Saxophone Forum


by saxjazza22
(13 posts)
20 years ago

inexpensive vintage saxes- anyone know where I can find one?

Hi, does anyone know where I can find an inexpensive vintage saxophone? I am a middle school student and just got into the jazz band, and my teacher said my cleavland sax just wasn't good enough for his band. He recomended getting a vintage sax. Since I am just a student, I only have about $300 to spend. Anyone know where I can find a good vintage horn for that price? Thanks

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  1. by cfsatb
    (11 posts)

    19 years ago

    Re: inexpensive vintage saxes- anyone know where I can find one?

    Considering your budget, I agree w/ the commentator that said "fix your saxophone & get a good mouthpiece." This may be old school, but a Selmer C* is a great classical/all round mouthpiece & the Meyer mouthpieces are the most common alto mthpcs that pros that I know use. (Tenor sax: otto links) good luck!

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  2. by sax_maniac
    (984 posts)

    20 years ago

    Re: inexpensive vintage saxes- anyone know where I can find one?

    Your teacher is a moron. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, have your horn (King Cleveland?) set up by a professional and get a decent jazz mouthpiece/reed setup. $300 won't get you a vintage horn that much better than you already have. You have to start looking at around $800 before you might find something vintage that is decent. Otherwise, it's just old and would need lots of major repair$. A middle school jazz band doesn't need a sax line filled with Mark VI's. He must be a brass player...

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    1. by Jack Cici
      (87 posts)

      20 years ago

      Re: inexpensive vintage saxes- anyone know where I can find one?

      YOU CAN FIND GREAT DEALS FOR VINTAGE SAXES ON EBAY.THAT'S WERE I GOT MY 1922 KING ALTO SAXOPHONE AND IT WORKS GREAT!IT HAS ROLLED TONE HOLES,G#TRILL KEY AND ROLLERS ON THE LOW KEYS.I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT YOU BUY A USED SAX FROM EBAY

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    2. by saxjazza22
      (13 posts)

      20 years ago

      Re: inexpensive vintage saxes- anyone know where I can find one?

      Great! Thabks a lot! I really appreciate the help. By the way, your right. My teacher is a trumpet player.=)

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      1. by sax_maniac
        (984 posts)

        20 years ago

        Re: inexpensive vintage saxes- anyone know where I can find one?

        22 - If it makes you feel any better, I recently had my hands on (and have since passed off) a King Cleveland 615 tenor. It had the original King mouthpiece (and original everything else) and the combo had a fantastic jazz tone. If I didn't already have my "keeper" tenor, I would have been elated to have such a great sounding set-up. I don't know the whole King Cleveland lineage and don't know what version of the Cleveland you have, but I'll say that the 615, when properly set-up (as I pat myself on the back) is a great jazz horn that doesn't cost a ton because they're in low demand. Again, it's possible that you just need a more appropriate mouthpiece and a once-over by a tech to get things set up well. What kind of mouthpiece are you using?

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    3. by sax-and-flute
      (2 posts)

      20 years ago

      Re: inexpensive vintage saxes- anyone know where I can find one?

      Hi! For $300 you'll get neither a vintage sax nor a good new(er) one. The only thing I can tell you is that Selmer vintage saxophones are much more expensive than saxophones by Conn or King for example. When you decide to buy a new(er) one I can recommend a Yamaha, Yanagisawa or Borghani for example. They all are cheaper than Selmer.

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      1. by Jack Cici
        (87 posts)

        20 years ago

        Re: inexpensive vintage saxes- anyone know where I can find one?

        IF YOURE LOOKIN FOR A CHEAP USED SAX GO TO EBAY.I BOUGHT A 1922 KING THERE FOR $112!INEWER SAXES I'D RECOMMEND ARE KEILWERTH,SELMER,CONN,AND YANI.I ALSO THINK THE CANNONBALL SERIES IS A GOOD BRAND.

