Can anyone point me in the direction of a decent (although 2nd hand would be fine also) music shop in which you can buy a trumpet, saxophone, or a trombone, in Taipai?
If not Taipai, is there somewhere else in Taiwan in which I could find these instruments?
Any idea how much? More expensive then the UK or USA?
Thanks alot!
PS - please excuse me if I have posted this post in the wrong place. I thought this was the most relevant.
[quote=“Trapper”]Can anyone point me in the direction of a decent (although 2nd hand would be fine also) music shop in which you can buy a trumpet, saxophone, or a trombone, in Taipai?
If not Taipai, is there somewhere else in Taiwan in which I could find these instruments?
Any idea how much? More expensive then the UK or USA?[/quote]I can only give info. about saxophones, and don’t know any specifics about shops in Taipei, but hope the below is useful.
Taiwan is a major manufacturer of saxophones. They are made in Houli, a little town north of Taichung. I have read that two thirds of the world’s saxophones are made there. I’m not sure about that figure but anyway Taiwan makes a lot. Of course most of these saxes are OEM: that is they are sold in bulk to foreign companies who put their own brands on them.
Until maybe 7 years ago, Taiwanese saxophones did not have a particularly good reputation. In recent years, however, quality control has got better and better, and there are some very playable Taiwanese saxes around. Now there is an interesting situation as regards buying Taiwanese-made saxes in Taiwan. The more well-known brand names tend not to be available here. That is because they are for the export market. But you can get basically the same saxes under local brand names. The local manufacturers are forbidden under their contracts from telling you which big name they make their OEM saxes for, although if you get friendly with the right person you might find out.
What this boils down to is that you can get decent beginner and intermediate standard saxes here for very good prices. If you want a professional-class sax though, I would still get a Japanese-made one: possibly a Japanese-made (not SE Asian) Yamaha, but best IMO would be to go to the Yanagisawa factory in Japan and choose one of their saxes there, making a saving possibly equivalent to your airfare.
You mentioned buying a second-hand sax. While in the UK and other countries this can be a great thing (I got my 75-year-old Conn alto, one of the sweetest sounding altos ever made, for 500 pounds) I would not recommend it in Taiwan. The reason is that a perfectly playable sax can be bought new here, with warranty and some freebies if you ask nicely, for the same price that you’d pay for a second-hand sax in another country. In addition, you’d have to find a top quality repair shop to set up and maintain your second-hand sax. In the process of trying out repair shops you could end up with something virtually unplayable. It is difficult enough to find a really skilled and conscientious repair person in the UK. While such people must exist in Taiwan there must be many more who don’t have the requisite skills, knowledge and attention to detail to set up and maintain a second-hand sax properly.
Are you a player already? If not, try to take somebody who knows what they’re doing with you when you go shopping. When you look at saxes, pay attention to the workmanship and quality of materials. Is it soft, easily bent metal? Are there any flaking-off bits of laquer (the finish)? Are there any ‘burrs’ of metal that haven’t been finished?
In general, a good rule of thumb is to never buy the cheapest sax (or any instrument) that a shop stocks. That model will be designed to a price and corners will have been cut. It is for parents who know nothing about saxes but just want to get something for their son or daughter to play, probably just for 3 months until he/she gets bored with it. If you get at least the next model up in the range, nearly all of the extra money goes toward increased quality in materials and workmanship.
Of course it is always worth trying to bargain a little, or at least get some freebies (reeds, cleaning kit, etc.) thrown in.
Let me give you an example. I was looking for a soprano sax. After a little bargaining, the price of the base-level one was 15000NT (at least a third less than it would be in the UK). I played it and it was reasonable but a bit hard work to keep the tone and tuning consistent over the range of the instrument (cheap sopranos are notorious for poor intonation: there is only so much that you can do to compensate by ‘lipping’ the note up or down). Then I tried the same company’s ‘professional’ model, offered to me at 20000NT, again substantially less than its equivalent abroad. This was completely different. The key action was quicker and smoother: the intonation was much better (although not perfect) and the tone was also a vast improvement. I bought the latter, and got a good discount on a nice mouthpiece as well. For 25% more money I got twice the sax. It’s not really a professional one but it’s easy to play and I can get some good results out of it (when I practice, which is not often enough).
There’s a huge music store on Fuxing South Rd. between Ren-Ai and Hsin-Yi. It’s the biggest one I’ve come across here in the city. They have what appears to be a wide selection of both brass and woodwinds.
