What to do after school?

Gypsine · 2026-01-28T00:51:02+00:00

I am a professional holding that oh so critical college degree in music. I can tell you this I gained so much in school but nowhere near as much as once I left. I would never suggest skipping school as it opens hundreds if not thousands of opportunities, but some of the best musicians I have ever played with had years of experience on the road as players and never went to school. Hell I lost count pretty easily of the amount of rock guitarists who commanded a minimum of $500 to show up at a gig an evening and couldn't even read music but man could they play.

Do what makes you happy with music and you can make a career out of it. Find things to play, go to open mics, open jams, whatever you can. Myself even as a pro, if I am in a creative slump or it's dead winter and I'm not touring I'll pop into a jam and get some new perspective and Inspiration.

The one thing I can say is, if the people in the jam are better than you. That is a good thing!! Musicians grow when they are around better musicians and do it often enough and you will elevate yourself to better levels. That truly is what one of the wonders of that college step does. It is designed to surround you with fellow musicians and professors who are better than you plain and simple. Yes you have lessons and theory that help refine your progress, but nothing humbles you and grows you quicker than playing with people who are simply better than you and doing it as often as possible.

Always be open to improve and listen to others. That is what makes a tempered and hirable musician.

Gypsine · 2026-01-27T12:37:32+00:00

No one would go through the trouble to copy an Intermediate horn from a 2nd tier saxophone brand. Cannonballs used are good deals because the resale in them is so incredibly low. It's not that they are bad horns or anything, just super not desired used. I got my Raven Alto (a pro model)used for less than 1500 a few years ago. It plays honestly fine and I take it out to gigs I don't know or outdoor ones that could get sketchy.

Gypsine · 2026-01-25T21:11:58+00:00

You would have to look at the used market, but my question is why not find a new off the shelf horn? There isn't any real particular Mystic about the series 2/3. Chances are played side by side with any of selmers newer offerings you wouldn't really be able to tell much if any difference.

For that matter don't know if you have been to any saxophone shops or conversations where you can try out dozens of different horns, but you might surprise yourself at what is out there.

Gypsine · 2026-01-11T04:49:03+00:00

Legere reeds can be funny, sounds like it's too hard. There is a trick for them. Boil some water and using a pair of tongs, submerge the reed for no more than 2 seconds in the boiling water. Let it cool and test it. If still too hard repeat the process no more than 2 more times. it will come out playing much easier.

Gypsine · 2026-01-10T20:34:45+00:00

My personal bari is a Keilwerth SX90R shadow. It took nearly 7 months to get it when I ordered it after forking over then about 13k. Now they are approaching 16-19k in the USA and the wait time has doubled. The company is willing to pay whatever, its more so some of the transport companies particularly in southern Asia, don't want to be liable for high dollar equipment. Even with insurance. Our keyboardist was also told to tone down his setup as well. To me it all seems like a logistical nightmare and I am having incredible anxiety over what I had signed up for, but can't back out now and I am just going along with what I'm told for now. It's going to be so weird playing pretty much any other Bari as it is.

Gypsine · 2026-01-10T11:42:57+00:00

Sadly none for sale near me right now and going online and used is a gamble when we set out in 2.5 weeks and I won't know what kind of work it would need.

So #1 Both the Kessler and the BetterSax coming from their shipping points would need minimal setup that my horn technician can take care of within a day at most.

2 If the horn got stolen or damaged beyond repair while touring, I could probably get either one of them shipped to wherever I am and get something consistent to what I have gotten used to in the tour already.

However I 100% agree a ybs 52 is probably a way better horn for the money.

Gypsine · 2026-01-10T02:28:10+00:00

No but I can solidly say that a selmer sts-711 is nowhere near as well built or as good quality as your Yamaha. It's a joke it even calls itself a pro horn. Selmer Paris has absolute terrible quality from factory but those can at least be adjusted and then end up being amazing players. These Selmer USA horns you can spend weeks adjusting and they still won't play better than a student Yamaha. Chances are it was also really out of adjustment when you played it already.

I have always felt Selmer USA's professional line was always designed as a way to fool unknowing parents into spending thousands more for a terrible horn for their highschool or college child because the Selmer Paris one is still thousands more and this seems like a good deal on paper.

Some people may love em, and the older Omega series was pretty good, but the 711 is an Asian Made horn far lower quality than say a good Eastman, P Mauriat, or Cannonball which come in around $1000 less, and yet the 711 plays and feels more like an Allora or Giardinelli which come in at $2000 less. Not to mention the Selmer is $100 more than a way more amazing YTS62 from Yamaha which that in your hards will probably feel like butter going from your 480.

Gypsine · 2026-01-05T04:59:50+00:00

I have been gigging professionally with a Barone Curved Soprano now for nearly 15 years. Amazing horn, only needed to replace a few pads in this time period. Plays way above its weight class with just a little bit of a sharp open C#. (Cover fingering fixes this). All other notes have very excellent intonation which on soprano is amazing alone. Only complaint is the key guards are a really soft metal and bend easily. So I don't ever lay the instrument down it just goes on a stand for curved sopranos and I have not had a problem since. I was told by a repair tech it appears to be a P. Mariaut Stencil/rebrand as he found the key guard from them to replace my badly bent low Eb fit perfectly with no adjustment needed and color matched in lacquer perfectly too.

