Upgrading my sax~Any advice???

[FireBug25]

All right, the thing is I'm still in high school and have been playing on a Bundy II since I was 10. I need to upgrade my horn for college but I don't really know what to look for. I've been looking at some saxes at a local music store and right now I'm trying out a UMI King 670 from them. It sounds great, I gues, but I really wouldn't know because I don't have anything to compare it to. And I think it's overpriced at $2500 and I don't want to get ripped off.
Anyways, my price range is like $2000-$3000. As nice as it would be, I don't think it would be a good idea to jump from a crappy student sax to a top of the line professional one, ( I don't know, does that make sense?) and I was just wondering if anyone has any advice on what makes and models I should try. I had the opportunity to play around on some guy's Mark VI last year at a showchoir competition (I play a tenor in the combo) and I really didn't like the feel of it - so that's not the direction I'm going in.

I don't really know any ""pro"" sax players to talk to so any advice would be GREATLY appreciated ~thanks, Danielle~

[BobD]

I don't know what a King 670 is, tenor or alto? At that price range you can get pretty much any horn. Go for a pro horn from one of the big 4. Play a bunch and get the one you like. No sense in getting an intermediate horn if you have that kind of budget.

[BobD]

I don't know what a King 670 is, tenor or alto? At that price range you can get pretty much any horn. Go for a pro horn from one of the big 4. Play a bunch and get the one you like. No sense in getting an intermediate horn if you have that kind of budget.

[gary]

I'm assuming alto. You could consider:

Yamaha YAS 875 II
Yamaha YAS 82Z
Jupiter 869SG Artist
Selmer (USA) AS 210
Yanagisawa A 901
Selmer (Paris) Series II

I'm not current on used/vintage prices but I believe some good old (old does not = bad) Conns, Bueschers or Martins are in your price range. Are you going to be concentrating in jazz or classical or all-around playing?[/i]

[BobD]

Duh!!! I just realized you posted this in the Alto sax area. So to be more specific I think any of these would be great pro horns that you'll never out grow:

Yani 901/902
Yani 991/992
Yamaha 875
Selmer Series II
Selmer Series III(I think you can get them for around 3200 from USA Horn)
JK SX90R(in one of the 4 or 5 finishes)

The Yani's are very good horns. I really like the bronze series(902 and 992).

[MojoBari]

I think you'll get a lot of good advice here. I think the "big 4" for saxes are: Selmer Paris, Keilwerth, Yamaha and Yanagisawa. All make several good models and they hold their value over time fairly well.

As for the Selmer VI feel, most newer pro saxes have the same feel or a slight variation of it. They are ergonomic and you will most likely like them once you get used to it.

You can also consider a rebuilt vintage sax. Here, the key ergonomics are not optimal, but they work fine. There is a wider varity of tone quality available. But one may not be the best fit for you at this time.

What area do you live in? You'll need to figure out how to try some more brands. Big cities will have dealers with a selection. You can also try out saxes at various conferences and pro shows.

[goodsax]

I'm assuming alto. You could consider:

Yamaha YAS 875 II
Yamaha YAS 82Z
Jupiter 869SG Artist
<snip>
[/i]

FWIW, there's a Jupiter 869SG Artist right now on eBay, Item number: 2560676605 in the Alto Saxophone category, at $650 with '0' bids and only 4 days to go as of today. I have a Jupiter 889SG Artist tenor and it's a strong playing, high quality beauty.

[JfW]

I've never heard about the UMI King 670 until now. The 670 is listed on the UMI website as a "pro" type model, but taking a manufaturers word for it is rather haphazard at best.

I too would point you to trying out stuff from the Big 4 (Not a Selmer USA or any Keilwerth starting with an 'ST', however)

The pricerange you provide is rather generous and won't place much of a limit on your choices, so don't let your patience be the limiting factor in aquiring a fantastic horn. At that price, you should aim for no less than an instrument that you have no reservations in purchasing. By your own comments, it looks like you're not quite convinced that the King is as good at playing as you try to lead yourself to believe and being too anxious to bring finality to your horn search could lead you to make a bad purchase.

Don't be in a hurry. Look at this as a great opportunity to explore different horns and gain some personal expertise in models and makes so that you can give yourself an expert recommendation

[JfW]

To share some recent personal experiences with regards to altos I've tried recently (and I've played some rather good ones) I can point you to the following with a nod of my own personal approval:

Jupiter 869SG: looks great, plays with great clarity. not the best ergonomics, but okay
YAS 475: an intermediate, but a very good intermediate. More towards entrylevel pro
Antigua Winds A520-BC: Dark sound, somewhat focused tone. action and ergos were passable, black laquer is well done
Yamah CustomZ: Bright and free blowing. Great action with a jazzy sound.
Yanagisawa A902: great action and ergonomics. Deep tone with easy response.
Selmer Ref Alto: Complex sound, both robust and fragile. Great ergonomics, but needed a bit of setup attention

[tplyons]

I'm assuming alto. You could consider:

Yamaha YAS 875 II
Yamaha YAS 82Z
Jupiter 869SG Artist
<snip>
[/i]

FWIW, there's a Jupiter 869SG Artist right now on eBay, Item number: 2560676605 in the Alto Saxophone category, at $650 with '0' bids and only 4 days to go as of today. I have a Jupiter 889SG Artist tenor and it's a strong playing, high quality beauty.I agree, I bought my 869SG for $1100, you can get them at $1100 from music123.com and it's my main alto right now. Sounds good, feels good, but it's more of a warm sound for classical than jazz. All and all its one of the best saxes I've played in the price range.

