Are new saxophones better than older vintage ones

There is not a simple answer to this question but let’s first look at what we mean by “better”.

I would say that there are two main criteria in which you can evaluate a saxophone: First is the quality of build and materials, and second is the quality of sound and performance.

The quality of build does vary greatly in the new saxophones. You can get anything from a $300 saxophone that has low quality materials, poor craftsmanship and is pretty much guaranteed to go out of adjustment within a few weeks (if it even was possible to adjust originally!), to something like the Yanagisawa saxophones – arguably one of the highest quality build horns in terms of materials, precision, craftsmanship and the way they will hold their adjustments over time.

Many of the vintage saxophones built between the 1930s and 1970s are well made horns. Some better than others. If you have a properly overhauled vintage Selmer, for instance, it will hold its adjustment very well. The operative word here is properly! Addressing key fit, tone holes, etc in the overhaul is crucial for a long term, reliable setup.

As for the quality of sound and playing experience on a new horn versus a vintage horn, I would say that this comes down to personal taste.

Many of the newer horns are designed to “slot” the individual notes so as to make intonation easier to control, whereas some vintage horn can feel more flexible and require slightly more initial pitch control effort. Because of this, it can take a bit getting used to playing a Selmer Balanced Action for instance if you are coming from a Yamaha, but you will be rewarded with the richness and depth of tonal color that these saxophones have.

So in making a general comparison of new versus vintage saxophones, it is not really possible to say that one is better than the other. Rather, they each may have their strengths and weaknesses.