New Saxophone Squeak

[Dazza]

Well I got it checked out and it appears it’s junk!. The grained Bergs which were purported to be great squeaked and squarked like a bird and before I even sent it to the mouthpiece tech he said straight away, rubbish unless they have been worked on. When he got it he confirmed it. I can’t bring myself to resell it knowing that so I donated to him to see if he can do something with it and hopefully I might see a discount off another someday. The bigger news it that my beloved Yamaha alto 62 is on ebay with 40 views and 10 watchers in the first day. I have given in to the tenor tidal wave and going to go for it as my main horn. I have always loved the sound and the draw is even more powerful listening to Johnny. Maybe one day I will grab another but for now the tenor is king! Probably leaning towards a Yani 800 or Yamaha 32 but still yet to decide. It wont be the dream tenor first up but it will give me the chance to put some more money into the MP. For those who play both, is it a big challenge stepping up to tenor for the first time???

[Anonymous]

I think for a beginner that very wise
to stick to one horn!
You know the saying “Jack of all trades
master of none”

Lots of pro’s i know, play both saxes,
clarinet & flute to a professional level
in jazz bands! but they have to do that
for a living, if theres no sax parts in the
band they aren’t earning, so the reason
for other instruments. But in most cases
they tend to have one main instrument.

For me i would find it too much too difficult be
getting used to the quirks of 2 different
instruments!

[jake]

Hey Dazza, I alternate between 3 saxes (Alto, tenor and bari).. They all play with the same keywork so they do play the same. At first the tenor was a little bit more challenging in terms of supplying the air and diaphragm support to give the tone a full and robust sound. After a little bit tho, it becomes natural. My biggest issues and still are, was maintaining the support to make the notes high D and above sound manly!! They still have a tendency to sound weak but it is improving. If you look on the blog, Johnny has a topic and video regarding this very challenging aspect of the sax. It was harder achieving the fullness on the tenor for me.
But in saying this, the tenor is my GOTO sax!!! Just love it, especially after hearing Johnnys! Of course this is all personal preference. Like sxpoet says there can be some subtle keywork differences if you switch between saxes for sure. On my bari, the left hand pinky keys have a different configuration than my alto and tenor but I adjust fine. I would pick the sax you want to be on (sounds like the tenor) and go for it! Most of us here are older and why put off what we have been dreaming of!!
1 last thing in regards to switching horns, I find that newly playing the bari sax has made an improvement in my air delivery on the other saxes! I feel that my lows on the tenor now are a little easier getting them from the get go. Just put in the time and you should be just fine!! Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

I wanted to buy a Selmar Mark VI,
but when i read a lot of the online
reviews about all the different quirks
people had about playing them,
and finding one out of six they only
liked in terms of handling when
playing, it put me right off them.
What they say now is you if you don’t want
the hassle of finding one you like,
buy the latest selmars out, then its
more down to how you like the sound!
Sounds like driving a vintage car, you
have to get to know its little niggles,
and cater for it in playing?

[jake]

yea sxpoet, i’ve read many of the same comments. I dont mind spending a few hundred on a sax online but when it comes time to purchase “THE SAX”, it will def be a try before you buy. I recently tried a cannonball tenor. I’ve heard decent things about those saxes. But when i played it i didnt hear any difference from my hawk tenor. the search continues.

[Kevin]

Dazza, I began my quest to learn to play the sax by choosing an Alto- YAS-52 Alto sax. Don’t know why I chose that instead of tenor at the onset, but after beginning to gain knowledge of the sound/tone I wanted to achieve I decided I should try a tenor. So one year ago this month I bought on ebay a used Gary Sugal Series III Tenor Saxophone. It is the only tenor I have ever had in my hands so I can’t make any comparisons yet, but I am pleased with my purchase and it will serve me for now or until such time as I begin to test and compare other horns to this one.
After getting the tenor I thought my Alto would stay in it’s case, which it did for about 2 months while I was getting acquainted with my new tenor. Then my career got so hectic that my practice time went to virtually nothing from March thru June 2014, then I had my accident that broke 4 ribs and collapsed my left lung. So once I began to get back into playing my horns, I grabbed my Alto because it took less lung capacity to play. My tenor hasn’t seen much play time in 2014, but I’m now beginning to include it more now that my lungs are getting back to 100%.
So my input would be that you might want to have both horns to play. I would miss not having my Alto around, though the Tenor may become my instrument of choice as I learn and progress…
But moral of the story- “you never know when you might get a collapsed lung”, and need an Alto for your rehab!!

