Musikfabrike

[Aravage]

A dealer wanted to sell me an alto sax with Musikfabrike engraved on the body--no other visible manufacturers ID on it. He wanted me to think of it as a cut above the Yamaha 23' and pointed out
a better placed key that usually is on the left side in a student sax, and that it was a little larger than the student sax, so that the keys were better spaced. I am grandpa, not the granddaughter who will play this instrument.

My reason for posting is that, mysteriously, I cannot find any mention of this brand on the Internet at all.
The instrument liked nice, had metal resonators on the pads, etc. Is it a good deal , or a Chinese unrepairable dolled up as a pro?

 

[pete]

Well, I can say that if you Google the name and nothing immediately comes up, that's generally a bad sign. If the horn isn't specifically stamped, "Made in [Country]," that's also a bad sign.

Comments:
* You should ask your granddaughter's sax teacher his impression.
* Some schools and/or instructors require you to get a Yamaha (or whatever). We've had a few discussions about that, here. Definitely something to consider.
* The Yamaha 23 has a proven track record of being a pretty decent and reliable horn. You can also get used Yamaha 23s in the $700 US and less range.

Oh. The Yamaha 23 is a student model horn. If a dealer says that the "Musikfabrik" horn is a pro model and just a cut above, I'd look elsewhere. As an example, the base Yamaha pro model, the 62, is significantly better than the 23. How significant is generally based on the price the 62 is vs. the 23 .

FWIW, resonators or lack thereof doesn't really mean anything. If you have a particular tone quality in mind and you're an advanced student to professional, resonators can help you achieve the tone you want -- but note that I used the word "help." A junk horn + great resos still = a junk horn.

There are a couple of horns primarily sold in the UK that have reduced keyed ranges and larger/more conveniently located keys, but those are generally intended for brand new young beginners. Personally, because there's not that much difference in price between one of these beginner horns and other student model saxophones, I'd just get a real horn.

I do applaud you for wanting to get your granddaughter a good horn. When I was a young'n I had to buy my own horns and that was sometimes very difficult.