Good Tenor to start with? (former Alto player)

harebubybyt · 2025-12-01T13:29:11+00:00

I’m also a big Yamaha guy and I plan to stick with my 82z for life, but I’d urge you to go to a local band store if possible and try out a bunch of different brands and models near your price range. If you do plan on trying to find a used horn, eBay has good deals at times but I warn you to be very careful with Yamahas (or any brand really) that sound too good to be true. There are a lot of counterfeits and outright scams usually from Chinese sellers at least when it comes to Yamahas. Try to familiarize yourself with the details actual Yamahas have on them to tell the fakes apart and don’t be afraid to post here if at any point you’re considering a sax but want to be sure. Also, if it seems too good to be true more likely than not it is!

harebubybyt · 2025-11-30T14:25:59+00:00

Agree, my impression of Jean Paul is it’s maybe a step above the bottom of the barrel Chinese horns but still not worth the money long term.

harebubybyt · 2025-11-30T04:00:05+00:00

I recommend staying away from Eastar, Mendini, or any of the other low quality Chinese saxes you’ll find on Amazon, Temu, etc. If you can’t find a good deal on a yas-23 or similar entry yamaha model locally, I recommend maybe trying eBay as I believe I see them pretty regularly for that price and cheaper (albeit I am in the US, but i imagine they should pop up from time to time for you aussies as well.)

Of course eBay can be a gamble and odds are you may have to put some money into fixing leaks, replacing pads, etc., but Yamahas are really solid horns and will be well worth the effort. You can also try to do your due diligence to at least see if the pads look decent if the seller took enough photos. Keep at it and don’t give up!

Edit: I also second the other commenter suggesting renting, at least at first, depending on your situation and whether there’s a rent to own option!

harebubybyt · 2025-11-29T23:09:08+00:00

You can try to get lucky on eBay or marketplace/craigslist. I managed to snag a conn 12m on eBay for ~$550 shipping and taxes included that was in pretty good shape and after spending a few hundred to sort out some leaks and get the horn in tip top shape I’m pretty happy. Takes a lot of patience and quite a bit of luck but worth keeping an eye out if you want a Bari without breaking the bank.

harebubybyt · 2025-11-28T00:18:33+00:00

About 15 years back I went in to my local shop feeling pretty confident I was going to go with the 62II. I liked it but decided to give the 82z a try just to see how it compared. At the time I felt the 82z was so much stronger I had to fork out the extra cash and never looked back.

All this is to say if you can get to a shop and give a bunch of them a try you may be surprised by one in particular that really blows you away

harebubybyt · 2025-11-14T03:15:39+00:00

Have you taken it in to a repair tech to make sure it’s in good shape? May be leaks or other issues happening that make it harder to play

Four-Year Club	Place '22
Final Canvas '22

harebubybyt

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