Alto Saxophone (E flat)

Which sax should I start with?

The alto is the easiest sax to learn on.  If you wish to hire a sax that you can play for many years,  the Yamaha YAS-275E (£39 per month) or the Trevor James "The Horn Revolution II" (£29 per month) are both excellent saxes.   You would only need to upgrade from these saxes when you start pIaying professionally.    If you hire one of these saxes for a child under 18 before 30/06/08, I will reduce the rental of the Yamaha YAS-275E and Trevor James Horn Rev II to £19pm.

However, if these are too expensive, you could start with an Esprit or Keilwerth Evette alto for £15 per month.  The Esprit is made exclusively for me by the world renowned Trevor James who are renowned for their "Horn Revolution II" range of saxes.   The Evette is made by Keilwerth who are renowned for their professional level saxes and have recently developed the Evette as an excellent student sax.

The Esprit an Evette are excellent student saxes which are ideal for learning on and playing on your own at home for fun.  However, when you start playing with others in groups etc, you would need to upgrade to a sax with better tuning such as the "The Horn Revolution II" or Yamaha YAS-275E mentioned above.  If you upgrade during the 6 month rental term, the rental paid on the Evette or Esprit would count towards the price of the Horn or Yamaha.

Intermediate / Advanced

Yamaha YAS-475 / YAS-62 -superb build quality and tone, ideal for professional playing.

Tenor Saxophone
(B flat)

I recommend that beginners to the sax start with an alto and transfer to the tenor later.  However, if the mellow sound of the tenor is what you love and you have a lot of puff, go for it!

Student

The Trevor James "The Horn Revolution II" (£39 per month) or Yamaha YTS-275EJ (£45 per month) are both excellent instruments, the build and tone quality are both superb.  You would not need to upgrade for years (if ever).   However,  if these are too expensive, you could start with a cheaper Artemis  for £25 per month and upgrade later.  The new Yamaha tenor is currently £29 per month for  parents hiring the instrument for a child under 18 years old having regular lessons

 

Intermediate/Advanced:

Keilwerth & Yamaha YTS-475 / YTS-62  -superb quality and tone, ideal for professional playing

Soprano Saxophone 
(straight  B flat)

I do not recommend the soprano as a first sax unless you have played clarinet, flute or oboe to about grade 5 standard.  This is because the soprano is difficult to keep in tune for beginners.

The Yamaha YSS-475II is an excellent soprano.  It has a beautiful warm tone and the build quality is superb.

If this is too expensive (£39 per month), the Trevor James "The Horn Revolution II" is an excellent instrument (£25 per month).  I have both the straight gold lacquer, all black, black and gold and a full silver plated one in stock.  The curved soprano is ideal for children too small to hold the alto. The new Yamaha soprano is currently £39 per month for  parents hiring the instrument for a child under 18 years old having regular lessons at school (or with me):

Not for the beginner! 

The Yamaha YBS-62 is my favourite baritone.  However, if this is too expensive, the YBS-32E is also an excellent instrument.