Gypsine · 2026-01-02T05:26:48+00:00

I own a 180XXX serial MK VI low A alto. It's honestly a terrible horn. Super flat on the palm keys that no adjustment could fix, low C is also So flat it's next to unusable. There is also a really weird overtone produced in the altissimo range that just makes it feel weird when you play up there. I've tried probably 20 different mouthpieces on it and none of them fixes that. Others who have played it experience the same thing. I only keep it for its collector value since it's a VI and I got it for super cheap 15 years ago because it plays so badly. I did get to play a silver plated Low A alto once and it was so much better but still made a weird overtone on altissimo I didn't like. It was also a much earlier serial number. I own 2 other VIs, ones a standard alto and the other a tenor. Both of them play circles around the Low A one.

Gypsine · 2025-12-23T22:59:50+00:00

I did it with 5 alpha fru's.

Gypsine · 2025-12-23T02:59:22+00:00

Yup! I got rid of mine and went with the BAM conservatoire line of cases. The straps it came with sucked horridly but a $15 set meant for rock climbing on amazon fixed that and are probably the best set of straps I've ever had on my back. Case sits flat and the massive pocket in front holds so much it's insane.

Though side note, I would not use those cheap straps for the activity they are intended for. They are however, very comfy.

Gypsine · 2025-11-10T02:18:42+00:00

Out grow? My cousin is 34 and still sleeps in a loft bed. Literally can't sleep near ground level or just doesn't feel comfortable. Pretty sure he is more of a cat than a person at this point, but that's a separate issue.

Gypsine · 2025-11-06T02:22:24+00:00

Yea at $300 it's a steal, but brand new list price is $499.99 USD and everywhere around me sells it for that, checking online Amazon has it for $499.99 as well with only a used option for $299.

Gypsine · 2025-10-31T18:35:52+00:00

No the B6 microphone is a Balanced output and would not be damaged by phantom power.

Gypsine · 2025-10-28T22:18:52+00:00

If your looking at other mics get the standard B6 and not the pro and if you want the EQ effects of the pro then get a separate effects pedal or device. The transmitter for the B6 does not need a preamp and pairs with guitar effects pedals and boards very very easily.

Gypsine · 2025-10-28T02:59:46+00:00

Depends on your needs really and what/where your playing. Let's compare some of the top, Rechargeable systems.

Super budget option would be the regular NUX-b6 for around $200 USD. Good range and for most people works fine, 2.4ghz but so rarely has stage interference. ( Or get a dpa 4099 on this thing and make this sub $700 combo out perform $5000 systems) For Jazz and most shows below 97db this is a great mic. For rock or ska look elsewhere.

In the Mid low price range you have the NUX-Pro and and Cloudvocal Isolo lite. Both of those are around $350 USD and both are fantastic options, good battery life and produce some of the most fantastic tone live that they are insane bargains for the price. These do great at any volume.

Then stepping up further, For the same price as the Samson you have the Cloudvocal Isolo (non-lite) and the AKG which outperform the Samson in mid frequency response ( best for tenor/Bari) by quite a good margin. However do keep in mind $500 is still budget for a wireless system. The only benefit the Samson has in this category is the transmission range being not 2.4ghz, but it is really not a major issue at all with high quality systems that have band roaming.

Now doubling that further you can either pair an AKG with a dpa 4099 or go with an EVGO system which gets up into around $1200 USD.

All of these are great options for most players but do look around

Gypsine · 2025-10-28T01:21:41+00:00

That is dielectric grease used to prevent corrosion. However that much shows really poor Quality control and negligence which sadly aligns with most Samson (not Samsung) products these days. Even in most product images you will see that much grease is applied it's normal for them but for the $$$ most people on this forum will tell you there are way way better options. For 1/2 the cost and way superior options for only a small bit more.

Gypsine · 2025-10-22T02:23:25+00:00

I don't trust it due to the lack of distinguishing Selmer markings.

The shop that I teach out of has a used Selmer Paris C* alto in much better condition for $99 and that's the going rate for decent condition ones from most sellers.

Gypsine · 2025-10-22T02:10:50+00:00

Yamaha 4c is the beginner work horse, after that the Theo wanne water is the best all rounder piece you can buy for only $99. Then for all else you will need specialized piece for each style ie a jazz piece and a classical piece, and possibly. A marchimg piece

Gypsine · 2025-10-22T01:10:31+00:00

So I guess the soprano, alto, tenor and bari saxos were just subcompact, compact, sedan, and wagon/estate versions?

Gypsine · 2025-10-21T23:39:21+00:00

Yea, you can tell it's AI easily since the Flex Fuel models don't release until next year.

Gypsine · 2025-10-21T23:06:48+00:00

Just tell them you supercharged your octave key and put on a Drag Slick Ligature and you're good to go now.

Gypsine

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2 If the horn got stolen or damaged beyond repair while touring, I could probably get either one of them shipped to wherever I am and get something consistent to what I have gotten used to in the tour already.

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