[john]

Wow, what a story! So sorry to hear that you had a colapsed lung. Man that sounds tough without the mention of even trying to play a saxophone. Hey maybe playing it will be a positive for rebuiding your health?
I have had all 4 popular types to play (S,A,T,B) and have enjoyed them all. It’s amazing because they are all saxophones yet they are different. The way they sound and feel. Switching over from one to another is such a feeling no matter which one because of the size difference. I would never try to convince anyone to play this one over that one or to say one is better than the other because it isn’t. It’s just a personal preference like food. There was a time in my playing career that I actually carried my soprano along with my tenor to gigs. It was good to have it there for certain tunes etc but it takes double the time and effort to set both up and take care of them with mouthpieces and reeds etc and so I stopped doing that. But in a perfect world I would love to have 4 different saxophones at least in my home studio. If you have the time and money I don’t see why you wouldn’t want more than one.

[Anonymous]

Wow – looks like i’ve rattled a few cages in here! Lol
It’s great to hear everyone’s view, and to see how passionate everyone is about the Sax.

It’s only my opinion that i think a “Beginner”, should get to grips with one instrument,
to start off with, and if he feels comfortable adding another 3 Sax’s at the end of the year!
Well good luck to him! Bigger man than me! Lol

[jake]

i wouldn’t look at is rattling cages, when it comes to the saxophone, i feel it comes down to personal preference. everyone is going to have their own opinion about what right or wrong. i dont think there is one right answer it comes down to what the individual thinks. if one wants to play on various saxes im sure there are benefits and negatives associated with improvement. one has to weigh where they feel they are at and what they want to achieve and go for it. my overall goal is to play the sax along with some locals and maybe do some rock n roll gigs locally. im not aiming to be the next “Johnny Ferriera”, although that would be amazing!! I feel I started to later in life and to achieve that level isn’t a practical goal along with the time to commit to the sax. while working full time with family and kids its hard to practice as much time on the sax as i would like. As johnny stated each sax has a different feel and tone to them. so funny how they are the same yet very different.
you are entitled to your opinions as everyone else. keep em coming, that’s how new ideas get generated!!

[Michael]

Everyone is making fantastic points here, and that’s the beautiful thing about the Saxophone: no matter which Sax we play, or which Saxophone(s) we play it’s all great. That’s a cool analogy that Johnny made about it being like food, I wish I had thought about that example a few weeks ago when I went with my nephews to the music shop for some guitar strings they needed and the guy over the counter said I was wasting my $ by getting a Pro Model Alto instead of a Tenor (at the time my wife didn’t tell me she had a Tenor in the works–but my mind was, and still is, set on a Trevor James Alto). When I asked him why he felt that way, I remember him saying that all the best Sax players in the world are Tenor players! I just remember laughing and tellling him that, with all due respect, I’m the one spending over $3,000 on it and I love the Alto and asked him if there was anything wrong with it?

How ironic that Johnny mentions about how he used to bring a Soprano with him to his Tenor gigs…I have a Soprano in the works for this coming year 🙂 I was going to do a video to play the Piano lines of the theme song with “St, Elmo’s Fire” with a Soprano and then do the Tenor Sax solo lines too–I think I even talked to Jake about it a few months ago that I have it in the works. I have the sheet music for Bb Saxophones and the Piano lines are very easy……..How awesome would it be Johnny, to see you do an upload with the Soprano!!!!! There’s some ultra-great songs King Curtis did with Soprano Sax 🙂

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