Buying baris for middle school

[BrianL]

hi all

My old band teacher came to me not too long ago and asked for some advice on what kind of bari saxes to buy for a middle school environment. On impulse I recommended a Yamaha 52 or 475. Another bari I've been looking at is the Buescher BU-6 bari. I've played on the BU-5 tenor and found that it wasnt bad for a cheap end sax, I was wondering if anyone had any experience with this bari or had other suggestions.

Thanks!

[MusicMan]

The Yani B901 would be a good choice too, although a tad more expensive. The double arm bell keys stay in adjustment better and the whole horn is solidly built.

[David Spiegelthal]

The Buescher BU-6 would NOT be a good choice for a school horn. I owned one for a year, it plays pretty well but is not very rugged. Keywork and body material are soft and easily bent/dented. I also had some bad solder joints on my particular horn (bought new in December 2001). By the way, do you really need a low-A bari for middle school use? Wouldn't a low-Bb bari be more than sufficient? Jus' wonderin'...........

[Storamin]

The Buescher BU-6 would NOT be a good choice for a school horn. I owned one for a year, it plays pretty well but is not very rugged. Keywork and body material are soft and easily bent/dented. I also had some bad solder joints on my particular horn (bought new in December 2001). By the way, do you really need a low-A bari for middle school use? Wouldn't a low-Bb bari be more than sufficient? Jus' wonderin'...........
Nope, you want Low A.

[BrianL]

Well thanks for the input on the BU-6. I completely forgot about the Yani A-901. As for getting a low A bari, yes we need it in low A. Every once in a while they pull out a song that requires low A to be played.

Thanks for the input!

[David Spiegelthal]

BrianL,
I don't mean to belabor the point, but just because a middle-schooler gets an occasional low A note in the occasional piece doesn't mean that he/she MUST have a low-A bari. These are not professional musicians, after all, and the extra expense, complexity, and fragility associated with that one extra note need to be considered. Let me draw an analogy: I've been playing bass clarinet semi-professionally for more than 25 years, and so far I've never owned a low-C bass clarinet. In that quarter-century of playing there've been fewer than a dozen instances where having the extra THREE low notes would have made any difference at all in my performance --- hardly worth (to me) the extra thousands of dollars, not to mention weight, size, and complexity, that the additional capability would have cost. So if the kids have to play the low A's up an octave --- so what?
I'm off my soapbox now --- have a nice weekend!

[Big Nick]

Can you still buy low Bb baris, apart from Keilwerth (which are a tad expensive)?

[shmuelyosef]

If your school system has a tech, it can be cost-effective to buy late vintage baris. I have bought several eBay King Zephyr baris, and rendered them effective for school kids with <10 hours...total still under $1500 for an extremely rugged bari. These kids beat the ()@*$#%)@(#*% out of these horns, and these still often just play. They have one YBS-52 that always has some little problem because the keywork is more complex.

[Storamin]

Don't listen to him -- He plays the clarinet. Laugh!

[russps]

A lot of schools in my area have yamaha 52s, jupiters, selmer usa/signet/bundy, Keilwerth ST90 (nearly identical to the jupiter if not the same), Vitos, and overbuffed mark VIs. There are others, but this is what I see most of the time.

The selmer USAs have no bell key guards (like buescher 400s) and the bell keys get bent often, and I get complaints about the ergonomics of the instrument. The keilwerth st90s and jupiters play well, but they don't stand up well to school use, and I have more bent bodies and dented in posts on those than on anything else. The yamahas and the vitos (quite similar to the yanigasawas) seem to hold up the best.

Russ

[electricninja]

Even playing at home for a hobby, improvising, etc, I have no idea how I could get through some of my homemade rhythm parts without low A. In fact, it's so useful I find my thumb reaching for it in vain on my alto!

[MPL]

I test drove a BU-6 a couple of months ago. I don't think it would stand up to the kind of wear and tear it would get in a middle school band environment.

You'd be better off with the Yani 901, if you have the bucks. The basic Selmer Bundy (a low Bb horn) isn't bad at all...it's built like a tank, but is more expensive than some of the cheap low A horns.

Don't get into the low A vs. low Bb argument. Too many opinions!

[top_gun25]

as a person who played a middle school bari. our school had 3 one for MB and 2 for concert. well since my MB bari looked like it marched INTO the civil war and probably DID, i used my VITO concert bari low A for MB and yes all ours needed Low A I used it pretty often from 10 till 12 grade my bari years.(alto before then) My mb bari was a selmer that went thru NORMANDY i swear. i is crap. the vito is a twin to another smaller vito for concert that a friend of mine played it was smaller(1/2 size or 2/3 size i think) mine has scroll work on my bell very intricate. i cont know what make i can look it up and get back to u.

The bari is on of the best school instruments i have played. It is sturdy, playable, fun,reliable, enjoyable, and as repairs go fairly simple.

[top_gun25]

ok it was a B-991 from Yanagisawa in a Vito case. why i never remembered this i dont know. but the engraving is what jogged my memory. the VITO line is Built like a Tank so the Vito VSP baritone 7190BA should be good for your friends school. i think that was my friends model. it was smaller/lighter. mine was engraved and a LOT heavier. i remember cause i walked to school. with the bari. it is a instrument. All i Play are Vito.

[NiceOldHorns]

I have a nice Vito VSP (Made by Yanagisawa) to low A that would fill the bill... the original owner gave up after 6 months of playing.

NiceOldHorns"AT"yahoo.com

Substitute @ for "AT"

[robbieg]

I'd definatly suggest not getting a Jupiter bari for school use. I regular use a Jupiter Artist bari, and it sounds awesome and works great, but I've had problems with stuff falling apart on it. Definatly not really durable.

[top_gun25]

Before my YANI i used a VITO VSP. Thats where i got that case... the yani case didnt like the MB travel... I got a little nervous...
VSP are great horns... good sound, nice looks, play good. I would say a safe bet as a horn for say... a Seinor high who may go all the way to District band or even Regients...

[UNTplayer]

A major factor in choosing a bari for middle school is key placement. These kids have short arms. If the two hands must be too far apart or the right index finger Bb is too far down, the student won't be able to play the sax. My nephew is struggling with a Bundy, and I can't handle a Buescher 400.