How to choose your first saxophone: What to Review

For most beginners, the first saxophone should be a high saxophone at My bemol range of study: it's lighter and compact than tenor, the keys are closer to his fingers and nearly all methods of initiation are written for him. More than finish or color, what defines a good first saxophone is that his shoes seal, his tuels are healthy and his mechanics works without noise or play.

In this guide we tell you what to check with a new or used one, what nozzle and rods you need to get started and what signs should make you mistrust.

To sum up

The high saxophone at Mi bemol is the most common starting point for children, youth and adults.
A saxophone that doesn't seal well makes serious notes don't come out and the beginner ends up believing that the problem's his.
In a worn, check slippers, tudel (neck), octave key and have the mechanics have no play and no blows.
It starts with soft rods, normally with a toughness of 2 or 2 ½, and buys several: they don't all come out the same.
Before you pay, ask your teacher or a wind tech to touch and check.

Highness or tenor: what's best to start with

The high is best recommended to start with but isn't the only entrance door. That table sums up what matters when buying:

Types of saxophone and which to choose first
Tipo	Filling	Size and weight	To get started?
Alto	My bemol	Medium and with a strap to his neck	Yeah, that's the most common choice for kids that have reached their keys, youth and adults.
Tenor	If bemole	bigger and heavier and bigger nozzle and rods	Yeah, for good-contextual young and grown-up looking for that sound
Soprano	If bemole	Small, most often straight	Unadvisable: lt looks easy by its size but tuning it's more difficult
Baritone	My bemol	That's great. He needs a harness or a support.	Not as a first instrument, unless a band will lend them

With children, the criterion isn't just age but body: that you can hold the weight with the strap, that your fingers cover the keys of your right hand and that the left pinique reach the keys of serious notes without twisting your wrist. If you doubt between the two sizes, at high saxophone or tenor to start with we have been comparing sound, air and genres with more details.

What should a study saxophone bring

A new studio saxophone should come ready to play. Check that includes:

Body and tudel (the curved neck where the nozzle goes) with its tipping screw.
Nozzle, clamp and nozzle cover.
A strap or harness. For children and for those with necks, a harness spreads his weight to his shoulders.
Rigid or semi-rigid case with a fixed space for the tudel and nozzle.
At least a cane, though you're gonna need more.

A beginner doesn't care about anything but that his right thumb's support remains comfortable and his left palm's keys aren't far for his hand and his registration gets to his sharp Fa. Many modern high ones have an acute and sustained Fa's key. It's useful but not necessary. The finish - golden, silver and black - doesn't say anything about the quality of an instrument of study.

Accessories to be added

A body cleaner and a tudel cleaner that goes after every practice. We explain how how to clear a saxophone.
Fat for the tudel cork, so that the nozzle will come in without forcing.
A support to leave them secure at the pauses: a lot of blows pass after the saxo lies on a chair or bed.
A box for rods that keeps them flat and separate.

Nozzle and rods to start with

The nozzle that brings a study saxophone is usually sufficient for the first few months, as long as it's good. Check with good light the end and rails, the edges on which the cane relies: a small splinter or an worn edge let escape air and produce shackles that no exercise will recur.

The clamp should hold the stick together with no clear and pitted screws or parts. If the saxophone is used, buy a new nozzle or dereport it well before using them: nozzles and rods are personal.

What rods to buy

The right size: high, tenor and clarinet rods are different and are not intertwined.
Soft: most beginners start with 2 or 2 ½. A hard cane doesn't give better sound and tiredness and tiredness and the habit of biting the nozzle.
Several at once: Natural rods vary with each other, even within the same box. with three or four you can rotate them and have no more before class.
Synthetic, optional: They last longer and they have to be wet but they feel different. Check with your teacher before changing.

The number changes from one manufacturer to another, so a 2 ½ from one can feel as a 3 from another. When you finish the first box, get a used cane to class and ask your teacher if it's best to get up or down with toughness.

What to check with a used saxophone

A used saxophone can be an excellent purchase or a long workshop arrangement. What matters most are rarely seen in photos, so check them in person, ideally with someone who plays.

