Saxophone Forum


by D.OLIVER
(1 post)
11 years ago

SAXAPHONE PURCASE

Hello and wow, what a eye opener on the brand name issue. I am looking to purchase a Sax for the first time and take lessons. My instructor has always played with a Jupiter and I love the Jupiter 889sg. THEN of couse I met Dominic and he said as a beginner I should start Alto as it is easy to blow then move to Tenor. He did say the his DC Pro Also was a great start but then recommend a Selner model La Voix 11 that is priced compairable to the Jupiter. I have read about Dominic but I have hear the one sax plays incredible, the DC Pro large bell horn ALTO.. 
Any advise on if a beginner should start Alto or Tenor? And thought on the Jupiter 889sg?? Any advise would be great as I am getting close to a purchase but now more confused than ever. I'm a huge Maceo Parker fan by the way. Any advise would be great and I wanted to ask if anyone with your compnay has played the DC Pro large bell? Thank you for your time.

D.O in Denver 

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  1. by Saxquest
    (420 posts)

    11 years ago

    Re: SAXAPHONE PURCASE

    Hi Daryl-
         I started on tenor and had no problems as a fifth grader learning on tenor. I think its entirely up to the individual as to whether alto or tenor would be better to learn on. My honest opinion is play the horn that you hear in your head. If you're drawn to the tenor sound then play tenor. If you're drawn to the alto sound then play alto. Especially as an adult, you won't have issues regarding size. The only limitation some young beginners have on tenor is that its just simply too big.

         As for the DC Pro. Yes, I've played on this sax and we've seen them come through the repair shop. Its a decent student model saxophone but it doesn't come very well set up from what we've seen. If you can get into one for $500 or under then its probably an OK purchase. However, my personal opinion is that a good old American made King 613 or 60's vintage Buescher Aristocrat or 400 would be head and shoulders better if set up and ready to go. But if you're set on getting a new horn the DC Pro is about as good as anything else in that price range. Just make sure it comes with a maintenance warranty. We've had issues with pearls falling off and as stated above the setup has not been very good from what we've seen. So, it may need to be serviced to maintain proper regulation.

    Cheers,
         Mark Overton
         www.saxquest.com

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  2. by Elke
    (10 posts)

    11 years ago

    Re: SAXAPHONE PURCASE

    I don't know how old you are, but unless you are a small child under the age of 10 (I'm sure you are not), it is not an issue to start on tenor. I have started kids on both tenor and alto and the only issues were either hand size (common problem in 4th or 5th grade) or lung capacity (not usually an issue, even with kids).

    Go for the tenor if that's what you want to do!

    Elke Overton

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