Forum of the Saxes

JMSax11 · Joined: 12 May 2006 Posts: 2

I have played saxophone for almost 5 years now, and about 1 and a half years of that time were on alto. Then I swiched to tenor and loved it. THe problem arises now, I have played on tenor, and only have a tenor (sold my alto to get the tenor). I want to get an alto again, or possibly soprano, but I am thinking alto for its great range. The one I was looking at was a selmer prelude, and I was curious if these were good. My friend said they were awesome and played like a dream but I have never dealed with a selmer, however I am not one of the craftiest saxophonists, so I let a trustworthy shop deal with my saxes. Other idea's are welcome, but I want to keep my ideas under 600 dollars and in the selmer world.

Thomas · Joined: 27 Jun 2005 Posts: 223 Location: Alberta, Canada

Hey JMSax11, and welcome to the forum.

I'll just tell you straight up - you're aiming a tad low in terms of price. Selmer's pro horns are not cheap - they cost upwards of $3k, and go all the way up to $10k when you get down to their bass saxes. As for the Selmer Prelude, well, that's what it is, a prelude. It's a horn developed specifically for beginner saxophone students, and while it's price might look tempting to you, it won't really get you far in the professional world.

What I think you should do before you go through with a purchase like this is seriously think about what you want to do with your life, and whether you'll play the sax as a profession or just as a hobby. If you're leaning towards the latter, then Selmer's Prelude is definitely a good economic option. However, if you are seriously considering pursuing a musical career, then Selmer's pro horns are indeed one of the best instrument choices you can make.

My first horn was a second-hand Yamaha student alto sax, and it served its purpose well for me in the development stage. However, there are limitations that student horns place on the player once they reach a certain stage of musical development.

There is no doubt that the Selmer Prelude is a good instrument; all of Selmer's instruments are. However, like all instruments, they are different from one another, and serve their respective purposes in the musical world. What you have to decide is what horn will work best for the role you want to play.

Good luck, and happy playing, my friend! Cool

_________________
Thomas Hay
Sax player, music student, composer, Finale user, and part-time slacker/procrastinator.

JMSax11 · Joined: 12 May 2006 Posts: 2

Well I have thought about a music career and I came to realize that I will just play as a hobby, so the prelude was my choice. I have a yamaha tenor sax, student and I have a shop I go to and they give sound advice. For a person like me, a high-school band player, a student sax will take me where I need to go. I have a friend who plays the prelude, and I have a friend who might go professional and he has played the prelude and said it played awesome. I still need to look at my options, because I might be able to do a lease to own kind of thing, and then I could get a nicer sax. I might even get another tenor instead of alto, because me and my friends are forming a sax trio for school stuff, and we all play alto or tenor, so I figured I might stay tenor and they might go alto. Just a thought though, but even then, what would be a step up from the student yamaha? but without the extreme price?