My students and I will head to the annual SCISA Music Festival tomorrow, and I’ve been trying lately to book more gigs playing the saxophone, and it’s gotten me thinking about the Slade alto saxophone I purchased last year (that link—and most of the others in this post—is an Amazon Affiliate link; I receive a portion of any purchases made through that and other links, at no additional cost to you).  It’s been a very good saxophone, and I’m prepared to recommend it to potential budget sax shoppers, with one major caveat.

This post is intended as a guide for parents looking to buy an affordable alto saxophone for their child, or for a later-in-life beginner who wants to get into the instrument without too much cost.  If you follow my advice, you should be able to kit yourself or your child out with a decent, budget load-out for under $350.

For those of you stumbling upon this post, I’ll briefly introduce myself:  I’ve been playing saxophone for nearly thirty years, and have been teaching music nearly full-time for fifteen years.  I also teach a ton of private music lessons, and have helped a number of families find affordable, quality instruments over the years.  I’m not a pro saxophonist, but I know a lot about them, and I love the instrument.

A quick note:  many school music programs will have a rental program set up with a local music shop.  These rental programs are not worth it.  You’ll end up spending way more money over time, even if you’re doing a rent-to-own situation.  If money is an issue, set aside $50 a month for six months, and you’ll be able to afford everything I’m recommending here.  Save another $25, and you’ll be able to afford the reeds I’m recommending (the Slade comes with reeds; more on that below).  If you child is starting band in the fall, start saving now, and you’ll be fine by September.

I detail the pros and cons of the sax and various accessories.  For my list of recommended items to purchase (the sax and accessories), scroll to the bottom of the post.

The Slade Alto Saxophone

Twenty years or so ago, cheap, colorful saxes from China started flooding American markets.  Most of them are not worth the brass they’re lacquered in, but when I found myself in need of a decent, ready-to-play alto saxophone, I decided to give this Slade alto saxophone a try.  What convinced me to risk the couple of hundred bucks was this video:

If you listen closely, there are very subtle differences between the professional sax and the cheap-o Slade.  Those subtle differences, for the vast majority of players, are not worth spending an additional $4230.  Unless you’re playing sax professionally or playing it as part of your degree program in a collegiate school of music, it’s not going to make a difference.

You tend to get what you pay for, especially with saxophones, and spending under $300 for an alto saxophone in the 2020s seems like a recipe for disaster.  But the video didn’t lie, and my Slade alto saxophone plays beautifully—and paid for itself almost immediately.

Here’s a short video of me playing the sax shortly after it arrived:

The Caveat:  Get a Better Mouthpiece

Ah, but the caveat!  The mouthpiece is trash.  The mouthpiece that shipped with the Slade is not playable.  I pulled the not-great mouthpiece from my older alto, and it worked beautifully.

I have no idea what kind of mouthpiece I have, so here is my recommendation:  spend another $40 and get this Yamaha 4C mouthpiece.  You can use the ligature (the little two-screw metallic device that holds the reed to the mouthpiece) from the Slade; it will work fine.

I cannot stress this point enough:  having a decent mouthpiece is crucial to playing saxophone.  A bad mouthpiece makes for a bad learning experience.  If you’re balking at the idea of slapping a $40 mouthpiece on a $260 sax, trust me—it is worth it.  That extra $40 could mean the difference between you or your kid happily playing the sax every day, or the sax becoming a $260 paperweight.

That gets us to $300, which is excellent for a sax.

Reeds

The Slade alto saxophone comes with a lot of stuff, like a neck strap, some cork grease, a spit rod (for cleaning the instrument), and other accessories.  It also comes with a tiny pair of gloves—very odd—and, bizarrely, a mute.  Mutes are not used on saxophones; in fact, they distort the pitch, so I’m mystified as to why this ships with the instrument.

It also comes with reeds.  The reeds included are, as I recall, fine.  That said, go ahead and buy a 10-pack of Strength 2 Rico Royals.  They’re $25, and are already filed, meaning they have been sanded down to make them more playable right out of the box.  $2.50 per reeds is a very good price.

Reeds come in various thicknesses or strengths, ranging 1-5.  The higher the strength, the more durable the reed; however, thicker reeds are harder to play right out of the box.  I’ve never gone past a 3 or 3.5, as the benefit of the increased lifespan of the reed is not worth the hassle of having to do additional filing and sanding—or just struggling with a reed I cannot play instantly.  Also, I have never personally known anyone who plays lower than a 2 or higher than a 4 strength.

Indeed, these days, I only play on 2.5-strength reeds.  2s are better for beginners, because they are pretty free-blowing out of the box.  I like the slightly harder edge of the 2.5s and the increased durability, but they tend to be very playable right away.

Recommended List

In summary, here is what I would recommend if you’re looking for a budget sax (prices as of 9 March 2025; prices subject to change, so do your due diligence):

• Slade alto saxophone – $209.99-279.90 (but typically $259.90), depending on color; Amazon often has coupons, and if you or your kid don’t mind playing a hot pink alto sax, you can get away with spending $210!
• Yamaha 4C mouthpiece – $38.95
• 10-pack of Strength 2 Rico Royals – $25

Grand Total:  $273.94-$343.85 (typically $323.85) before tax

That is a steal.

Disclaimers

The Slade alto saxophone has worked exceptionally well for me.  I have not had any major (or even many minor) issues with it.  That said, saxophones can be very temperamental, and should be handled carefully.  Sometimes, damage occurs in shipping.  Also, this sax is very much a product of China—for better or for worse.  Amazon reviews are generally favorable, with the aggregate score hovering around 4.3 stars at the moment, but some buyers have complained about poor construction.

That has not been my experience—nor does it seem to be the experience of 80% of reviewers who have given the horn a 4-star or higher rating—but I would be remiss if I did mention the possibility of mechanical or structural issues.

That said, you could easily take the sax to a local music shop and have their technician drop a light into the horn to check for leaks.  Nothing in life is guaranteed, but purchasing this saxophone—as opposed to a more expensive horn, or renting a crappy student horn—is fairly low-risk, high-reward.

Conclusion

In short, I highly recommend this saxophone.  Other than the terrible mouthpiece, it is a bargain.  It’s the #9 bestselling saxophone on Amazon.  The YouTuber Better Sax endorsed it.  For what it’s worth, I have endorsed it.

Do your due diligence—which, if you’ve stumbled upon this post, you are doing—but it’s a safe bet.

—TPP