Brass Instruments > Alto Saxophone Brass Instruments

Advantages: Well made and durable. Good for beginners - easy to play with good intonation
Disadvantages: Factory made, so lacks the individual tone of those hand made saxes (eg selmers), and the tone is obviously not as rich as professional models

...and works well with the yamaha mouthpiece it is supplied with (4C). This sax has a reasonable tone, but it is obviously not as good as the tone of the more expensive professional models. The YAS-23 is no longer made, and was superceded first by the YAS-25, and then this was replaced with the YAS-275. My favourite of the three is the 25, because I find this has the nicest tone, and i also find the keywork design is best on this, although the 275 does ...
...features of the more expensive yamaha saxes, and they are also well made by yamaha, who are regarded as one of the best student instrument manufacturers in the world. These saxes are normally supplied with a plastic yamaha mouthpiece (4C) and in a hard case, with adequate pull-throughs and cleaning equipment supplied. While the case is solid, and protects the sax well, it only has one carrying handle, and does not benfit from either a shoulder strap ... Read review

Advantages: Cheap for a saxophone, decent sound, good, reliable manufacturer
Disadvantages: Some parts not that robust, need to shop around for best price

I was recommended the Trevor James Artemis Saxophone (Eb) by my music teacher when I began learning the saxophone about 7 months ago. It was recomended mainly due to price, and for the price I am pretty sure that there is not much better out there. I have realised that it is a 'beginners' sax as the tone is not as rich as a more expensive one, nonetheless it is perfectly adequate for the beginner and I expect to keep it for some years, and, though ...
...this as a spare rather than pass it on. It is a fairly good looking saxophone, not that this is very important, what is important is that all the keys and mechanics work well. Considering the prices that most saxophones are, there is no doubt that more people would play if it was widely known that this saxophone can be purchased for around the £220 mark, though it is advertised at up to £400 in places. Added to this the instrument comes with a ... Read review

Advantages: An amzing vintage instrument, with that classic sound which most saxophone manufacturers strive to achieve.
Disadvantages: Its hard to find these saxes in good condition for sale, and if you manage to find one it'll probably cost you near to £3000!

...were handmade and engraved by Selmer (Paris) in the late 1950's and early 1960's. They are reckoned to be the best saxophones in existence, and almost all of the major jazz saxophonists played on them (john coltrane, wayne shorter, stan getz, michael brecker, sonny rollins played one at one stage and the list goes on.) The main feature of these saxophones is their incredible tone, which is deep and rich, and these saxes are also easy to play. Intonation ...
...ever played, except the new selmer reference alto, which is modelled on the mark VI, and is very similar to it, just with a few bits of tweaking, such as improved intonation and some improved keywork design, and I believe the reference to be the perfect alto sax! I would reccomend the Mark VI to saxophonists of a high standard, looking for a sax with a classic tone, but I would not reccomend it for beginners, who may find it hard work to get the ... Read review

Advantages: Incredible tone, easy to play, good intonation - everything you want in a sax!
Disadvantages: It's quite pricey - around £2600+

...and it looks spectacular. Selmer have also recently started making a version in an antique matt finish and not engraved, which I don't like as much, but it still looks impressive and sounds great. I would reccomend this sax to any saxophonist, but at this price, it is more likely to be used by professionals, who will make the most out of this fantastic new horn from selmer, however it is easy to play, so if beginners can afford this and wish to ... Read review

Advantages: Lovely rich tone, redesigned more comfrotable playing position
Disadvantages: None

This well made saxophone from Yamaha is aimed at the 'professional' end of the market and pits itself against the likes of Selmer and Yanagisawa. I bought this sax just after taking my grade 6 ABRSM exam and despite a few hitches at the beginning I have been very pleased with it. I previously played on a Juipter 500 series and found the change from the Jupiter to the YAS62 quite hard due to the weight and slightly different key position/shapes. ...
...covered hard case in black, yamaha custom 4C mouthpiece and sling. The YAS62 is of a medium weight and weighs roughly 2.5KG. It has a superb, smooth key action owing to the Blue needle steel springs which provide a much faster response than other competitors. This particular sax has a slightly unusual low Bb key action which I found hard to get used to at first, but now find it a lot easier to make the transition down from B/C# to Bb compared to ... Read review