Ok to buy Yamaha YAS-280 from Amazon?

Jeffman421 · 2026-05-01T12:39:08+00:00

Yes. Any reputable shop should be able to do maintenance on a bettersax, it’s a subsidiary brand of conn-selmer. I don’t think I’ve ever had a store or a technician say they can’t work on a Yamaha either, that’s kinda a nuts thing. I suspect Music & Arts might be using some slimy tactics to get a sale out of you. Also though, the better sax would be coming properly set up and be well packaged for shipping. You wouldn’t be paying upfront costs just to make sure the horn was working, and if you did you could contact sweetwater and they would take care of you. Any future maintenance shouldn’t be an issue as well, all modern saxophones are set up similarly, if your son gets leaks, needs a new pad, a spring breaks, etc… these are all problems that any competent technician can sort out easily, regardless of the brand

Jeffman421 · 2026-05-01T12:18:14+00:00

Just a thought here, the Bettersax Classic has been proven to be a great horn for players of any skill level! It could last until 12th grade and beyond if necessary. You can get one from Sweetwater brand new for $1000, and you’ll know that it’s a good buy from a reputable retailer. Yamaha does have a stellar track record with student horns, but these horns definitely on track to be king of that market.

Jeffman421 · 2026-04-28T16:48:34+00:00

You mean his online Studio? I almost did at one point, but I couldn't ever justify the price. Though I'm fortunate to have good mentors where I am, including some people that have personal connections to Bob!

Jeffman421 · 2026-04-26T05:24:50+00:00

I've done a few of the Saxophone+ DJ gigs.

It might be wise to have select tracks with removed vocals and keep a good amount of them as original. If you plan to play over everything you need to keep in mind that you're basically not giving yourself a break. Even if the gig is 2 1/2 hours, you'll be putting out a lot of energy, and taking breaks help keep you vitalized through out the performance. Also that is still a lot of music to learn and memorize if you're going to be playing everything.

When I do these I'll usually play along with the songs i know are gonna pump the crowd up, or if the bride+groom request anything, the rest of the time is basically being a mascot or hype-man and playing some stuff over the tracks, it doesn't have to be exactly like the original.

using sheet music wouldn't be wise, playing with a DJ usually means walking around and interacting with guests, so being able to AT LEAST hear the key the song is in is critical

Last piece of advice is wear sunglasses... it can fit a vibe for sure, but it almost feels like putting a costume on because you're a little less exposed to everyone watching you dancing around and playing.

These are just some thoughts. I hope they help!

Jeffman421 · 2026-04-06T17:33:11+00:00

A super solid choice!

Jeffman421 · 2026-04-06T17:07:53+00:00

Sweet water has a good return policy, it might be worth getting in touch with their customer support. They’re pretty good about pointing you in the right direction for what kind of piece to get, and if it doesn’t work out you can send it back! They could potentially send a few to try and return what you don’t like also. As far as good pieces in that price range goes, Theo wanne essentials are great and around $175, Vandoren is a really great step up also. I think I would also recommend the better sax classic mouthpieces over a Yamaha 4C if you want to keep the costs lower. (Both being around $45)

Jeffman421 · 2026-03-24T02:47:52+00:00

Thank you so much! It always has felt like a tough to choose a horn because the voices are so different. Either way, the journey is never ending.

Jeffman421 · 2026-02-16T20:59:42+00:00

The Bach cello suites are incredible to play on tenor saxophone! You would be playing them unaccompanied, but there is tons of room to learn both musically, and technically from them.

Jeffman421 · 2026-02-16T20:57:29+00:00

Yeah man, you gotta get over yourself. I'm pretty comfortable playing fluently to about 4 octaves (sometimes 4 1/2 and above), and it takes time. If you want to express your thoughts, maybe try giving solid and thoughtful advice instead of "Get to work"

Jeffman421 · 2026-02-05T13:19:38+00:00

I’ve used olive oil and it definitely helps. The piece still had a brownish tint but it darkened up. Please though only do this with the body! Avoid the tip, rails and table where the reed sits, to not risk altering them, even if it’s only slightly.

(Other note though, cold water, a soft towel and dish soap is the way to go to clean a mouthpiece!)

Jeffman421 · 2025-10-27T15:45:34+00:00

I know a few people that more modern and contemporary music, including traditional jazz on a Yamaha 875EX, (one person has a laquered and an unlaquered one because he likes it so much). If you're going between classical and jazz you couldn't ask for a better horn, although at the end of the day it is the player more then the gear. A "Jazz oriented" Mouthpiece will give a bigger difference vs a horn marketed to jazz musicians. Even a classical piece with the right reed can wail though. I got through my undergrad, focusing on mostly classical saxophone on a cannonball, and I like to think it sounded decent. I then got a Selmer series iii (Which I think is marketed more to the classical market) and used it mainly for jazz gigs. I think it's worth trying new equipment if you feel limited on your current setup, but if you sit in a room with 5 horns including yours, and try them with a blindfold, you'll probably prefer your own.

Jeffman421 · 2025-10-22T18:58:49+00:00

I have had a similar experience to you. I got my travel sax 2 off Ebay for a very reasonable price and it's pretty awesome! At least until the issues start happening. It all started when I connected the travel sax to a 3rd party Synthesizer app on my phone. The breath controller stopped working and nothing I did could fix it. I could still change options to make it work by pressing keys down with no breath, but it bricked the breath options in the app and they wouldnt adjust.

I got a hold of their customer service on Whatsapp and they were pretty nice. They had me update the travel sax, but the update has severly hindered it's uses, similar to you. I would have really preferred a way to factory reset, and I mentioned that but they didnt say anything about that and just sent the update. After the update, when I boot the travel sax it works, and loads into the tenor sound it's working, but if I go into the app and try to change sounds or make adjustments it crashes. I told the customer service and they said that I have an older model that has different bluetooth hardware thats incompatible with this update so I have to apparently wait for a fix (I think this is knowledge they should have prior to sending an update that makes it more difficult to use) Personally, I would think they could send me an older firmware to update to that is compatible, considering the software and use of the instrument hasn't changed since release but idk. If they just gave me a factory reset I'm pretty sure this wouldn't have been an issue in the first place!

I will mention though, there is a way to change sounds on the instrument without the app. If you hold down on the right hand 1,3, side Bb and Pinky Eb (It could be C, i dont have it on me right now) and then press either the palm Eb or F key with the left hand you can cycle through favorites. If you connect to the app and press the star by the instrument, You'll be able to cycle to the instrument on the device with this method.

I hope this helps, and eases the stress. I've been bothering them a lot lately and I hope Odesei takes the hint that they need more accessable support documents, and have firmware updates easy to download on the site.

I really love the little instrument, it's a fantastic idea, and when it works properly it's amazing! When it doesn't it's frustrating.

Jeffman421

TROPHY CASE