The Bundy II is a student horn that i recomend mainly fer the young beginners because they are tanks and easily tuned. But once you can develop your tone past being a beginner, they sound best un over by a truck. Buy it only if you need a beater to use for marching band. As for the Monique, I have a new one and am quite impressed with it. You will hear lots of badreveiws based on the first ones to come out, but the quality is quite different and better on the new ones, making them worth another look.

I'm not a big fan of Bundy horns. They are fairly well made for an inexpensive horn, but as definition said, they sound best when being run over by a truck! The Conn 16M is probably one of the best tenors to start out on. They're a very solid, well built horn with good intonation and they play very well. The Conn 6M alto is hands down my favorite for a beginner. These horns have the underslung octive key (placed on the bottom of the neck) which helps protect the key from being damaged. They're a very solid built horn. As for the Monique, they're better than some of the imported Asian made saxophones that I've seen, but they are definately a beginner model. I recently played a Monique soprano, and I thought that it played well for an inexpensive horn. In the same price range, I'd consider an EM Winston over a Monique.

any advice on this horn I found on eBay? cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3769865377&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT I understand that I'm taking a risk goin on line, but having trouble finding a horn in my area (SF) that I can afford, that is not a piece of junk. Any advice re: mimimizing risk of on-line purchase (this seller seems to have a good record...for what that's worth). thanks again

hey everybody - here's another horn that looks like it might be in pretty good shape - any thoughts? thanks again, and hope I'm not being a "sax-pest", but very happy to have found this site...

cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=16234&item=3769344626&rd=1

Nice student model Selmer.

The serial number indicates that it was made in 1970, not 1980. This sax was most likely manufactured in Nogales, Arizona. I generally shy away from Conns made after 1968. This one appears to be in good condition and might make a decent begginer instrument, but the Nogales horns are only slightly better than those made in Mexico.

btw, I OWN a bondy II, and I think it sounds best run over by a truck...