I just heard that alto sax has the same fingering as flute. Is that true? Is there any sax that uses the same fingering as flute? I played classical flute for three years, and I'd be very happy if it didn't end up being a total waste after all.

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I dont, only guitar and vocals, and a bit of percussion. I couldn't play it, I'd have no hope.

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riley

Hey TGS,

I play the alto sax. I've got a nice Selmer AS 600. It's a lot of fun! And yes the fingering is the same as a flute. My sax instructor has been after me for as long time to make the switch to the flute. She claims it will take me about two lessons to get comfortable with it. Maybe one of these days I'll give it a try.

You should do it - you'd be a double threat with the Blues and you can pick up some 60's rock - it's a lot of fun and a good break from the guitar.

RickyD

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"You can never have too many Tele's." A quote from my Sweetwater Sales Engineer

I play alto as well. Like RickyD said, the fingerings are the same. The orientation is just different. I think it would be easier to switch to sax from flute. For me, it was harder physically to produce sound from a flute. You should have no problem.

I play tenor myself. The nice thing about woodwind instruments is that they are all basically them same. You can pick up a clarinet, or a sax, or a bassoon and easily switch from one to another.

Awesome! I'm so excited to hear that. I wasn't a flute virtuoso or anything, but I don't remember it being particularly hard to play. I haven't played for a while, but I bet it would come back to me. I wish I had been shown something, anything about improvisation with flute but that just isn't part of classical music or band music. But I bet I could translate guitar licks onto sax until I got the hang of it.

Where could I find a good, cheap, beginners sax? My flute was a student model, but it was very expensive and we had to make payments for nearly all of those three years. I'd rather just go on ebay or something and buy someone's old sax.

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I used to play Sax when I was much younger. My Sax which was bought used in the mid '60's is still in the family.

Hmm, I wonder what it's worth.

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

That's interesting! I have a friend that plays the saxophone so I'll have to tell him and see if he knew that!

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Are you looking for an alto or tenor sax?

Probably alto.

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Hey TGS - A couple of suggestions...

I think you should check out eBay for a sax. I've looked there before at sax's and there seems to be some decent gear. Like guitars off eBay, you need to be careful, but I think you'd do OK. I'm wanting a tenor sax one of these days, and eBay will be the first place I look.

You can't go wrong with a Selmer or a Yamaha. I have a nice Selmer and I played a Yamaha YS-23 for a long time.

You may also want to check w/ music stores around the Houston area. There are a lot of them that will have used gear since they rent it out during the school year to band students. (Again, Yahama's are pretty easy to find.) They would be able to get you a good refurbished one, or find you one in their inventory you could get the pads redone and a new mouthpiece and reeds. Most music stores will know where there is a good tech that can do the work it needs.

They are pretty common on Craigslist too, but you are dealing with individuals where a return may be harder to do if something is wrong. That's why I like eBay and PayPal - you have some protection if somebody trys to sell you a lemon.

I know your $$ situation is tight (like all of us), but I wouldn't hesitate to go with a used one.

Rick

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Old age and treachery will win every time over youth and enthusiasm.

"You can never have too many Tele's." A quote from my Sweetwater Sales Engineer

Thanks Ricky, I've been looking on ebay and there seems to be an abundance of them on there. Craigslist doesn't have as many, but it does have some. I appreciate the advice on good brands too.

Would $200-$300 get me somewhere in the range of a good solid student model? I want something relatively inexpensive, but something that will last.

I'm still saving for that Fender Coronado though, and I'm about halfway there now. So I think I'm going to continue saving for that before I buy anything else. I'm most likely going to have a job by this summer, so I'll be able to save much quicker than ever before. Which means more gear than ever before. lol

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Hey TGS, if you're not dead set on an alto and would consider a tenor I just may have a great deal for you to look at. E-mail me at **********@gmail.com and I'll fill you in if you're interested.

Email sent.

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