Should I hire a saxophone, or buy one?
The most common question I’m asked as a teacher is “I want to learn saxophone, but should I hire or buy a sax to learn on?”
The short answer is “Yes”.
Hire to start with
I advise most students who haven’t played an instrument before to try hiring one first, for a few months, and see if they want to commit before the outlay of buying an instrument. Depending on the shop, you may get a brand new instrument, or one that’s been around the block a few times.
Beyond the smaller initial cost, this has several advantages:
You may be able to switch from alto to tenor (or vice versa) if you decide you want to change.
Your saxophone should arrive in good working condition. The hirer should also fix any issues that aren’t caused by damage.
The rental company will usually service the saxophone annually.
Read about hiring a saxophone in Auckland here.
Then, buy a saxophone if you want to continue
At a certain point, the amount of hireage starts to get close to the cost of a secondhand saxophone. And owning your own instrument gives you more of a sense of connection with your music.
So for most students who want to continue, at around 3-6 months, I suggest looking for a new or secondhand saxophone to buy.
This can be an outlay of $1000 for a secondhand beginner sax, up into the $5000-$12,000+ range for a new professional instrument, and even higher for some collectible vintage saxophones.
You will also need to budget for annual servicing of the instrument - usually NZ$200-$300.
Read about buying a saxophone here.