 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: tanoh
Date: 2017-07-17 06:15
It is unfortunately time to sell my beautiful alto clarinet for a tenor saxophone. The alto clarinet has gotten little to no use in the year and a half that I've had it and I've been wanting to sell it for a new tenor saxophone. I have practically 0 knowledge about anything relating to saxophones and so I was wondering what good intermediate model saxophones are on the market? Also what mouthpieces and ligatures are good for a tenor?
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2017-07-17 09:22
Well you can spend a lot of money on horns. Some used Mark 6 Selmer's can cost 6 to $8000.
Or you could buy a horrible horn from China for $250 or less.
A great horn that plays in tune is put out by Oleg. He often buys and fixes up horns as well. He makes some very nice necks that can change an average horn into a great horn. Whats special about him is his amazing ear. He can hear harmonics very well, often known as overtones. I have a few of his products. www.olegproducts.com
I started playing the clarinet in the 4th grade and the saxes in the 5th grade. So I can play both very well. His horns tune better than any horn I've ever played. Maybe he has some really great used horns which he's worked on.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: jthole
Date: 2017-07-17 09:53
There is a *lot* of choice in mouthpieces; which genres do you want to use the saxophone for?
Regarding brands; Yanagisawa is worth looking, very nice saxophones. And of course Selmer, which I believe keep their value more than the Japanese instruments. Below these two (and Yamaha) there are several Taiwanese brands.
Buffet Crampon has a nice line of French made saxes, but also several student level instruments made in China. I would avoid those.
If I had to choose, I would start by looking at a Yanagisawa T991 or T992.
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2017-07-17 11:42
If you're looking to get started with the tenor, I wouldn't overlook vintage American-built saxes from Conn, Martin, and Buescher. Some of the deluxe models from these makers' second-line marques--Pan American, Indiana, and Elkhart--are also good performers and excellent values.
I've got a Pan American alto from the '20s and it's a Conn without the microtuner neck and rolled tone holes. Lovely, lovely sax.
As jthole mentioned above, mouthpiece choice depends on what you're planning on playing. Many players would suggest getting started with a Selmer C*.
I don't find ligatures on saxophones to be nearly as critical as with soprano clarinet; I prefer a plain ol' 2-screw metal ligature on saxophones and suggest you use the same for the time being.
As far as your alto clarinet goes...music is a lifetime pursuit. Why not just hang onto it? Someday, somewhere, you'll be in an band...the director will want to give Lincolnshire Posy a go...and you'll be there...with a proper alto clarinet.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-07-17 15:21
My recommendations for new tenor saxes are:
1. Yamaha
2. Yanagisawa
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: MartyMagnini
Date: 2017-07-18 04:06
I play lots of tenor these days. To my surprise, many of the Taiwanese instruments are of very good quality now - much more so than 5 or 10 years ago.
I have played and owned many tenors in my day, including a Mark VII, a King Super 20, and a Yamaha pro horn. I'm telling you, these new batch of instruments are really, really nice - especially for the money.
Specific brands that get good reviews from peers (and myself) are:
Eastman - specifically the 52nd street horns - very nice for the price - built like tanks, great intonation response, etc.
Sax Dakota (what I ended up with). Again - this surprised me - the quality, intonation, build, was all impressive. It's as nice a tenor as I've ever played (I chose the raw bronze model)
P. Muriat - I don't have personal experience with these horns, but they get very good reviews from people I trust.
Viking. A very nice line of instruments. I bought one of their tenors for my son - I don't like it quite as much as my Sax Dakota, but I wouldn't hesitate to play it on a professional gig.
Sometimes, people can be resistant to change, and I'm sure to many I'm speaking sacrilege. Don't take my word for it - try a Yamaha, Yanigasawa, etc., then try an Eastman or a Sax Dakota and see if you don't think they stack up quite well. They tend to run about half of the price of the traditional top-of-the-line horns. I'm not a huge fan of the older stuff - some of them have really nice sounds, but almost all of them really have to be babied to be played in tune - not so with these new horns (and to be fair, not so with the Yamahas, Yanigasawas, etc.). I LOVED my King Super 20, but it was harder to play in tune than my Sax Dakota is. Just my 2 cents - try some!