Enjoy,
CK
I paid around NT$40,000 about 12 years ago for a student-level Yamaha tenor sax, which I still play. Its OK but again, the intonation isn’t too great and I spend a lot of time fighting tone. Still, its lasted the course of Taiwan’s pubs and clubs well, despite a good few bumps and bashes (what exactly is supposed to be the shape of a tenor sax? Looking at mine, I can’t really tell any more). I’m an unashamed unrefined “honker” who sticks to R&B and blues and until I’m ready to shell out NT$120,000 or so for a decent Selmer or something, it’ll do me.
There are quite a few shops in Taipei that’ll see you right. For starters, try the Yamaha dealership on Fuxing South Road, just south of the Howard Plaza hotel. No particularly good bargains to be had, but you’ll get an idea of local Yamaha prices.
Also, right at the bottom of the same street, almost where it meets Hsinhai Rd. there’s a shop crammed with instruments. I’ve never been in, but it looks like they cater mainly to school bands, so they’ll have a lot of relatively cheapo stuff.
On Heping East Road, one building east of the Heping/Roosevelt Rd intersection there’s a more expensive store on the 8th floor that has some nice Selmers and upmarket Japanese models.
Across the street and a little further east, at the corner of Heping E. Rd. and Jinshan S. Rd. there’s a guitar shop that has a few saxes and trumpets. I’ve never looked closely at them, nor have I priced them.
That should give you a start.
Also, you could always pay a visit to the Living Room (see banner ad on this site) for their Thursday night open jam and talk to some of the musicians there, or buttonhole Corbett Wall, the owner, who has played sax professionally here for years and is a very approachable bloke.
[quote=“sandman”]There are quite a few shops in Taipei that’ll see you right. For starters, try the Yamaha dealership on Fuxing South Road, just south of the Howard Plaza hotel. No particularly good bargains to be had, but you’ll get an idea of local Yamaha prices.[/quote]Yamaha Japan make some great saxes, but they’re not necessarily the best deal you’ll get in Taiwan. And concerning Yamahas made in SE Asia, I feel you could get at least as good quality with a Taiwan-made sax.
I would certainly recommend a Yamaha for somebody starting out in a western country, but here I would shop around.
There’s also a shop in the same alley as Bobwundaye pub (again, look for a banner ad on this site, or do a search to find the address). Didn’t really pay attention to what he had, but he does Conn instuments and he was happy to take a special order for sax reeds for me.
This is undoubtedly the best of all the shops, as not only can you buy a sax, you can then celebrate your purchase with a pint or five of Murphy’s stout at Bobwundaye.
A tenor shouldn’t really have intonation problems. The tone may not be all you hoped for, but the intonation, meaning the relative in-tune-ness of different notes against each other, should be OK. It’s the smaller saxes such as altos and especially sopranos that have the problems in this regard. To get a soprano that’s truly free of intonation faults, you have to spend serious amounts of money – a trip to the Yanagisawa factory might be in order.
If you really have intonation problems, could they be due to something else such as the mouthpiece chamber size or facing, or the distance you have the mouthpiece pushed onto the cork? It could also be because your mouthpiece has a very wide tip opening and your embouchure is struggling.
Conn saxes, at least, are not the Conns of before. For saxes, I say again look for a decent Taiwan-made one. I think Conn brass instruments – trumpets, trombones etc. – have a reasonable reputation as OK budget instruments.
You are right, it could be any of those things and I do indeed use an extremely wide tip opening – a 9, I think – along with very hard reeds, but I have a feeling its more to do with the fact that the neck is so dented and bashed. Plus, of course, I never, but never, clean the damn thing. Still, since my playing style revolves principally around growls, howls, farts and raspberries, it doesn’t really matter. 
Thank alot for both of your replies - very much appreciated, and I will certainly take a look in the shops that you mentioned.
Joesax - to answer your question, I am a beginner. A complete beginner. So maybe the quality of the instrument would not be that important to me at first - at least until I learn to play to a decent level. Maybe, a Taiwanese brand would be ideal for me for the time being?
I heard (from quite a few friends) that trombone is the easiest out of the 3 to play. Do you think this is the case?
Although, the trumpet is the one that I would love to play, I have recently started getting “interested” in the sax…so am not entirely sure which instrument to buy yet…
…shame there isn’t a “Blockbusters” for instruments, where you can hire a trumpet or sax out for a couple of nights to see if you like it or not…
For a complete beginner, which instrument would you recommend? Or does it not matter, as if you put in the practice you can learn any instrument?
For a complete beginner it doesn’t matter, as you won’t get far at all on any of these instruments without at least some lessons.
