Saxophone Buying Guide -

: High-pitched and often straight-bodied; tricky for beginners to tune.

: The gold standard for students; versatile and manageable ($600 – $2,500). saxophone buying guide

When browsing, you'll encounter a few names that have defined the instrument's quality for decades: They must be wet before playing to vibrate properly

: You’ll need a box of reeds (usually strength 2.0 or 2.5 for beginners). They must be wet before playing to vibrate properly. In the late 1840s, a Belgian inventor named

: Larger with a deep, soulful "jazz" sound ($800 – $3,500).

: Many factory-included mouthpieces are poor quality; upgrading to a brand like Vandoren or Yamaha can instantly improve your sound.

In the late 1840s, a Belgian inventor named had a vision: he wanted to create an instrument that bridged the gap between the power of brass and the agility of woodwinds. He forged the very first saxophone out of brass but used a single reed for its mouthpiece, forever classifying it as a woodwind . Today, if you were to walk into a music shop to find your own piece of this history, your story might look like this. Step 1: Choosing Your Voice