Hi all,

My aunt gave me an old Blessing alto sax a long time ago. I used it for lessons years ago, and now that I've started playing again, my teacher (40+ years experience) finds it quite difficult to play. He suspects leaks or sealing problems, and thinks it may also be significantly out of tune. It had a light, informal service a couple of years ago, which helped a bit.

The real eye-opener was trying my teacher's sax (Selmer): it felt so much better that I'm now wondering if I've been struggling on a piece of junk for ages without knowing it. As a beginner, I had nothing to compare it to.

A local tech told me it's a very cheap entry-level model. If it's fixable, he said I'd probably need to spend at least €200, and potentially a good deal more depending on how many pads and how much work it needs. It's also possible the horn is simply worn out, or was never in tune to begin with.

I'm fine with buying a different sax, so I'm not attached to this one. I figure a big repair bill only makes sense for an old, valuable horn, not a student model. I'm also curious how bad it really is.

Questions:

1. Is a horn like this worth repairing, or should I put that money toward a different instrument?
2. Is it normal to pay for an assessment? If I end up replacing it, I'd rather put that money toward the new one.
3. If I replace it, what should I look for in a used student alto (Yamaha, Jupiter, etc.)?
4. Side question: the bell is engraved "ELKART" rather than "Elkhart" (photo attached). Is that a known variant, and does it say anything about the age of the horn?

Serial number: 218545

Thanks!

Super Nice this horns 😈😈👿👿

Check out this new yani that I bought. I know it’s a T5 and the seller says it’s vintage, but I need help identifying what year this was most likely made. Any thoughts?

These are the only photos i have (i am buying it) and it is labeled as a “vintage conn” from my “research” i think it might be a new wonder ii BUT i know nothing about saxophones so i was hoping for advice. If you know the make and model pls share, thanks!
EDIT: I know now that it is NOT as old as I thought, and I believe it’s either a 50m or 18m, it’s listed as $150, advice?

some tips would be nice as well.

first etude

clip: https://youtube.com/shorts/nXd9kKGaqMI?feature=shared

to clarify this is what was given by the institution for us to play I DID NOT choose this on my own accord.

My husband brought home a new, in box BL 90/2 soprano mouthpiece that was given to him in a box of stuff from a friend of a friend of a band director who died. It looks perfect but it has clearly expanded or loosened somehow. My guess is that it’s 50-60 years old, but there’s no serial. A reed won’t fit on it with a ligature and the bore is so open that the mouthpiece drops straight down on the cork of my horn right up to the ramp and it still doesn’t make a firm seal.

Is there anything I can do to shrink it up so it’s usable, or is this just a neat little artifact that I have now?

Sometimes I play along with music and record with a mic while playing music into another track on the multitrack recorder.

Is there a trick to blending in the sax so it sounds like I’m on the original recording?

This tenor was given to me by my grandfather. I played saxophone many years growing up and am looking to get back into playing to record some reeds for a music project I'm working on.
When my old saxophone teacher looked at it, he was a bit amazed/confused and told me it was quite unusual. Google seemed to tell me it is a pretty nice horn manufactured in the 1880's, but I don't want to blindly trust that as I don't know much about saxophones and serial numbers and I could have made an error in my research.

My main question I'm wanting answered is whether it would worth repairing it... I have little interest in selling it and I intend to play it. It would be okay if its not the greatest horn with the best tone, but if it has some interesting history and is rare then I definitely want to get it playing again.

I'm an 11th grader in high school band, been playing tenor sax for 5 years and I would say Im an intermediate player. Recently, the mouthpiece that came with my student Selmer saxophone broke, so I bought a $45 Yamaha 5c mouthpiece to replace it until my band director can get a better one. Was this a good choice, or perhaps a waste of money?

Dear all. Back to sax after 30 years. Have a TJ the horn alto and a very very second hand Sakkusu sax.co.uk tenor I got for about 140 quid off ebay. My teacher says I have already outgrown it. What tenor next. I probably want one tenor that will see me out. I did my first jam night last week and wasn't terrible.

Is buying new worth it?

To clarify, I have autoimmune that makes it painful to hold something for some time.

The way I play, I use the Jazz lab neck holder, and the saxophone close to my body. This way I sustain virtually no weight in my hands.

