I've been reading about the demise of the saxophone in the United States, which seems to be plotting a similar course for similar reasons.

According to this guy, mass-produced Chinese instruments have attained a level of quality where it's a better choice to buy a brand new saxophone instead of repadding an older one.

The demand for these instruments isn't coming from the United States, but from China, Russia, and South America. We just happen to get the benefit of inexpensive instruments.

There's a guy in my town that buys instruments returned to Amazon, fixes them up, puts a decent mouthpiece on them and resells them on Craigslist in the $200+ price range. That's an amazing deal for someone like me, who could never afford a "pro" instrument, but doesn't want the risk of buying an instrument sight unseen.

I've picked up an alto for my daughter in hopes that some of her EWI skills might transition over, and a tenor for myself.

Fortunately, my kids are exposed to "oldies" when I'm driving around, so they are currently unaware of the demise of the saxophone. wink

-- David Cuny
My virtual singer development blog

Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?