A question on brands

[luv_da_sax]

ok, i'm new to this board, so excuse me if i ask questions that have already been asked. right now, i have a yamaha sax (not sure the model) and it plays really good and all, but the woman at one of the music shops told me that getting new parts for it is hard because they only make the parts every 2 years and if they run out, you have to wait until they make more. i'm also going into marching band and everyone i've talked to has said it's a good idea to have two different saxes, one for the band and one for the marching band, just in case the one gets all dinged up. i've been looking on ebay and have found a few that i haven't found a lot of info on:
Maxtone
Majestic
Evette
Vito
Buescher

the thing is, i wanted to get a cheap one for the marching band so i can get a more expensive one for the regular band. there were a few of the ones of the brands above for a couple hundred dollars and i was wondering if any of them were good.

anyone able to help?

[BrianL]

Just keep the Yamaha for marching band and get a new horn for your concert/jazz bands. To me the Yamaha's are pretty sturdy, so you wont have to worry too much about repairs. As for the 2 years on parts, I dont think your going to have to worry about that very much. I dont even know if thats true.

[MBushaw]

The model number of your Yamaha should be below the right hand thumb hook, near the serial number. If it's an alto it will be YAS-XX tenor would be YTS-XX (or XXX)

[luv_da_sax]

ok, it's a YAS-23

[JfW]

ok, it's a YAS-23

That's a good student horn, but a student horn none-the-less. It may indeed work well for indoor ensembles and band, and yes I'd agree that you should get horn for outdoor use, but buying one on ebay cheaply can end up not being so cheap if you take into account repairs that may need to be made to make it merely playable.

SInce outdoor band activities tend to be seasonal affairs during the Universitie'ss football schedule, try renting an instrument for that timeframe. A University I attended rented out working, yet horrible looking instruments just for that purpose. That's one (the cheaper short term) solution.

The other would be of course, to use your YAS-23 for marching, and buy a good 'pro' level horn for work indoors. New, Used, or Vintage would depend on your financial ability and what you are looking for.

[BrianL]

I know plenty of people who've used the Yamaha 23 for marching band. Student horns will get you by in marching. I myself played on an old Conn student alto (Dont ask me what make, all I know is it was made in Mexico around 1970 :roll: ) for marching band before I got switched to marching baritone. Just save up and get a nice pro horn for indoor use.
~BrianL