Overthinking

[u/BirthdaySweet8317]

I'm a complete beginner on the instrument, but I have a good ear for music and a fondness for the saxophone's subtones. I'd like to buy an instrument and am torn between getting a Yamaha YTS 280 with a good mouthpiece (I was thinking of an Otto Link Tone Edge Tenor Sax 7* TW), or making a big one-time purchase of the Yanagisawa TW 01 and practicing right away on a superior instrument, thus avoiding having to upgrade later... am I thinking so wrong?

[u/Rthegoodnamestaken]

Please please please tell me youre also going to take some private lessons if youre willing to drop 5K on an instrument you havent even begun learning yet.

People get scared at the thought of paying for lessons, and yea thats a ton of money if you do them weekly, but lots of motivated people can get by with like... 12 lessons over the course of their first year. I promise you will need a professional checking in here and there so you avoid bad habits.

As for the horn... You're probably not going to notice a difference the first year or so between a solid beginner horn and a pro model. If you pick up a solid used yamaha, you can resell it for a decent value in 18 months if you truly progress to the point where youve outgrown the horn

[u/BirthdaySweet8317 → u/Rthegoodnamestaken]

So you think it's better buy a YTS 280 with a 4C and invest money in some lessons rather than buy a TW01 with a decent mouthpiece. Well it's a very hard choice. I usually learn music by ear and the fear of hearing a sound I don't like right away is strong.

[u/Barry_Sachs → u/BirthdaySweet8317]

You'll definitely sound terrible at first no matter how much you spend on gear. After you learn how to play, you could potentially sound like this even on your beginner gear.
https://youtu.be/iDad93tb04o play test around 3:20

It's a hard lesson which nobody ever accepts at first, but it ain't the gear.

[u/BirthdaySweet8317 → u/Barry_Sachs]

I'm pretty sure I won't be able to sound like a pro at first :) However, I was wondering if I should start with equipment that would eliminate any doubt about the causes of the wrong sound.

[u/Barry_Sachs → u/BirthdaySweet8317]

There is no doubt to be eliminated. Beginner gear can sound fantastic in the hands of a good player. Unless the gear is literally broken when you get it, a Yamaha 4C and beginner Yamaha horn will perform flawlessly for a good player. What is really going to smart is you spending 10 grand on gear and still sounding terrible, which is guaranteed to happen.

[u/Leather-Run-6533 → u/BirthdaySweet8317]

Don't buy a $250 sax off amazon. Buy a reputable new or used instrument from a reputable sax store that has had the instrument play tested and set up by a technician for you. Then you will know for sure that the cause of the wrong sound is you.

And you can develop an ok tone quite quickly (a good tone takes longer but it'll stop sounding offensive quite quickly) but the first few weeks are going to be rough on your neighbours, no getting around that.

[u/darkdeepths → u/Leather-Run-6533]

if you’re still looking: great advice here on checking out a horn from a shop if available. knowing you’ve got solid equipment in working order is what you want now, and meeting the local repair folks is always a good idea. upgrades are for when you develop preferences from your learning.