Other than that, I would say the sax is probably a bit easier and more intuitive than the other two (but you must remember that I started being a beginner over 30 years ago, so its a long time since I had absolutely no idea about it – I only wish I could have moved up to the next level at some point, but I guess its not going to happen).
my jr. high band instructor used to say that it is easier to tune a lawn mower than it is to tune a tenor sax.
Of course, I think the quality of tenors that our school had was probably the main reason for that.
[quote=“scomargo”]my jr. high band instructor used to say that it is easier to tune a lawn mower than it is to tune a tenor sax.
Of course, I think the quality of tenors that our school had was probably the main reason for that.[/quote]
There are times when its easier to play a lawn mower than it is to play a tenor sax.
There are also times when the lawn mower sounds a hell of a lot better.
[quote]There are times when its easier to play a lawn mower than it is to play a tenor sax.
There are also times when the lawn mower sounds a hell of a lot better[/quote]
Looks like I will be buying myself a nice alto-mower then…I wander if “garden jazz” will get popular…
The store on Fuhsing S. Rd. has a clarinet that almost made me cry it was so beautiful. I spent all of my years in school playing a plastic clarinet because my family couldn’t afford a wooden one for me. I’m going to go back there and buy it one day. I do miss playing. And I miss my trumpet back home.
[quote]I do miss playing. And I miss my trumpet back home.[/quote]
How good would you say you are at playing the trumpet?
What sort of music do you prefer to play?
My ideal situation, and long-term, goal would be to learn to play the trumpet in the same style as a long-dead jazz player called Hot Lips Page.
For a complete beginner it doesn’t matter, as you won’t get far at all on any of these instruments without at least some lessons.
Other than that, I would say the sax is probably a bit easier and more intuitive than the other two.[/quote]Sandman is right about the sax being easier and more intuitive than either trombone or trumpet. It looks more complicated as it has so many keys, but this in fact simplifies things and for example when you’re playing a C scale, you just go up and down the keys a bit like a recorder.
The trumpet is less intuitive and perhaps the trombone is the least intuitive.
You also have to consider the physical stamina issue. A tenor or alto sax is probably the easiest in this regard, although to develop good tone and endurance you still need to practice every day. A trombone is a bit harder, and a trumpet is the hardest. Part of the problem with the trumpet is the fact that the muscles you use are in such a small area. Another part is the high air pressure. My old trumpet teacher told me that the trumpet players a few hundred years ago, when the instrument was harder still to play, all used to die early. Don’t worry – I haven’t heard of any modern-day players with trumpet-related health problems. But it is a tough instrument.
Having said this, you need a bit of persistence and dedication to get results from any instrument, but if you practice every day, you will do OK with any of the three instruments you mentioned. The trumpet is still my first love and sometimes when I hear Chet Baker or Miles Davis I feel like crying (in a good way!) If the trumpet is what you really love, then perhaps that’s what you should be playing.
You talked about renting an instrument. Actually this is very common for students in the UK. I don’t know whether any similar schemes exist here. Your idea of trying out the different instruments, to see which one you are comfortable with, is a good one.
Sandman is right again about a teacher. It is really the only way. Do not think that you can read a book and pick up a bit by yourself, then go to a teacher later when you have the basics under your belt. It does not work like this. If you do this you will develop all sorts of bad habits that will take a long time to fix when you do eventually get a teacher: that is if the frustration doesn’t make you give up first. If you only ever get ten lessons, they should be right at the beginning of your playing ‘career’.
[quote=“Trapper”]Joesax - to answer your question, I am a beginner. A complete beginner. So maybe the quality of the instrument would not be that important to me at first - at least until I learn to play to a decent level. Maybe, a Taiwanese brand would be ideal for me for the time being?[/quote]It is a very common misconception that a beginner does not need a good instrument. In some ways, the reverse is true. A beginner needs the ease and playability of a decent instrument, whereas only an experienced player could get anything resembling music out of a cheap instrument. So this is why I say – never get the cheapest instrument available. Always get at least the one up from that.
Taiwan has quite a long history of making saxes, but I don’t know anything about Taiwanese trumpets and trombones. Could be OK. For brass instruments, I think Yamaha would be a safe bet, although you should be paying less for a SE Asian one than a Japanese one.
I need a new soprano sax. Fast. Have any of you noticed a music shop selling such things in your travels around the city? Let me know please.
I don’t have time to drive to Houli as I need it by this Saturday.
Any help would be appreciated.
Saw one at the little music store close to Taipei Main Station, on the crossroad of Zhongshan and Chungshiao East Roads.
Got another place but gotta verify it is a soprano.
nobody needs a soprano sax.