Buying a tenor saxophone

[fmason3]

I played back in middle school.  I'm about to get back into it.  What would be some good brands to look at.  I think I'm going to buy a used one.  Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

[fmason3]

I played back in middle school.  I'm about to get back into it.  What would be some good brands to look at?  I think I'm going to buy a used one.  Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

...without breaking the bank!

[csedwards2]

Any used Yamaha, under $400 is a steal, esp for tenor. A good used YTS 23 would do fine. Or a YTS 52, although a lot harder to find, cheap. They are intermediate horns, and carry enough quality to get you to pro level. Hold alot of their value, btw

Conns usu arent made well. Ihave a 22M, but its not made well at all. Sounded good when I got it I guess.

Bundys are ok, Conns are better, but they are very very beginner horns.

Nowadays there are alot of pretty pieces of crap out there. (Jupiter, Monique, etc). They look good, but are poorly made and sometimes have intonation problems.

Selmer (student models As300, etc.) - I am so not a fan of them. Id rather get a Bundy. They're expensive as crap new, but its hard getting a good sound out of one, and keys are super tight and hard to press.

[tim77901]

Try  looking for a Yamaha

[Phidoux]

I go along with the Yamaha YTS 23. It has quality and has not lost any of its value.

As for the Conn's, I don't know anything about the newer ones, but if you can find a Conn 10m, circa 1960, you will find a really nice professional type horn from that period, and it has a solid sound that you don't get today.
The Selmer series? I don't know much about the intermediate models. I use the Pro models and very well satisfied with the instrument. They will cost.
I honestly don't know anything about Jupiter instruments. I have seen them and they are pretty, but I don't know what they are like. The metal may not be up to par with the older horns.
The sax player at my church plays Soprano and Tenor, both sold by Barrington. They sound pretty good to me and he does not seem to have any trouble out of them. He can really play so if there are any issues with them, he just blows right through them.
I don't know who makes Barrington, but you can look on WWW.WWBW.com and see what's cooking over there. I purchased a Woodwind Bari a few years ago and I double on it. No problems. It's a Selmer Super Action 80 knock-off. It's just cheap metal but plays very well.

[docjohn]

My tenor (I think) is one of the older "Conns" from the 60's with a Silvertone brand on it(mass purchase) by Sears.One of my friends who plays both Yamaha and Selmer was telling me a while back what a nice horn it was(when I was talking about selling it).

watch out for the cheaper Yamaha student stuff;few years ago had some quality issues especially with the altos.One of my patients ' sons went thru 3 in about a year.

[docjohn]

I thought Selmer was out of the running back in the 70's,have they made a resurrgens? From about 73 forward-some real crap in the $1800 range;which was some REAL change.

Tried a MK 8(?) alto + tenor-my Silvertone was actually a better horn circa 1975.Should probably get it out and play a bit.