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2017-07-18 06:47
I don't know whats wrong with me being a Yamaha Artist, yes look at Yamaha's. Great prices and top quality.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-07-18 19:00
I know Mauriats get a lot of rave reviews from PLAYERS, but you should be listening to the reports made by REPAIRERS who've had the unenviable task of working on them as they will give you the absolute lowdown.
Put any sax in a players hands and they will only comment on it from a player's point of view. Even some top players have given rave reviews on Chinese saxes.
But you need to get under the skin of any instrument which is something players don't tend to do. Take a magnifying glass and inspect every element that's gone into making any sax and that should be the determining factor.
I know someone with a Mauriat alto and he's regretting his decision as he has fallen out of love with it and prefers to borrow a Yamaha 275 alto from someone instead of using his Mauriat alto as it's much easier all round for him. At the time he liked the Mauriat, but then the shine (even though it's got a scratched finish) wore off very quickly.
It's not all about how shiny or antique it looks, if it plays like a modern day 10M or has rolled toneholes, abalone touches, blah, blah, blah - that's all superficial stuff. Take into consideration the quality of the build and finish, the quality of materials used in its construction, the fit and finish of the keywork and rod screws, the ergonomics, the tuning and the potential long term playability or desirability.
Another new maker I wasn't particularly impressed with was Lupifaro - I worked on a brand new tenor which had a leak in the crook 8ve vent (not soldered in properly) and I found the keywork was very thin in places and wasn't made very well - I'd have expected to see that sort of thing on Chinese saxes.
Even brand new Selmers aren't without their faults - far too many faults for a company with such heritage.
There are now a couple more Japanese companies besides Yamaha and Yanagisawa offering saxes - Azien and Forestone. I don't know if they're made entirely in Japan or are (like so many new saxes) made for them either entirely or in part by Taiwanese, Vietnamese or Chinese companies. I need to look into these more, but no-one I know owns nor plays them.
Azien: http://www.sax.co.jp/sax_e.html
Forestone: http://www.forestone-saxophone.com/saxophones.html
But if you want a known entity, I'd say stick with Yamaha or Yanagsiawa as both are well established and well respected makers.
Yamaha tenors are unique as far as modern tenors go in they don't use the LH main action layout based on the Selmer design - they have an independent LH3 key instead of it running directly over the top of the Bis key pad cup. The only other saxes that do that are older American models or Buffet S1/Prestige tenors. But all Yamaha tenors (except the old 21 and 61 series) are built with independent fingerbuttons just like an alto. It also means both hands are slightly closer together than on a Selmer or Yanagisawa.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Burt
Date: 2017-07-18 19:44
I've been happy with my Martin tenor (1954?) and alto (1960?).
As for mouthpieces, are you looking to play jazz, or concert band? One of the standards for jazz is the Meyer, and for concert band, Selmer S80(?).
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-07-18 19:59
Another popular and probably the most popular tenor mouthpiece for Jazz is the Otto Link (from 6 to 7*). Either in ebonite or metal.
If you're doing more concert band work you need to have a mouthpiece you can control - so don't go for a tip opening any wider than a 5 (or Selmer D) with a suitable strength reed for you. This is especially important when playing low notes below E with a full tone at quiet volume levels. Learning to control the low notes on tenor sax is one of the hardest things to do.
I see so many concert band tenor sax players with completely unsuitable mouthpieces for the type of music they're playing and they have no control over it, so their volume control is all over the place and they sound like they're frying eggs with all the crackling going on.
So pick the mouthpiece or mouthpieces that are suitable for the kind of playing you intend to do.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: gwie
Date: 2017-07-19 12:32
The Yamaha YTS-62 is an excellent, reliable, in-tune, tenor sax that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Check out the silver-plated one at ~$3500!
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Author: Wes
Date: 2017-07-19 22:28
Recently, I've bought two Allora tenor saxes on auction for $95 and $160 which needed repair. After I did the repairs, I found them to be good intermediate instruments and I sold one for $90 to my gym teacher and gave the other to a granddaughter. I don't know how good they are when new.
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