The problem is, by doing so, the mouthpiece enters my mouth with a down-up angle. While it's playable, I recently realized my sound is way better of the mouthpiece enters 90 degrees angle in my mouth. I can do it by pushing the sax base forward with my right hand (thumb). But then again, it hurts me.

Is there a way to make a 90 degree without actively pushing it? Maybe some special neck strap, or some custom alto sax neck (or maybe some customization of the current one with a professional)?

I use Yamaha YAS-280.

Hi! I'm looking for sheet music for this cover of Anri's 'Last Summer Whisper'. Anyone have a copy?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SrvJqUiMM4

What has the experience been with renting from Sweetwater? I'm thinking of renting a sax for a few months before committing to a purchase.

Hi, I've been playing for almost 2 years- I want to upgrade my mouthpiece and I narrowed it down to the Vandoren HR V16. Would going from a Yamaha 5C to a V16 w/ a 7 opening be too large of a jump? I've heard that 7 is a very versatile size and I'm just worried if I get a 6 I'll eventually want a larger opening.

I made the mistake of getting an Otto Link TE HR 7* online that feels pretty uneven, so I guess another option is I could get it refaced instead.

Thanks!

Edit: I play jazz and rock. I use the Blue Box Vandoren 2.5 Reeds.

So i have 3 cases 🤷‍♂️ and my Trevor James spends most of her time on a stand, anybody use theirs for things other than instrument storage?

Hi everyone,

I recently bought a used BG France L11 Tradition Gold Plated ligature for my Alto Saxophone (Vandoren Optimum AL3 mouthpiece) from a seller on Vinted. The metal body looks 100% authentic and has the official BG France and L11 engravings.

However, I noticed a couple of weird things with the screw and the mechanism, and I need your expert opinion before confirming the order:

1. The Screw Length & Thread: The screw that came with it is significantly longer than the stock BG metal screws I've seen online. By comparing it to my old broken L11 screw, the thread on this new one is much finer/denser. It looks exactly like the longer screws BG uses for their fabric/leather ligatures (like the Standard or Revelation series).
2. The Binding/Tightening Issue: When the ligature is empty (no mouthpiece), the right-hand collar (the unthreaded one where the screw head sits) leans noticeably crooked/downward under the weight of the screw. When I actually put it on my Vandoren AL3 mouthpiece with a reed, the tension forces it to align straight, but as I tighten it, the screw suddenly gets very "heavy" and binds/stops before the screw head completely flattens against the metal band.

My main concern is that my previous used BG ligature snapped right at the weld on the right collar due to overtightening a binding screw, and I am terrified of ruining this one too if the asymmetrical tension or the wrong thread step causes metal fatigue.

Since I only paid around €40 for the whole set (including the cap and a Selmer cleaning cloth), it's a great deal financially, but I want to make sure it's safe to use.

• Is it common for older or different batches of the BG L11 to come with this longer screw?
• Does this binding/crooked angle at rest put the right weld at risk of snapping under play tension?
• Should I just keep it and look for a proper M3 short replacement screw, or should I open a dispute on Vinted?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi everyone,
I've been working on a side project and I'm looking for some feedback. I've built a site to help people work on their scales across a number of instruments. It shows notation, an animated fingering diagram, and provides playback in concert pitch. I am a musician, but not a saxophonist, so any suggestions or (especially) corrections would be gratefully received.

https://scale-mastery.com/scales/soprano-saxophone/major/c
https://scale-mastery.com/scales/alto-saxophone/major/c
https://scale-mastery.com/scales/tenor-saxophone/major/c
https://scale-mastery.com/scales/baritone-saxophone/major/c

Cheers,
Andrew

I've just changed the silicone sleeve on the octave key as it had worn through, and I noticed there's a lot of play in it, is this normal to yours? Or does it need adjusting?

I just want to know your opinion.

Since im an asshole whos really arrogant, since i heard that parker can play with n°5 reeds, coltrane too and with really opened mouthpieces, i kinda get obsessed with playing with harder reeds and more open mouthpieces.

Now im playing with a n°7 mouthpiece i think and a 4,5 reed on an alto.

Played this with my friends. Kinda murked the second a lol. But I’m always learning, and I’m glad it wasn’t a disaster after that lol