I have played one on a few occasions. It was a school owned Vito, but was a vintage horn and in good working order. If nothing else, practicing on it will make your sound on an alto or tenor HUGE! Nothing spells air support like playing an axe 4 times the size of an alto.

It's definitely got a pair. Also, have you ever seen a contrabass? I would love to own one just 'cause it's, like, seven feet tall.

Hey, I'm 16 and I am fortunate enough to own a bass saxophone (and that's about it). It's a 1917 Buescher. As for the new basses, there are 4 different types out there today. Aside from the Selmer and Keilwerth, there are the Eppelsheim and Orsi. The Eppelsheim bass is still in the development stage, but some people have contacted him directly and special ordered a bass. It is the strangest looking bass saxophone ever! I would recommend to get a vintage bass or the Eppelsheim. The vintage basses tend to be much cheaper. Mine was $6000 and came with a custom gig bag and flight case (as opposed to $11,000+ for a new bass). The only downside of the bass is that in order to play in a school band or in other groups, is that you either have to learn to sight-transpose from baritone sax or tuba parts, or you have to find written bass sax parts. Or, if you have no life (like me) you can sit at home all day and transpose the parts in a computer program like Finale. But the bass sax truly is an awesome instrument to own and play! Pictures of my bass: www.myshizit.z280.com/applejack/images/public/saxophones/bass_saxophone/Bass_Sax_Gallery Eppelsheim "Bassax:" www.myshizit.z280.com/applejack/images/public/saxophones/eppelsheim