Saxophone Brands

There are quite a number Saxophone brands that exist today in the 21st century, but there have been many more that existed over the life time of the Sax. So which is the best brand? Which is the most popular brand? Are there any I should stay away from?

Like all products, there are companies who will go into production to manufacture the product as cheaply as possible in order to get it to market, yet have complete disregard for the ultimate quality of the final result. When we're looking at the various Brands of Saxophone, these brands are only really worth mentioning once and then we'll move on. For your sake, please don't fall into the trap of buying a low priced, low quality Saxophone off eBay, touted as a high quality replica, you will only be disappointed with the result.
As an experienced player I feel when looking at purchasing a saxophone the focus should ultimately be on one of the popular brands - remember, there's a reason they're so popular and have lasted in the market. So, today these are some of the very popular brands in the market each with a long and interesting history:

• Yamaha
• Yanagisawa
• Cannonball
• Jupiter
• Selmer
• Keilwerth
• Vito
• Martin
• King
• Conn

All of these are great horns, each with different characteristics however. On a personal note, I think a lot of players attribute a disproportionate amount of prestige to the Selmer, (especially the Mark VI).
Although it's a great quality sax, In my honest opinion, it's not any better the top of range from other high end Saxophone Brands. I totally agree that, at the time it was first produced that Selmer Mark VI was a light year ahead of the pack, however, as with any competitive advantage, it won't last long if the high level innovation isn't continued. So, no doubt the top-end Yamaha's, Yanagisawa's, Cannonballs and the rest are all of equal or similar quality to the Selmer. Often it's a case of personal preference, comfort and emotional attachment when choosing a brand of Sax. As all of these companies build models which cater from the low-end (Beginner) through to the high-end (Professional) of the market, they are all a reputable brand worth considering. Let's check out some of the brands in more detail to see what they have to offer.