How can a beginner tell if a saxophone is in good shape?

sushidushi

I have recently bought online a very cheap alto sax from music123. It's an Allora student model, so I know it's not going to be quite as good as your Selmer Paris horns and do on, but perhaps one day...

The saxophone hasn't yet arrived, but when:bar: it does I will want to check.it over to ensure that all the bits that should be attached are in place, that the pads close and so on. I have never played a note on the saxophone and I don't know anyone who does play it. With that in mind, does anyone have any suggestions on how I might sensibly test it out...?

Thanks for any thoughts. You don't have to tell me that I should have bought a better horn... :)
 
I would suggest taking the sax to a local instrument repair shop and asking them to check it over for you and give an estimate of what it needs to be put into top condition.

Even the more expensive saxophones often need some minor adjustments after shipping for the pads to close properly. Since you are not yet familiar with the saxophone keys and fingerings, it would be difficult for you to try to access its condition yourself with a leak light.

Congratulations and good luck with your new sax. I am not personally familiar with the Allora student model, but I did find this review by Greg Vail---a respected professional saxophone player.

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=206474089401000
 
Many thanks. That's a good suggestion to take it to the local music shop. I gather that one of the main people there is a saxophonist, so I might try to have a word with him when I pop in to get some reeds - probably Vandoren blue box and 2 or 2.5 strength.

Thanks for the link. I had seen that review and hope it is genuine and that mine is as good as the one he tried. It would be a real bargain then!

Simon
 
I'd also recommend trying to get lessons from that saxophonist, too. It's easy to play the sax badly and it's more difficult to unlearn bad habits.
 
If the shop you take it to is a full fledged music store that sells instruments, don't be too surprised if they are less than enthusiastic about your new purchase. Retailers can be testy when you buy online then come to them for help and advice.
 
The saxophone has arrived! I asked in my local music shop about getting it looked over - especially as the Bb key was sticky, but was told that they don't do repairs on cheapo Chinese instruments, as they always give a warranty on repairs and some of the cheaper instruments go wrong so often that it becomes uneconomical to do repairs on them. Fair enough... :)

I did however, at the man's suggestion, pick up some cleaning papers - not the powdered ones that I gather can cause long term problems if the powder residue gets wet and sticky - but the plain ones almost like big cigarette papers. I wasn't hopeful that they'd make any difference, but the pad doesn't stick at all now, so I am happy about that!

I will try to get lessons as soon as I can. The sounds coming out of the saxophone are not at all pleasant so far. And I can only make it go very loud. It is early days, of course. My soon, who has been playing clarinet for about two months is rather more successful at making it sound like a musical instrument.
 
SOTSDO said:
Hey, don't you talk about me like that...
Click to expand...
Someone's begging for a title change to include the word "sax" ....

:p

I'm fairly sure I've mentioned this elsewhere, but I'll repeat it: the "test" given for what kind of instrument you were allowed to play, in my grade school, was the director handing me a mouthpiece and me attempting to make a noise. No prior introduction. Because I couldn't make a noise on the trombone mouthpiece, I asked to try clarinet -- the instrument my grandfather played. I could make a noise out of that.

It was a fairly stupid way of determining what instrument you should play, of course.

Anyhow, sushi, if you're having severe troubles, ask the instructor about it. If the instructor's not a sax player, I recommend finding an instructor that is.
 
I think in my case it's just that I'm an old man.trying to learn new tricks (licks?).

I am getting a bit better at getting a slightly more steady sound out if it since I first tried yesterday, so I'm not feeling too discouraged just yet. But I still hope to have at least a few lessons to set me on the right path. Having a Bb key that pops back up after being pressed down should be helpful.
 
Gandalfe said:
Here's hoping that you are using the correct Bb fingering (there are four ways or more to do a Bb). I learned with the 1 and 1 fingering and fought that training the rest of my life!
Click to expand...

I haven't got as far as any Bb yet! Not deliberately, anyway.
But I'll be sure to bear in mind that there are different ways to play many of the notes... :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom