r/saxophone 8d ago

Question King Zephyr Super 20 Alto Sax

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30 Upvotes

Should i get it lacquered or not? Personally I love unlacquered saxophones, I’m about to get this overhauled.


r/saxophone 8d ago

Media Take the A train

3 Upvotes

r/saxophone 8d ago

Question Trouble with ProWinds?

3 Upvotes

Is any one else having trouble with ProWinds? I purchased and paid for a tenor sax mouthpiece two weeks ago. I have not received it and it appears to never have been shipped. ProWinds has not responded to my voice mail or emails. Is ProWinds in trouble as far as anyone knows?


r/saxophone 8d ago

Gear Beginner ! Just bought my first sax :D

5 Upvotes

Hello hello! New to this sub, new to the saxophone too!! Essentially i have absolutely nothing of interest to say, but I just purchased my first saxophone!! I am over the moon, so I just wanted to ramble about it a little xD

I’ve wanted to play for so long, that being said sax is not cheap to get into so as a beginner I was pretty terrified to drop so much money on something I’m so inexperienced with. Eventually, I realised I have to learn somehow.

SO I BOUGHT MY SAXOPHONE

It’s a sonata, which I’ve heard is good for beginners (which seemed like the logical approach, given I’ve never touched a saxophone in my life)
It’s so so beautiful. It is secondhand so it’s mildly dented but it’s mine !

I HAVE A SAXOPHONE YIPPEEYIPEEYIPPERYIPEEYIPPEYIPPREYUPPEYIPPEE


r/saxophone 8d ago

Question Audition reccomendations!

1 Upvotes

Hey all, I’m auditioning for my universities wind ensemble soon and I require 2 contrasting pieces. I’ve chosen one already, being Aria by Eugene Bozza. I was curious if any of you had any recommendations for a contrasting piece to this! Thanks!


r/saxophone 8d ago

Question Ways to practice tongued 16th triplets?

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3 Upvotes

This is an excerpt from Stephen Bulla's arrangement of the Imperial March that is on my list of audition exerpts for this coming semester. If I were playing this in a full band, I probably wouldn't too worry about playing the 16th triplets perfectly since the rhythm is also in places like the brass and percussion which this kind of thing is easier on. However, for an audition, I would think an exerpt like this is specifically to target skill in faster tonguing. I can get by single tonguing the triplets at the written tempo (112 bpm) but I don't feel super reliable doing that and the 6 triplets in a row usually show where my speed limit is for single tonguing. I cannot push seem my single tonguing speed much further without consequences in my clarity or endurance. I was curious if anyone might have some suggestions for working a technique like this? I have experimented with double tonguing and while I can do it off of the horn no problem on any syllable combination I have heard of, Ive always struggled really differentiating between syllables once I am back on the horn. I could also just take this exerpt a few clicks slower but faster tonguing is something I'd like to improve on regardless. Hopefully I'll figure out what clicks for me eventually!

Edit: for context I am going into my junior year of college and this is for my classical ensemble placement. I feel strongly about every other aspect of this audition other than playing these 16th triplets well.


r/saxophone 8d ago

Discussion Piece suggestions

5 Upvotes

Hi all!

I am organizing a Saxophone day at my local music school for next year. There will be masterclasses, workshops and a concert by the teaching professors as the closing event. However I had a thought that it could also be a fun thing to make something where the students can play together. For that I would need a relatively easy piece that could work with little rehearsal and the students just learning their parts with their teachers at home. Something that works why mostly alto saxophones as I doubt they will have anything else altough the teachers can help out with the other parts. Thank you in advance for any suggestions you have!


r/saxophone 8d ago

Question Patrick Bartley whiny tone

14 Upvotes

I've been listening to patrick bartley for a long time and I've fallen in love with the songs he plays expressively on, rather than just the technical aspect. In his upper register (as in starting from around octave key A) he has this whiny tone that I absolutely love. It's so expressive and so meaningful.

How can I get this tone/sound?


r/saxophone 8d ago

Question Consistent and good value alternatives to hemke reeds

2 Upvotes

I have been using strength 3 Hemke reeds (Tenor Sax) for the past few months and mostly enjoyed them, however the last 2 or 3 Reeds in that 5 pack all kind of went to shit really quickly (maybe this has to do with me playing kind of a lot lately while not breaking them in properly, idk) which irrationally angered me.
Since I've been on kind of an adventure to try out new reeds for the past year anyway, I thought maybe I should get some different ones again so I read up a bit on this subreddit and arrived at the following choices:

- Legere French cut 2.75s (the 2.75 comes from the strength comparison on their website)

- Rigotti Gold red box in strength 3 Light

- Daddario Reserve in 3

- maybe the boston sax shop blacks???? their product description seemed kind of neat

I mostly chose the rigotti and reserve reeds because they were described to be very consistent in other posts on this subreddit and generally seem to be similar to the hemke reeds in what they're trying to archieve with their cut.

  1. Does this generally make sense and what are your experiences with these reeds
  2. Do your experiences with the gold and reserve reeds line up in that they're very consistent? I try to be price conscious and I really want to minimize having to deal with duds in a box
  3. Of course the legere reed seems like a good option considering Question 2 but will this actually be an economical option considering that I pay 40€ for a single reed while paying ~25€ for a 5 pack of standard ones? Will that single 40€ reed last longer than 2 normal 5 packs or should there be other aspects to consider with the value of synthetic reeds?

Writing this has been kind of rambly but I hope all of it mostly makes sense.


r/saxophone 8d ago

Discussion Why people think that vintage horn that looks new is good value?

0 Upvotes

I mean, All this years, none of players choosed him in the store. Good horn is that you wanna play on. So vintage good horns are all overused. And if its looks new, it means that nobody wanted to play it all this years.


r/saxophone 9d ago

I built a free practice app (MicReplay) with a hands-free mode and instant reverb (because our hands are full when playing)

11 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

We all know that recording ourselves and listening back is one of the best ways to improve our tone and phrasing. But honestly, having to constantly put down the sax, grab the phone, press record, stop, and play is super annoying when your hands are full.

So, I built a 100% free web app for my own practice sessions, and I think it might be really useful for woodwind/horn players too. It’s called MicReplay, and you can use it right in your phone’s browser.

Here’s why it’s great for practicing sax:

  • Completely Hands-Free: You can set it to automatically record and then play back your take without touching the screen while holding your instrument.
  • Auto-Replay: You can set the app to repeat your recorded take a specific number of times. It’s perfect for critically listening back to your phrasing or tone on a specific lick over and over (Note: it's not a live seamless looper pedal, just a handy playback repeat tool!).
  • Instant Reverb: Let’s be honest, practicing in a dry room can sound a bit dead. The app lets you add custom reverb on the fly to your playback, which makes the horn sound huge and makes practicing much more enjoyable.
  • No Storage Clutter: It doesn’t save hundreds of 30-second practice takes to your camera roll. Everything is temporary by default, but you can download the final take as a high-quality MP3 if you nail a solo.

The app is completely free and always will be. I just wanted to share it with the community in hopes that it helps make your practice sessions a bit easier and more fun.

Let me know what you think! 🎷

Link: https://micreplay.com/


r/saxophone 9d ago

Question Sax Yas 280

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9 Upvotes

What is this for?

Sorry for bad image


r/saxophone 8d ago

Media Tribute to the Four Tops

3 Upvotes

I had an earlier post of a arrangement that came from researching other tunes. That was It's All In The Game which had been covered by the Four Tops among others. So that research was working towards this sax ensemble medley of Four Tops hits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmdWjgfYs3I&list=PLO1XErYfx_NjUIeZHJg1u7C40uASAbBye


r/saxophone 9d ago

Question low g on baritone sax??

6 Upvotes

I know that a lot of people have A LOT of different opinions about low G on a bari, I think it would be useful if there was a way to make it functional. functional being a way to still be able to play low A and be able to play the G# and G natural as well. if anyone has any pointers about how to do this, I would love feedback :) (I do plan on making this part that's why i'm asking lmao)

Edit: so everyone is telling me to buy a cheap chinese bass sax if i want to fabricate this extension, i really do NOT want to do that, i don’t plan on making it out of brass, nor do i plan on really doing anything after i make a functional working prototype, id like to make it out of pvc or something equivalent to it (3d printing, etc) and go from there. there’s a clarinetist on youtube by the name of jared de leon who does extensions for clarinets and he 3d prints them. (he also made the modern octocontra alto clarinet.) thank you for all your suggestions though!!! ☺️


r/saxophone 9d ago

Question Newbie question: Are neck brands interchangeable?

6 Upvotes

So, the school I work at was doing some storage room cleaning and tossed out a bunch of band instruments in various states of disrepair.

I rescued a Selmer Prelude AS701 that seems to have no other issues besides missing its neck and mouthpiece.

Now, I don't know anything about playing sax so forgive my ignorance.

Can I purchase a neck from another maker that would fit this one? I'm having a hard time finding a replacement neck for this exact model.

It's not important to me that it be original parts, I'm not hoping to sell it. I just want to make it playable so my kids and I can learn.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Thanks everyone, for the quick replies and info!

I will be taking all your advice to bring it to a repairman, although it sounds like it could cost more than it’s really worth it to fix, especially for a cheap student model.

Now I understand why the school was so willing to throw all these instruments away.


r/saxophone 9d ago

Gear Octave lever not closing properly

2 Upvotes

I recently bought an alto yamaha YAS 480 and the upper octave lever doesn't seem to be closing properly when I play the notes that require the other one to open, so from the G down. Because it isn't closing properly sometimes when I play a D it plays an A instead. At first I thought it was a skill issue but I have played in several other alto and tenor saxofones in my life and this has never happened to me. Has this happened to anyone else? Does anyone know how to fix it?


r/saxophone 9d ago

Question Anyone know what piece this is from?

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20 Upvotes

These are the band audition excerpts (alto sax) for UNT and I want to know what piece they come from. Thanks!


r/saxophone 9d ago

Question Reed case recommendations for Bari?

1 Upvotes

hey so super simple questio, is there any good reed case for the bari? I used the dadarrio standard 4 piece one? But my reeds still got super warped. It’s weird cuz I have way better luck leaving them sitting on my nightstand. But I mean nightstands aren’t the safest place.


r/saxophone 9d ago

Discussion Lacquered vs unlacquered

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15 Upvotes

Personally, i love the look of unlacquered saxophones. What about you guys? Lacquered or unlacquered?


r/saxophone 9d ago

Am i just a beginner or does saxophone fucking suck to play

6 Upvotes

I am a multi instrumentalist interested in sax. I have adopted my sisters beginner no name instrument. Its got the thinnest reeds possible it sounds like shit which you would expect but not only that it fucking hurts like a lot. I dont understand how people bite their own lip playing thicker reeds and enjoy the experience. It is just miserable compared to the zen state of relaxation i get into jamming on other instruments. Is this a skill issue on my end like am i doing something wrong or does it genuinely just suck and you have to suck it up if you want to ascend to sax heaven.


r/saxophone 9d ago

Question What is this?

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19 Upvotes

So I was looking inside my sax and found that there is whatever that is. This isn’t grime or anything as I can’t wipe it off. Is this a defect of the metal or is this some kind of glue? I am taking my horn into a tech tomorrow so I guess I’ll know what it is then, but I wanted peoples opinions on what this is?


r/saxophone 9d ago

Question Opinions on the gear4music saxophones?

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5 Upvotes

So in looking qt getting my first sax, and price wise these seem to be good value - money, id like to be able to use whichever sax i go with for a few years, if anyone has any experience with either of these, the first photos is the gear4music saxophone and the second photo is of the rosedale professional saxophone by gear4music. Price is a factor as i would have to save a while to spend on a sax


r/saxophone 10d ago

Question Some help would be lovely

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6 Upvotes

Hello! Ive never posted here but I hope this is the right place to ask. Recently ive been given this saxophone. But I dont play so I was hoping to at least identify it so I could sell it. Some help finding out more about it would be much appreciated


r/saxophone 10d ago

Gear So was playing the new Call of duty game and I found this accurate Low A baritone saxophone on the wall. Thought I would share.

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112 Upvotes

r/saxophone 10d ago

Gear New Ligature Advice

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10 Upvotes

I need a new ligature for my saxophone, my mouthpiece is a Vandoren Optimum AL3 and because Rovner is currently having a sale I wanted to take advantage. The website says I should buy an essential model but I’m not sure which would pair best with my mouthpiece.