 The Doublers BBoard
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Author: dtiegs
Date: 2011-05-13 23:58
Hi!
I have a multitude amount of interests, two of them just happens to be flute and alto saxophone. In the future, I've made up my mind already, that I will go through college and stay with the clarinet as my main instrument. I do realize that most musicians are able to play more than one instrument, and do occasionally play on the sidelines with them. I am looking for a flute and an alto saxophone that is affordable but also of good quality.
Are there any models out there that you would recommend as an intermediate instrument?
I am open to anything*
Thanks...
Dtiegs
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Author: oboesax
Date: 2011-05-14 13:50
I think the best way to find good quality instruments that are not too expensive is to try out used instruments. At least in our experience, the quality of brands has changed, and the only way to find a good fit is actually play a variety of instruments and compare them.
I play flute, and my daughter (age 15) plays all the woodwinds (main instruments are oboe and sax), so we have been trying out instruments in this way. I do think that whoever is trying out the instrument should be a very good player on the instrument however. My daughter found a great used soprano sax in NYC by trying out a number of sopranos there, but she could already play one very well. She found a great soprano made by a company we'd never heard of. When she wanted a piccolo however, I went to the local music shop and tried out about 10 used piccolos myself. My daughter isn't good enough on flute/picc to be able to pick one out by playing them herself. When she was buying her (pro) alto sax last year, she'd heard that Selmer was the best model, but by trying out all the models she found that Yamaha worked much better for her (small hands, Selmer is too much of a stretch). Her Bundy alto sax worked well for her for about 5 years. When she needs to rent a tenor sax (for musicals), she'll go to the local music shop and try out about 6 tenors, including some older professional models. She usually ends up picking a Bundy.
For flute, I'd start out trying Gemeinhardt and Yamaha, but I'd want to try out anything the store had, including used pro models that might be priced lower.
If you want a new instrument, the best way is to attend a flute fair or the sax symposium, and try out all the models on the floor.
Other people will have different experiences; that's ours.
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Author: Oboelips
Date: 2011-06-15 18:00
You do want to take someone when trying out instruments who is a fully functional performer on whatever instrument is is that you are looking for, to check the mechanical condition of the instrument. BUT...that being said, YOU must spend some time auditioning these instruments too. You'll need one that fits YOU. Know that if you are auditioning 5 flutes of the same make/model/brand, there will still be differences, even though they are sold as being the same. Find the ONE that works best for you. Many flutes feature a hand-cut embouchure, and it is essential to get one that works with YOUR hardware (shape of your mouth, teeth, etc). Take the extra time, you'll be glad you did. Intermediate instruments are often called 'step-up' instruments. It usually pays to buy the best quality that you can afford.
Good Luck!
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Author: DrewSorensenMusic
Date: 2011-12-04 22:12
I second yamaha for both. My first flute was an intermediate yamaha, and I got a lot of use out of it, practice and paid performance. Now I play a Miyazawa 602 with Drelinger headjoint, but I wouldn't go that far yet. Get a solid silver headjoint and silver plated body on ebay, take it to your repair guy for pads, and you got yourself a great horn for cheap.
You have two options for sax, new or vintage. For new, yamaha again is good, although I haven't played their intermediate or beginner models, but I've heard good things. I play a Yamaha Custom 82Z and it plays like a dream.
Vintage saxes are a horse of a different color, but a horn that has amazing tone that is way underpriced is the Conn 6m (alto) or Conn 10m (tenor). There is lots of info on these horns on the internet, they are frequently called "naked lady" or "lady face" because of the engraving of a woman's head and neck line on the bell. I would suggest going new until you know what you want to sound like, but these horns are amazing. I owned a 10m for a while, and I miss it sometimes.
Be prepared to try lots of reeds and mouthpieces to find what suits you, but a good start for mouthpieces is a meyer size 5 or vandoren v5 size a15 for alto or T15 for tenor. I play a vandoren v5 a17 for alto, and will play a t27 next tenor call.
Reeds, well, you probably know a bunch from playing clarinet. I don't like vandoren reeds at all. Lots of people like vandoren blue box, so you could start there. I think they're too inconsistent. I play hemke 2.5, and I love them. I can't stress enough how much I like their tonal spectrum. Other good ones are Rico Lavoz or Rico jazz select.
A side not, I'm a doubler, so I don't play classical sax. I've never had a call for it, and truthfully, there's not a real need for it.
(Sorry if I offend any classical sax guys, but truthfully, many classical instrumentalists of the other instruments cringe at the sight of a sax in the orchestra, and it sounds so great as a jazz instrument. Plus, I'm pretty sure any musicals use the sax as a jazz voice, so that's my two sense)
I play an R13 greenline clarinet, Fobes Cicero 13, Fobes barrel, Rico think blank 4.5, and on all my instruments I play Rovner dark ligatures, I think they're great.
Don't take my word as gospel, it just works for me. Good luck
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