[Vortex]

For $2000-$3000 I'd suggest a Selmer Series III. Most colleges won't necessarily want a "dark" tone, or a "jazzy" tone either. The Series III can be both, and is a strikingly great horn as well. If you look at the right places you can get one for less than 3k. Don't screw around with intermediate horns, go for the pro designs.

[MB-913]

FireBug25


If I have another chance to upgrade my Yana A-901, I will only test on 2 (because I already test 4 or 5 different model already) - Yana A-992 and new Ref alto. A Yana alto or soprano) never make you disappointed. For Selmer, you should have mental condition that it need re-adjustment setup (leak, keywork) even you like it's sound.

However, Even you have hundred advice & suggest, don't just depends on this information.
You should trust yourselves. Other people don't know what sound you like, don't know what keywork you prefer (may be you have a small hand? Big hand, Long finger or short finger?). So, just visit to a better instrument shop, test as many horn as possible.

[Sanborn_wannabe]

I know everyone usually suggesting going with the most popular four, but if you can find then, I would suggest play testing a Dave Guardala. After about a year of trying different horns I ran accross one and fell in love. Its the same horn I've been gigging with for the past 7 years. I like the rich tone of the Black Nickle, but the other Guardala's have a good tone, and great intonation. I'm a Alto player, but have gigged with a tenor Guardala for awhile, and loved it just the same. The feel of a Guardala is somewhat different than a Selmer Mark VI, which for me, was a good thing. And they usually sale online for around 2500 - 3500. But I would suggest skipping the middle man and go straight for a pro. You'll be glad you did.

[mr00420]

You can get a great to mint condition vintage horn for that money. Assuming you get a good one, it will have a nicer sound, the action will probably feel better, and it will have a much better resale value than one of these new horns (eventually maybe even higher than what you bought it for.) You could try a King Super 20, a Zephyr, a Conn "naked lady," and maybe even a Selmer SBA or MVI (if you're serious about spending up to $3000.) You also won't have to look at the ugly bright lacquer of a Yamaha or new Selmer. Anyway, go to a real woodwind shop and ask to try out what vintage and new horns they have ready to play in the shop... then decide.

[Saxydude]

You could always buy my Steve Goodson alto that I have for sale. The current price is $1900. It's a great horn, very versatile, medium (not bright not dark) tone. See my ad in the For Sale section, or e-mail me at: Saxydude05@yahoo.com It's a TON of horn for the price.

[beth]

if you didnt like the feel of the mark vi...try the yani (i play the 902). I love the keywork layout...its a bit different from selmer and the others, a bit more comfy...

[dingfelder]

i think these suggestions are great and are most likely a great help to all those pother high school students who have $3000 to spend :shock: but my assumption is that FireBug25 has most likely gotten his horn already since almost 3 months have gone by.

FireBug25, how about an update on what you settled on ?

[MB-913]

http://www.saxophones.co.uk/alto_sax_tests.htm

Take a look of this test report (It look like all the horn is good in this report,...promotion purpose is more...). However, at least you have an idea. If you have $2,000 to $3,000 budget, you have a width range of choice.

Do not trust Selmer is the only choice. For alto, Yana is excellent (also their soprano). If you like more bright sound, can think about a A-991 or UL A-991. If you prefer warm & dark sound, A-992 (Or UL A-992). These Horns are excellent built, very stable & consistent. May be no need to make re-adjustment like many Selmer horn. If I have chance to get a new alto (now is using A-901), Yana is still my first choice.

For Yamaha (YAS-82Z, YAS-875EX), they are also good but sounds more polite for my ear, lack of tone color & characteristic (as many player idea but just my personal feel).

[Harri Rautiainen]

You could always buy my Steve Goodson alto that I have for sale. The current price is $1900. It's a great horn, very versatile, medium (not bright not dark) tone. See my ad in the For Sale section, or e-mail me at: Saxydude05@yahoo.com It's a TON of horn for the price.
Saxydude,
Your For Sale ad is in correct area where it is right now. Spreading it all over is called spamming, and that it strictly forbidden here. The worst offenders have been banned from the SOTW Forum.

[Eulipion2]

Another horn that nobody's mentioned yet (I don't think) is the Yamaha 62-II. It's Yamaha's introductory pro model, but it's a very good horn, and if you're dead-set on spending your full budget, you could probably get both an alto and a tenor for the price, or it leaves you some room for a soprano...or you could always <gasp!> save the rest! :idea:

[SaxyAcoustician]

Eulipion2 is right. I think the days of spending $2500 for a horn are gone. The 62II has changed everything. You can conceivably get the alto and tenor for just over $3000. Imagine that: two truly professional level saxophones for the price of one! Something to seriously consider.