Reasonably priced saxophone & violin?

mattflynn11

Well, coming up to Christmas my two children who are starting lessons want an instrument for Christmas - one wants an alto sax, the other a violin.
I'm not as worried about the violin, but saxophones seem very expensive. Can anyone recommend a decent 'cheap' brand and also where I could buy it. I don't want to spend a fortune on it only to find that they give up after a few months.
Cheers

Sevenspeed

Hi,
I don't know an awful lot about musical instruments but I bought a family member a 'Paolo Mark' Alto sax here: http://www.guitar-warehouse.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=158&Product='Paolo Mark' Alto Saxophone (Gold)
for €200. It looked really nice and the music teacher was very impressed with it for the price. She said it would definitely do them for the first few years. I remember looking in a few music shops at the time and the cheapest was around €500.
As for violins, you can get them on the guitar warehouse site also:
http://www.guitar-warehouse.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=161&Product=Student 4/4 Violin with Case & Bow

Seems reasonably priced at €70 but I have no idea what the quality would be like, but the sax was definitley a good buy.

dfkorg

The best advice I can offer you is to speak to either Paul at Paul Ryan Brass & Woodwind or Joe Lynch or Trish at McCullough Piggot, both in Dublin. They will be able to offer you sound advice and point you in the right direction. Having worked with one of the biggest suppliers of brass & woodwind instruments, I have a lot of experience with people buying poor quality instruments and being plagued with problems, particularly saxes and flutes.

If you're not in Dublin, I can recommend someone elsewhere in the country

I can also recommend McCullough Piggot for violins

**Vai**

If they're young, Lidl or thomann.de will be cheaper than anywhere else. Music shops in Dublin, in my experience are very expensive, even for poor quality instruments.

mattflynn11

Thanks guys. Will check out all avenues. Didn't know lidl sold instruments. If I could spend less than €250 on the sax, I would. Might be expensive shipping with thomann, but will check it out.

dfkorg

**Vai** wrote: »

If they're young, Lidl or thomann.de will be cheaper than anywhere else. Music shops in Dublin, in my experience are very expensive, even for poor quality instruments.

A proper brass & woodwind specialist does not sell "poor quality instruments".

That is why the dealers I mentioned have maintained an excellent reputation.

You can buy cheap, or buy quality, but as is the case with most things, not both

The_g-man

http://www.adverts.ie/288795/brass-and-wind-instruments/saxophone-for-sale/page-2/#poststart

Unused sax on adverts at the moment for less than €140, based in Galway.

Thomann offer free shipping when you spend €200 or more, if you spend less then they charge €15.

Lidl saxophones are not kept in stock, they are a special offer that shows up maybe twice a year.

**Vai**

dfkorg wrote: »

A proper brass & woodwind specialist does not sell "poor quality instruments".

That is why the dealers I mentioned have maintained an excellent reputation.

You can buy cheap, or buy quality, but as is the case with most things, not both

Im sure they are excellent, doesnt mean they aren't expensive. The guy specifically said he wants cheap instruments because hes buying them for kids. Dunno bout u but if my kids asked for a sax they wouldnt be getting one from the aforementioned expensive music stores.