Re: What sax is the best
I'll take a stab at this although your question is rather vague...
(the following are alto models but they're usually made for soprano, alto, tenor too)
Modern Beginner Horn
- Yamaha 23 (Definitely a solid beginner saxophone that is sturdy and plays well. The intonation is virtually equal to modern professional horns and can beat virtually every vintage horn intontionally)
Modern Professional Horn
1) Yamaha 62 (The difference between I and II isn't a whole lot. Good horn for budget)
2) Yamaha 82z (You should try this as a lot of people like it and it's one of the cheaper professional)
3) Yamaha 875 EX (Supposed to be more for classical players but can play jazz and classical)
4) Yanagisawa 901 (It's a great intermediate model)
5) Yanagisawa 991 (An underslung neck, however not a true underslung. Excellent keywork)
6) Selmer Series II (A solid player but is not cheap)
7) Selmer Reference (One of the most expensive modern horn. One of my favorites)
Vintage
1) Conn 6M (This is a true underslung, however the keywork is not that great like most early vintage)
2) King Zephyr (Like 6m the keywork isn't that great, big sound... the precursor to the famed super 20)
3) Balanced Action (I can't remember if the one I played was SBA or BA. This saxophone is pretty much the pioneer of keywork. Virtually all the modern saxophones are modeled on its keywork or similar* I think*)
4) Mark VI (A very good sound *on the one I played* and is definitely the most famous and expensive saxophone. You should try this one...)
There's a lot of other great horns but those are only the ones I've tried before.
- William Chen
Reply To Post