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This is from my response to a question on the Saxophone People Forum-
im in the market for a tenor sax. what is a good brand? should i also get the metal mouthpiece to get that nice sound? ive played alto for years just curious as to what kind of tenor i should look for. thank you very much!
From reading something on sax on the web-
“Lenny Pickett does play a Selmer Mark VI. He also plays a 130/0 sms Berg Larsen” -SelmerC*
Depending on how long you’ve been playing and what you want to play, metal could be good.
It’s brighter and gives you more volume, bad for any sort of classical setting though. The string players will give you mean looks, haha
The horn- Mark VI, is widely considered the best horn, but they aren’t made any more and some are in good shape others aren’t. Because they’re rare, they will be expensive too.
So if you find a good one and can afford it, go for it.
Yamahas, Selmers, Keilwerth, Yanigisawa all make good horns too.
Yamaha is probably the most affordable out of those.
Try out some different brands and see what you like.
-Neal Battaglia
It’s worth noting that Lenny also prefers Bass Clarinet reeds for Tenor sax. Apparently he feels it helps him in the Altissimo range vs. normal Tenor reeds.