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      2. by chiamac
        (586 posts)

        20 years ago

        Re: inexpensive vintage saxes- anyone know where I can find one?

        not to sound like a jerk here... but I don't really know of any middle school students that could need a new sax. Unless of course they are either; really good, or have a really crappy sax. I personally don't think somene that age is demanding enough on the sax, or could really tell or exploite the differnces between a really good pro horn and a decent student one. Also, $300 isn't going to cut it. You would need at least $800 or $1200 for something worth stepping up to. Spend some of that $300 on a new mouthpiece and a overhaul on your horn. also, it's aduatious that a middle school teacher would "tell" a student to get a horn! Shoudln't they be more worried about keeping their students in band and sparking some intrest in music insted of telling them their horn is crap? as for new horns and stuff, don't worry about all that yet. You still have a good 2-3 years at least before you would out play your current sax.

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        1. by saxjazza22
          (13 posts)

          20 years ago

          Re: inexpensive vintage saxes- anyone know where I can find one?

          hey everyone! Thanks for the good advice. Any idea on what brand of jazz mouthpiece I should get? Thanks again

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        2. by saxjazza22
          (13 posts)

          20 years ago

          Re: inexpensive vintage saxes- anyone know where I can find one?

          Hey saxmaniac, I decided to look for vintage saxophones on ebay. I got a great deal! I bought a 1925 king alto sax, with a new case, and a selmer jazz c* mouthpiece for $250! I just recieved it today, and it plays wonderfully! Anyway, just wanted to prove your thery of "you can't find a vintage sax under $300" wrong!=)

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        3. by sax_maniac
          (984 posts)

          20 years ago

          Re: inexpensive vintage saxes- anyone know where I can find one?

          That's really cool. Sounds like you got a great deal on a good horn, and I'm genuinely happy for you. I've gotten some good finds off eBay cheap, and for the same price, I've gotten some real dogs, too. There's quite a few horns that come through under $300. You just never know, usually, what you'll end up with. That mouthpiece is worth at least $90-$150 to begin with, so you really scored! I consider buying sax gear an odds game (I doubt I said "can't", by the way. If you buy a horn for under $300, the odds start getting slimmer that it will be a good player, so I generally don't advise people to go that route. But I guess that's part of the excitement of the treasure hunt... You might just get lucky.

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      3. by sax_maniac
        (984 posts)

        20 years ago

        Re: inexpensive vintage saxes- anyone know where I can find one?

        Well, "what kind of mouthpiece" is one of those questions that has a million answers. If you have the opportunity with a local shop, try out mouthpieces to see what works for you. Money is a consideration as well. My personal recommendation for a hard rubber piece would be a Vandoren Java A45. It will have a nice jazz tone but not too edgy. If you want a very edgy sound that leads, the Jumbo Java model does that well. Otto Link Tone Edge pieces, to me, are oddly named because the tone is not edgy in my opinion. Those are good pieces, too, but don't really differentiate substantially, tone wise, from standard legit mouthpieces. If you're interested in trying out metal pieces, I would recommend either an Otto Link Super Tone Master 6 or a Selmer metal Jazz C* or C**. The Selmer is brighter than the Link. I've not been impressed with Dukoff pieces. They seem to require some hand finishing even when they're new, and I don't think a beginner (or anyone for that matter) should have to face that sort of problem right out of the chute. I'm sharing my opinion based on my experience with the above. Surely there are other options, but maybe this gets you in the ballpark.

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      4. by SaxMan
        (559 posts)

        20 years ago

        Re: inexpensive vintage saxes- anyone know where I can find one?

        to answer the original question - there are very few vintage saxes that are expensive - only the selmers and kings really get a high price, conn, buescher, martin, all the rest can be had for a quite low price - you cna get a conn porttrait for about 1500. there are a few rarer models that really go for a lot, but you would know when you see ht ose.

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      5. by saxjazza22
        (13 posts)

        20 years ago

        Re: inexpensive vintage saxes- anyone know where I can find one?

        Has anyone ever heard of the claude lakey jazz mouthpiece? Know if it's any good? Thanks

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      6. by Jack Cici
        (87 posts)

        19 years ago

        Re: inexpensive vintage saxes- anyone know where I can find one?

        i got my 1922 king for $112.it works great

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