So in my searches for information about saxes in Korea, I’ve come across a couple of facts that are pretty interesting.
- Selmer saxes are WAY overpriced here. A Selmer bari sax runs about W10,000,000, which, yes, is about $10,000 American, and something like $11,000 Canadian. A used one in really poor shape runs about $9,000 Canadian. Several shops have quoted me figures like that.
- The well-reputed Yanagisawa saxes are more affordableperhaps shipping from Japan is just cheaper? Or maybe it’s the fact that Yamaha has a bad rep here, and Selmer is the horn everyone thinks is the best (and in Korea, the best is the only acceptable option, really). A Yanagisawa bari would cost me about $4000-4500 Canadian, and though it’d be nice to have a new horn, I’d rather drop that much money on a new tenor than a new bari.
- There’s an American sax player who’s settled in Korea and he’s making his living off something other than teaching English: he’s a pro musician in Seoul. His name is Gary Harris, and his website is here. (I’ve incidentally asked him for info on where I can buy a horn here, since he’s probably the best person in the country for me to ask.)
Ah well, I think I’ll leave aside this sax search till I hear back from him or until the urge hits me again. I probably won’t pick up anything for a few months anyway, but I would love it if I stumbled across some useful information. I really should ask Lime if she could search online and see if anyone happens to be selling a used bari sax, though the chances are slim, and even slimmer that it would be a decent instrument.