My first sax!

[Angel Noel]

So I got a Vito as my first saxophone and would love to know your opinion on wether is it a good begginner saxophone and any other recommendations you may want to add!
[img]https://howtoplaysaxophone.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/i7ae8-578.JPG[/img]
[img]https://howtoplaysaxophone.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/o23h0-577.JPG[/img]
[img]https://howtoplaysaxophone.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/27r3b-579.JPG[/img]

[bill thomas]

I am not real experienced, but I think Vito’s are great. I had a tenor Vito, only sold it to buy an Alto which I can play better. But I think the Vito is very good.

[john]

yes they have been around a long time and I think you will have a great horn for several years.

[Michael]

Come this fall, it will be 18 months that I’ve been learning from Johnny and I use a Vito Alto Sax too. He’s absolutely correct; they’re very good Saxophones so you’re good to go. Mine is off to the shop on Monday to get some much needed servicing though–it’s finally gonna get serviced 🙂 It’s getting completely 100% serviced, pads, keys, everything. I started to have had problems with the side palm key used for playing high D as well as the high bis key used for Altissimo G stick like crazy not too long ago. Still in the works of getting a Trevor James Alto Sax coming.

[Angel Noel]

Thank you all for the feedback! Also, got any idea of how much does it cost to do a complete servicing?

[Michael]

I would think that every shop is gonna charge a little differently, but I’m paying $350 to get it 100% serviced–and they are servicing everything on it; from the pads to fixing a the keys that have started to get stuck. I am in the works of getting a Trevor James Pro Model Alto Sax and my daughter has started to learn the basic of the Saxophone now, so the Vito I’ve been playing with will be her’s; but it wouldn’t bother me to play this Vito for the rest of my life; they’re that good. Also, do yourself a favor and pair it up with Vandoren ZZ reeds; they’re the same reeds that Johnny uses when he plays Alto–check out his videos of Careless Whisper and Baker Street. They are the best reeds I have used with the Vito, a tone that is whole and very bright. But then again everyone is different. What Mouthpiece are you using?
I was going to post pics of my Vito here in reply so you can see it but can’t find a link to post a pic in reply to your post, seems like only the one who starts the topic can post pics?

[john]

The most expensive service is called a “complete overhaul” and it can cost well over $1000 so it doesn’t make sense for every horn, just the very top of the line ones. This is when the tech takes the entire sax apart and puts it back together so it really will work better than new because he will do adjustments as per your request.
I think $350 as Michael says should cover the basics plus maybe a little more and for a student to mid grade horn is fine. You can spend even less and get all the pads replaced which can make a difference especially if you have older pads on there now.

[Angel Noel]

Thank you again for the information! Here are the two mouthpieces I have. As a side note, I bought this Vito already used (off course I cleansed it up hehe) because it was in seemingly like new conditions so it came with these two mouthpieces and a whole bunch of other stuff like reeds (two Vandoren JAVA 2 1/2 and two Rico 1 1/2)
[img]https://howtoplaysaxophone.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/wn3yn-571.JPG[/img]
[img]https://howtoplaysaxophone.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/7pc0b-573.JPG[/img]

[Dazza]

Hi guys,

I am in the final stages of a decision jumping away from my learner Yamaha alto 100 and progressing to a newish tenor…thanks to Johnny mainly I have renewed my preference and love for the tenor sound. After several people had me convinced that the alto offered more for soloing than the tenor I have to say I can’t see too many songs played by Johnny on the alto, surprisingly!! I’ll keep the alto and improve on the 4c mouthpiece for a better
sound but the ultimate is the tenor.

So, help me out. Yamaha Tenor 62 (2012) in near mint for $2100 (Oz dollars add 10% for US comparison) or Yanagisawa 901 for $2600 as they seem to be the two in my budget range. I read lots of reviews and hear lots of good stuff about the 62 and clearly they are well made and reliable. Some claim the Yani offers better tone but all in all it’s probably splitting hairs. I am trying to get out to a shop and play the both before committing but no one seems to stock the Yani in my region. Plenty of Yamahas about and maybe thats a sign. Your advice from your own experience would be welcomed.

Dazza

[Michael]

Hey Dazza,
I can’t say much on the Yanagisawa 901 but I know you can’t do wrong with a good Yamaha. Seems like everyone has different thoughts about different Saxophones, whether it’s a Yamaha, Selmer ( I prefer Selmers and Trevor James models), what they sound like, etc.. In the short time I’ve been learning to play, I’ve seen even here locally players who had Pro setups but didn’t sound all that good because they hadn’t mastered the fundamentals of the Saxophone. They made the mistake of investing a lot of money with the thinking that a pro model Sax was the ticket to sounding good and making your audience want to get up and boogie LOL . If someone really has developed the skill to justify a pro model Sax then go for it….However, what good is it having a pro model Sax without the right Mouthpiece/Reed set up or having a good strong tone to play it? So, in the end, I think it just boils down to where you’re at in your playing and what you’re looking for in a Saxophone–but you can’t go wrong with a Solid Yamaha.

Whoever told you that the Alto offers more than the Tenor for solo….I’m not totally convinced that person really knows what they’re talking about. If you look at Johnny’s ebook of “How to Play Killer Blues” he goes through all of the major lessons with both Alto and Tenor; complete with video links and everything. Whoever told you that needs to do their research as the Tenor was one of the Mainstream Saxophones for Improvisation of Blues, Rock, R&B, you name it. Again, it just depends on what style of playing you do, kind of music; etc.. as their are songs that sound better on Alto but the same is most certainly true for the Tenor. I have both and love them both. Check out these videos below of these guys Improvising on the Tenor….I often wonder if Johnny, while on stage Improvising like this; ever felt like fainting & passing out.
http://youtu.be/mG9OcmjJ4gU?list=UUqOHTb0aaE3IMFeN8iWHFoQ
http://youtu.be/tmiZEZJoxGQ

[Author]

Posts