Zapatillas

They are leather-lined discs that cover the holes. They seek broken shoes, resecas, deformed or with the leaked leather. If they open up and they make a noise as chewing gum, they are sticky and have a great deal with the key to the sustained Sun. To change a few is simple and if they are bad about all, the saxophone needs a complete pounding, and that's a great job.

Tudel (neck)

See that she doesn't have blows, that she isn't bent down - she's passing as the saxophone goes down and the pounding gets her his tudel - and she's going to sign up with her body without dancing before she cuts her screw. Check her octave key as well: she's got to completely close and open up only as appropriate.

Body and mechanics

Fingers close to holes or at the lower elbow, the U curve where the tube changes direction.
Folded rods or keys with side play: a key that moves from side to side doesn't always close the same.
Filling cuts and felt, that produce metal pounding while playing.
Resorts that give back every key quickly and with the same force.

A simple test is to descend to the grave: if serious bemol does not come out, or only goes out with a high blow, there's almost always a leak. A technician can confirm that with a leaking light, a thin light that goes into his body to see how light escapes.

What you can say about what you notice in a used saxophone
What you note	What can you say	Can I have his buy?
The bad grades don't come out.	Unsealed shoes or damaged keys	Not necessarily, call for a review and quote the arrangement
Toule with or with pounding	A fall or bad transport	It's up to damage and a technician to see.
Many broken or broken shoes	Full outstanding backpack	Just if the arrangement fits into your budget
Green or corrosion spots on keys	Warm and low cleanliness	Check if it also affects springs and rods
Loose welds or moved pillars	A bad hit	It's usually a sign to get another.

Alarm signs, new and used

A new saxophone from the box has hard keys, non-sealed slippers or an easy-to-double metal.
A salesman who doesn't let them prove it or only shows photos from his face, without his tuel and his shoes.
The words "only needs slippers" are true but it's a great arrangement that you have to quote before you pay.
A instrument with its only argument about color or price. A striking finish says nothing about mechanics.
A manufacturer that no technician in your town knows: if there are no spare parts, any small damage becomes a problem.

If the saxophone was held for a long time at a wet place, for example at hot ground and without closed case, check with more calm slippers and springs: sustained moisture accelerates leather wear and oxidation.

Before you pay: have your teacher prove it

Even if you know what to look at, a beginner cannot know if a saxophone responds well, because it still doesn't have a stable embocatura. That's why it's worth your while to play with your teacher for a few minutes: in long notes, in serious registration and in passing to the sharp with the octave key, it's soon shown if the instrument helps or interferes.

He wants clear photos of his tudel and his shoes and his lower elbow before his face.
He asked how soon his last review was at a wind workshop and what had been done to him.
Touch, or ask them to play, complete scales from grave to acute with a [tuning machine]](/herramientas/afinador) next door.
Check the box: Operating closures and a space where the tudel isn't loose.
If it's for a child, try the strap and stand and sit before deciding.

If you have no faith yet, you can search for one in [teachers directory]](/profes) or to know [saxophone classes]](/clases/saxofon) before buying and many students start with an instrument while they decide. And if you're comparing several second tools, the guide [new or used instrument]](/blog/instrumento-nuevo-o-usado-que-revisar-antes-de-comprar) He's helping with his general decision.

Frequently asked questions

What's best for a child?

The high one, most often. The important thing is that the child can hold with a harness and reach his or her keys without forcing his or her hands. Many conduct his or her hands well about 9 or 10 years old and others have to wait a while or start with another wind instrument. Teacher can evaluate them in a class.

What number of cane should I wear if I have never touched?

A soft cane, normally 2 or 2 ½ according to the manufacturer. as your mouth tightens up, your teacher will tell you if it's best to get up and do so earlier only complicates the sound.

Is it worth buying a used saxophone?

Yeah, if someone checks and you figure out what it's about to put them up to date at a workshop. A well-tipped and used studio saxophone usually plays better than a very low quality new one.

Is sopran saxophone easier because it's smaller?

No. It weighs less but requires more control of the purple and its tuning is more delicate. That's why most teachers recommends to start high or tenor and leave the soprano for later.

How soon do we have to get saxophone to his tech?

To reference, many teachers suggest a review a year if you play often and do not expect if a note that once came out easy now costs: it's usually a slipper that stopped sealing.

How to choose your first saxophone? What to check before buying