Saxophone Outlet

Questions and Answers

Question:

What is the difference between a student saxophone soprano and a pro saxophone soprano?
I need to buy a new saxophone.. What saxophone brands are the best? and where can I get a professional saxophone soprano at a cheap price? (that can ship to Puerto Rico cuz I live there :P) I'm looking for a professional black and gold saxophone soprano at a good price that can ship to Puerto Rico.

Answer:

The best saxophones: Selmer Paris is by far the leading choice of professionals. You should be able to get a model 53 Selmer Paris Bb Soprano Saxophone anywhere in the world for about $5,000. Keilworth have a really good reputation among professionals too. Their soprano is in about the same range as the Selmer Paris. Cheap price? Why would a professional (someone that plays his instrument for a living) want a cheap sax? Fact is, there are no cheap professional horns - the two words don't go together. Professionals can afford to buy the very best because they use that to make lots of money. The rest of the world (players that don't make big bucks to play sax) tend to like Yamaha, Yanigasawa, Selmer USA, Jupiter, and any number of used/vintage horns by Conn, King, Martin, and Buescher. People on a major budget that aren't as interested in a professional level, top quality instrument look at makers like Monique, Selman, Cecilio, Berkeley, etc... The difference? A professional level instrument is made out of the best alloys available by highly skilled craftsmen that think an error in a part of 1/1000 of an inch is a huge error. The result is an instrument that plays and sounds very good. The cool thing is that you can buy a real professional horn from the Big Band era (such as a Conn or King) for about the price of a newly made 'sax shaped object'. Soprano sax is really hard to play in tune when it's well made - when it's badly made it can be impossible to play.

Question:

What is the best quality baritone saxophone for somebody who doesn't have a lot of money?
I have a 1927 (roughly) Martin Bari Sax, I need a newer and more updated sax but I really don't have a lot of money.

Answer:

I would look on E-Bay. At lest, you will find good surprising deals there. Just a thought :))

Question:

What is the best brand of saxophones?
I have a Selmer Alto Saxophone and my friend said that it is a bad brand. Being me I like disprove people. So if anyone can really tell me that would awesome. Thanks!

Answer:

Not a bad brand, he's saying that because it's classified as a begginer sax. Selmer AS300 This saxophone is a basic beginner saxophone that is easy to play, and has an excellent reputation for being one of the best saxophones on the market. It has nickel-plated keys, rings and easy-to-reach palm keys. It's comparable to a Selmer Paris, but it is more beginner-friendly Lacquered Alto AS-641L The AS 641L is a semi pro-level saxophone with a high F tone, and has classic gold-lacquered finish and accurate intonation. This saxophone is known for its durability, and if taken proper care of, will last a long time. Intermediate Alto AS-100BG The Alto AS-100BG is considered an intermediate saxophone that is durable and stylish at the same time. It has nickel-plated gold keys, holds and a gold-lacquered finish. This saxophone is considered the best value in saxophones for intermediate players. There are quite a number Saxophone brands that exist today in the 21st century, but there have been many more that existed over the life time of the Sax. So which is the best brand? Which is the most popular brand? Are there any I should stay away from? Like all products, there are companies who will go into production to manufacture the product as cheaply as possible in order to get it to market, yet have complete disregard for the ultimate quality of the final result. When we're looking at the various Brands of Saxophone, these brands are only really worth mentioning once and then we'll move on. For your sake, please don't fall into the trap of buying a low priced, low quality Saxophone off eBay, touted as a high quality replica, you will only be disappointed with the result. As an experienced player I feel when looking at purchasing a saxophone the focus should ultimately be on one of the popular brands - remember, there's a reason they're so popular and have lasted in the market. So, today these are some of the very popular brands in the market each with a long and interesting history: •Yamaha •Yanagisawa •Cannonball •Jupiter •Selmer •Keilwerth •Vito •Martin •King •Conn All of these are great horns, each with different characteristics however. On a personal note, I think a lot of players attribute a disproportionate amount of prestige to the Selmer, (especially the Mark VI). Although it's a great quality sax, In my honest opinion, it's not any better the top of range from other high end Saxophone Brands. I totally agree that, at the time it was first produced that Selmer Mark VI was a light year ahead of the pack, however, as with any competitive advantage, it won't last long if the high level innovation isn't continued. So, no doubt the top-end Yamaha's, Yanagisawa's, Cannonballs and the rest are all of equal or similar quality to the Selmer. Often it's a case of personal preference, comfort and emotional attachment when choosing a brand of Sax. As all of these companies build models which cater from the low-end (Beginner) through to the high-end (Professional) of the market, they are all a reputable brand worth considering. Let's check out some of the brands in more detail to see what htey have to offer.

Question:

What are some good alto saxophone brands?
I want to buy an alto saxophone. I'm playing at an advanced level so I want really good quality, but one that isn't too expensive. :)

Answer:

Yamaha Keilwerth Selmer Conn (If you can find one, but test it out first) King (I own a student model and it's not bad... just make sure it works first!) Martin (Test it out first) I've heard good things about Jupiter and ONCE (exactly once) I heard somebody say something about a buffet. In general you should test any instrument that you plan on buying before you buy it. This is ESPECIALLY TRUE of the Conn, King, Martin, and Keilwerth brands, as while most are good, some are horrible. But you should consider just investing in a good mouthpiece and see where that takes you. Second chair alto and first tenor in a band I was in once had a NAMELESS instrument, and the one that was first chair the next year had an intermediate yamaha, and the 2nd chair had one of those fancy-shmancy Series II Selmers. And I was the person at all county with the shiniest instrument and I was last chair, so instrument isn't everything. It's about the player, then the mouthpiece, (sometimes the neck after that) then the instrument in my opinion. But my personal reccomendations go out to the Selmer (used series ii, mark vi or series iii or it's worthless) and then a good Conn, if you can find it.