Hello,
I am very new to the whole saxophone thing but I decided I want to play Tenor Sax and I was wondering what brands are good I am considering getting a Paltino is that a good brand? if not what brands and/or models are good? Oh I don`t know if this matters but I`m not gonna play in a school band or do much classical I`m interested in Jazz/Blues/Rock Sax
Thanks Alot,
Ralph

I have never heard of that brand...what I would suggest is to get a Yanagisawa of some sorts, they`re excellent for beginners, and grow well with your skill.

I have found starting out on a regular sax like yamaha or maybe even that paltino is good, as long as it`s cheap. Then go to something like yanagisawa, I have Monique myself, it is a step above the rest, but they`re hard to get, they rarely put my model out for sale i just found out, Mine was one of 65 made

ralph----
well i play tenor 2 & i hav a yamaha. its great ask any1. but wat grade r u in cause it would b best 2 start out playin an instrument in skool first. CHOW!!!

I believe you are speaking of the saxophone/ other intsruments that musician`s friend is attempting to sell. From what I can tell and my friend`s expiriences they suck. [B]They are plain out pieces of crap. If you are looking for cheaper beginner sax look into a selmer or yamaha. But remember much like other things in this world, You Pay for what you get!
-C.

hey, i`m a tenor sax player, and I learnt on a yamaha student instrument. It was alright, til i got something better!! i`ve got a keilwerth, which is fantastic. Its worth bout AUD$4000, so i won`t be replacing it in a hurry.

Before i bought it i`d did heaps of research, and i never came across the brand you mentioned. I mean THE sax brand is selmer, particularly for more antique saxes, but lets not get into their price range. Yamaha are always good quality (as in, you`re assured that what you get is a decent instrument) but the actual quality of design is more suited to beginners. Yani`s are much the same as the yamaha.

I do love my keilwerth, though. Its in the black finish; its a beatiful instrument, and you`d be amazed that the different finishes (either gold, silver or black nickel) produce completely different sounds.

If you`re looking for something to last, shy away from brands that no-ones heard of. You`re better of with your standard yamaha than something dodgy. You`ll find that there are often brands that are really just "sweatshop" (to use the term loosely) manufactured, and they have a fancy name attached to make them sound posh. So do your research - forums like this are good help, but you should really go and start trying some saxes.

Go and try and few; go to some music stores, and see what you can find out. I discovered how much i loved keilwerths at a woodwind conference/festival thing, and they had instruments on display. Its the way to do it - try as many as you can, with different mouthpieces, reeds, etc, and try and get as much proffessional advice as possible. Look up some of the pros and see what brands they use. Most`ll be vintage selmers, but you will find them on advandced models of other brands.

Good luck with your search!!

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU BUY!!! I was considering buying a new saxophone because I`ve been playing for a few years. I found a really nice Monique saxophone on ebay that I was considering, thought I had never heard of the brand. I called a music store (Eckroth) and asked them if they could tell me anything about the Monique saxophones. They connected me with a guy who knew a lot about this brand and he told me to NOT buy Moniques. Monique saxophones are made in China, and they are crap. He told me they start falling apart from the inside and once they start (cracking and such) you cannot just go out and buy the parts; you can only special order them and it would be a lot cheaper to just buy a new sax then to order the parts. He said it`s very expensive and you`d be much better off buying something else. I kinda` know what you`re going through-I`m a high school student and I want a nice new sax without paying a fortune, but I don`t know about many brands, so I`m having trouble deciding. My best advice is to call your local music department and ask them which brands are best. Yamaha is a good brand. My saxophone is a Buescher and I absolutely LOVE it. I wish you the best of luck on finding a sax. Hope you have fun playing-I love playing my sax; it is a great way thing to be able to make music and play an instrument. I love to play my alto-it`s a great feeling. Good luck again-if you`d like to reply feel free to email me with the above address. ~Sara~

I started on a Yamaha Yas-23 and later moved to a Selmer Prof. model. My two horns have never let me down. The action is great on the Selmer and the sound is good on both.
I have never had to have anything fixed and I give it a twice a year checkup at the local music store for about $30 each time. (Doing this can really extend the lifetime of a sax)Don`t worry about the brand of sax too much when you start because you will almost always grow out of your first sax (Unless your parents spent mega $ on your first one.) Good luck and happy playing!

Has anyone answered Ralph`s question yet? Well, anyways, the Paltino brand is a mostly unknown sax. They do not compete (very well)with the top manufacturers of today, such as Selmer, Yamaha, Yanagisawa, and so on. Though they are unheard of, they are supposed to perform relitively well for a student horn. I would guess that they are a mostly classical-type horn (someone correct me on this), although I have not tried one myself. Anyways, I would recommend a good student horn for your level (I assume that you are new).

We`ve all been answering her question. "If its not please tell me..."

Also, "PALTINO`s WRONG" you will get great quality with a Selmer and and good quality with a Yamaha. Neither brand is a cheap brand. Yamaha is one of the top student and intermediate companies and Selmer is not beaten by anything for quality (For the most part.)

and Palitino is a "POS" brand.

have u ever heard of the company helmke plz i really need to know

Mel, I have not heard of that brand, sorry. As far as I know, it`s not a well known brand and it would be best to stay away from it. Like I said before-call your local music store and ask them about it. It`s most likely an oriental model (that`s what someone from Eckroth told me about those types of saxes). Selmer, Beuscher, and Yamaha are all really good brands to go to-they are high-quality. I know they are expensive, but they are really worth it in the long run. I dunno`, if you really want to, try it out. I just bought a new sax from a brand I don`t know. I did some research on it and didn`t find a lot, and even my music store said be suspicious. I bought it, and so far it`s been good. I guess you just have to use your judgement on it. Sorry I couldn`t really help you with what you needed though-good luck =^-^=.

I recently purchased a new alto sax. I drove down to NYC and went from store to store and tried around 20 new horns. I went with the advice of my band leader (an alto sax player) to look for a Selmer, Keilworth, Yanigasawa, or Yamaha. I bought a Borgani! It`s a brand I see rarely mentioned. It had a noticeably more fluid action and a mellow tone. It cost $3500, but it is a thing of great beauty. Now, I`m not a pro (I played in high school, quit for 30 years, and just took it up again 6 months ago) but other sax players who have tried it are impressed. FYI: I bought it from Roberto`s in Manhatten, who I think is very reputable.
-Jim