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NewmanFamily6
09-09-2008, 07:43 PM
My DD 11 has been tapped to play the saxophone in the band. The school is trying to get me to buy through their instrument dealer a Yamaha or Selmar brand for around $1400.00:eek: I found a Cecilio Series 2 Alto Saxophone usually $1200.00 on sale for $600.00. Does anyone have any experience with Cecilio? Would it be good for a beginner because it sure would be great for my wallet:confused:

TinkiTime1989
09-09-2008, 07:51 PM
I don't have any advice on the Cecilio, however I started playing the violin when I was 11. Our school didn't have a dealer for us to buy through. Instead we were encouraged to rent our instruments until we were sure that we were going to stick with it. Maybe rental from a local music store would be a better option until you know that your daughter is going to stick with the instrument. Once she is older and fully committed to continue playing you could consider buying her a nice instrument as a reward for her hard work and dedication. Some music stores also have a program where you can rent-to-own the instrument.

NewmanFamily6
09-09-2008, 07:59 PM
Thanks for the advice I have no experience with these things;)

mouselover93
09-09-2008, 08:31 PM
i dont think theres any difference in companies the only reason people say some are better is because the price is better and they're fresh from the makers problay. but $600 is a good deal thats a lot cheaper then some discounted instrumenats are. i play trumpet and have only seen the lowest price even on sale at $1100

Kairi_7378
09-09-2008, 08:38 PM
I would recommend trying to find a used saxophone for your daughter. I think that at the beginner level, brands aren't as important. If she decides to play for a longer amount of time, you can always upgrade. Other options would be a monthly rental (available in many metro areas.)

andreallybadeggs
09-09-2008, 09:26 PM
Saving $600 on a sax may sound like a great deal and may actually be a great deal but I wouldn't go for it unless someone reputable gives you the thumbs up. If it turns out to be a piece of junk then even at half price it's not a good deal so ask someone you trust to look at it and give a second opinion. I'd also recommend renting until you find out if your child will stick with it or not. If she really takes to it though, a couple of years down the road buy her the best quality instrument you can afford. We purchased good trombones (Bach/Selmer) for our two sons when they were in their early teens. Sure hurt at the time but they were solid investments. Both boys played all the way through high school, college, beyond. Having a good instrument improved their sound which led to all region/all state/jazz band which led to scholarships. Pretty sure we got our money's worth not to mention many happy memories.

Wayne
09-09-2008, 10:45 PM
I'll second the opinion about renting. Surely that option was made available.

As far as the "Cecilio" is concerned, don't even think about buying one of those things. According to a friend who is an instrument repairman, if you are quoted a price of $600 then it's about $600 more than it is worth.

DrivingSideways
09-10-2008, 12:16 AM
I agree with the others who say renting is the way to go. I would definitely rent first just to make sure that your DD wants to be in band *and* that she wants to stick with saxophone. I know a lot of kids that changed instruments in middle school.

Good luck to her. I loved being in band and it taught me so much discipline and a ton about teamwork. :thumbsup:

2Epcot
09-11-2008, 10:39 PM
I also agree with renting first. My brother played violin, then trumpet, then ended up with the saxaphone. I'd make sure your daughter really enjoys playing sax. I chose drums and percussion in grade school, and never looked back. I played them all the way through my senior year in high school, but some kids take a while to figure out what they like.
:drummer::play::piano::pipes::tuba::drum::nopity:

conorsmom2000
09-12-2008, 06:13 AM
I'm another who would recommend renting!! Conor had been asking us to play the violin for months and he finally started in December. Of course, with the violin, one main reason for renting is it comes in sizes and he won't take a full sized one until he's older. He started with a 1/4 sized one, but had a growth spurt and within 2 months, had moved up to a 1/2, which he is still playing.

But, the way our music store works is that we pay $18 a month to rent (paid in quarterly payments) and a portion of that monthly fee goes towards a credit for buying an instrument at a later point in time. So, by the time Con is ready for a full sized violin, we'll know for sure whether buying is worth it or not and we'll have a good portion of it paid off!! :thumbsup:

Donald A
09-12-2008, 09:32 AM
I am a saxophonist. I played beginning in fifth grade and all through HS. Of course, that was back in the mid-80s when we bought my saxophone for like $250 at the time. It was a used Bundy II alto sax that was probably $600-$700 new at the time. The Bundy II was considered to be a starter saxophone. That saxophone did last me to this day. In the rain, with marching band as well as in Jazz and symphonic band.

I would not buy a new saxophone for several reasons:

1) Your daughter is in fifth grade and just starting out. I am not making any comments about your daughter and do not know her, but I will make comments about fifth graders. My brother for example tried to play saxophone. My parents are not musically oriented but caught my brother "not practicing" buy recording himself "practicing" and my dad's inexperienced ear kept hearing the same mistake over and over. He walked in with my brother laying in his bed reading a comic book.

My point is, be sure this is something your daughter wants to do. That brother ended up being a great guitar player (self-taught) while my other brother has a music-degree in performance and is a fantastic percussionist. So even though your daughter may like music does not mean it will be the saxophone. Who knows?

2) The sax is a complex instrument. Things can go wrong with this thing easy. A bent bar and sticky pad can really mess it up. A beginner has no idea how it should sound and it gets confusing as to why it doesn't sound right. Repairs are inevitable and will need to be done. Something as simple as holding the instrument wrong for a week can bend a bar and not make the instrument perform correctly. Not to mention dings and bumps that are also inevitable.

3) A instrument that needs a few repairs used and is higher quality is probably better than one that is new and low quality. I mean the repair people for these instruments that are good at what they do are like doctors or skilled mechanics. You take a high quality instrument and down the line these guys can take the sax apart, pound out the dings and dip it in acid and re-coat and re-plate everything. They can then put it all back together with new pads. This is what someone that knows their instrument wants and if I ever have some money to play around with I would do it (probably not with my Bundy but with a older Selmer instrument). For example, my school owned Baritone Sax was valued at $6000 in the early 90s after this was done.

My advice, go to a music shop with a good repairman that has some pride in what he does. Get a used sax with high quality and keep in mind even a new sax needs repairs. Down the line, if your daughter excels at what she does on the sax, you have other options.

QTPie68
09-14-2008, 01:25 AM
Having gone through years of school band I can appreciate where you are coming from! Luckily we had an instrument in our family already. Unluckily for me, I had no choice of what I got to play.;)

I am going to agree with the advice you have already been given, especially Donald A. See if perhaps you can rent for a few months, see how your child likes it. If she wants to continue on, see about a really good used sax, like Donald A said.

If your child continues into Middle School, then a good instrument will be wanted, hence why the school is trying to sell you the upper brand one now. A brand new Selmar for an unproven musician, no not now.....but a re-conditioned Selmar/Yamaha will sound much better than that $600 one.

I hope she enjoys band and sticks with it. It was the most rewarding thing I did in High School.

Tinkerfreak
09-14-2008, 07:34 AM
My DD is just starting band and I don't know how many parents of children who have allready been doing band told me to listen to the music teacher and get a good instrument. A few of them did not take her advice and their children had a harder time. Once they switched to a better instrument they improved greatly.
I decided to do the rent to own program at our school. I can buy it at a 30% discount any time I decide to. This way I have time to see if she is going to stick with it or not.

merlinmagic4
09-14-2008, 07:41 AM
We also were able to rent my son's snare drum. A company comes to our schools and provides the instruments. All of our monthly payments were applied to the price when I decided to go ahead and purchase it. So, I had paid off most of it and they gave me 40% off of the balance when I did that. Too bad they don't rent the drum sets which is what we are looking at buying now. Good luck!!!