater's pages about saxophones, and I ran across this...

An intermediate sax is ideal for anyone who wants to upgrade their sound without committing to a significantly higher-priced instrument.
...
- Alto: $2,600–$3,000
- Tenor: $3,000–$3,600
- Baritone: $3,000–$6,000
- Soprano: $2,000–$3,000

$2000 for the cheapest "intermediate" sax they suggest?! And some of their "student" models are that much! Suddenly that Gibson Les Paul starts to look a lot more reasonable...

You should check out Thomann's site, they've got quite a selection over several price points:

https://www.thomannmusic.com/saxophones.html

Better still check out the price on EV's (electric vehicles) which aren't worth the value of the wheels & tires
once the battery warranty expires!

Saxophones have complex mechanical parts
A sax player friend living near the shore tells me he has to pay attention to the salt air effect on the instrument.
I once went to the estate sale of a sax repair man. You should have seen the shop, so many small tools gauges, etc. Sadly, it all went bit by bit, that is, nobody "saved" the bulk of it.

Yeah man, Our 12 year old just started playing Alto sax in the school band. I don't know if all middle schools are like this, but they take it crazy serious and "Advised" us on what saxophone to get (It was a Yamaha) along with a HUGE list of Saxophones and accessories NOT to buy. The Sax was $2500.

We decided to rent it for $50/mo and now he wants to play the trombone next year.

Ah kids... At least he's having fun!

Oh yeah, I know this pain. My son is a multi-instrumentalist, and can play basically any woodwind, and the majority of brass, along with a bunch of percussion, etc. His semi-pro clarinet was $1800, his Mellophone was $1600, his bass clarinet was $1000 used. He wants a saxophone, but I just don't have the change right now. And since he's effectively a professional musician, I can't get away with buying him cheaper stuff. :-/

Anyway, all that said, check out Jean Paul instruments. They have some nice beginner to intermediate saxophones that might meet what you need, and they have a pretty decent return policy as well.

https://jeanpaulusa.com/

PoodlesAgain wrote: ↑Thu Dec 21, 2023 5:18 pm Saxophones have complex mechanical parts
A sax player friend living near the shore tells me he has to pay attention to the salt air effect on the instrument.
I once went to the estate sale of a sax repair man. You should have seen the shop, so many small tools gauges, etc. Sadly, it all went bit by bit, that is, nobody "saved" the bulk of it.

I can believe it. It reminds me a little of why pinball machines aren't more widespread - anything that's so mechanical needs a lot of skilled labor to maintain.

Tell him that sax guys never get the chicks like harmonica guys do.

glasshand wrote: ↑Fri Dec 22, 2023 12:00 pm

PoodlesAgain wrote: ↑Thu Dec 21, 2023 5:18 pm Saxophones have complex mechanical parts
A sax player friend living near the shore tells me he has to pay attention to the salt air effect on the instrument.
I once went to the estate sale of a sax repair man. You should have seen the shop, so many small tools gauges, etc. Sadly, it all went bit by bit, that is, nobody "saved" the bulk of it.

I can believe it. It reminds me a little of why pinball machines aren't more widespread - anything that's so mechanical needs a lot of skilled labor to maintain.

Have you priced a used pinball machine lately? Guy in my area has several for sale ...for about $10,000.00 each!!!!!

mickey wrote: ↑Fri Dec 22, 2023 12:57 pm
Have you priced a used pinball machine lately? Guy in my area has several for sale ...for about $10,000.00 each!!!!!

A lot of the older juke boxes are up in the five figures too...

tobijohn wrote: ↑Fri Dec 22, 2023 1:19 pm

mickey wrote: ↑Fri Dec 22, 2023 12:57 pm
Have you priced a used pinball machine lately? Guy in my area has several for sale ...for about $10,000.00 each!!!!!

A lot of the older juke boxes are up in the five figures too...

And worth it! (at least in my opinion.)

My MIL has my late FIL's baritone sax sitting in her apartment in it's case. $5000 sax when it was new about 10-15 years back. I'd hate to think what it would be worth new now, and no idea what it is worth used.

I found a clarinet in its case at the dump reuse/recycle, at least good enough to practice close-up photography.

Reading on it, I found " On a hot day a wind instrument will have a higher pitch, while on cold days its pitch will be lower. Thus, when the pitch is too high, it can be lowered by unscrewing the barrel and extending the tube." ("barrel" is the part that has a slight bulge near mouthpiece)

I met a guy who plays (extremely pro) and his Sax cost around $10K

I didn't know the price details. Funny because I was friends with a few in my kids hs jazz band and even had them as a horn section to my band. Even my sons gf had a Barry sax and I heard it was very expensive. I'll have to ask her what that meant. I knew and was friends with 4 players. All real hotshots and all don't play much or at all now. Sad, some had serious pro talent.