Cheap Tenor

[Taylor Ward]

Can anyone recommend an inexpensive tenor for a beginner?

[john]

Yamaha student models are good YTS-23
Prelude is Selmer’s student models which are good and probably the lowest entry for a Selmer.

Look for a used one. Don’t know if you’re planning on buying from local ads etc but sometimes on Amazon you’ll see these types of horns as used also.

If you start expanding your efforts towards eBay stay away from the 200-300$ Chinese made, these things won’t play.

[Kickyano Lee]

Dear Johnny
I played Alto Sax both a cheap chinese made and Yamaha well, recently I got a cheap chinese Tenor Sax.
But I have problem with low register key E and F, the sound is always same as high register (octave key pressed).
Another low register key D, G and A are sometimes sounds high but it might be my embouchure was not correct.
However for key E and F I have tried many times but did not change, I do not know whether it has problem with the pads (leaky pads ? but the sax is brand new) or the mouthpiece?
The mouthpiece is come with the sax but the reed I use RICO Royal Jazz # 2S
If you can give me some idea and advise would highly appreciated.
Regards

[john]

Look at the octave pad – not the one on the neck, but the one that’s about 3 inches below the neck (there are 2 octave pads on a sax) when you press the octave key with your thumb It should move from fully closed position to opened when playing those notes.

Some Chinese saxophones are made so badly that many don’t play well if at all, so I’m skeptical right from the start but do have a look at that first, it is possible that you can get the thing playing if that is the only problem.

[Author]

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