We finally did it!
We finally found a new saxophone for MK!
It’s a beautiful black and silver Cannonball Intermediate sax and we got the best deal on it! We’re very pleased.
MK especially dug the etching on the bell:
That’s about as masculine as you’re going to get on the etchings. 🙂
We shopped around. We went to a different music store and sampled their inventory. MK really liked a gold Yamaha pro sax and though the price was a bit high, it was still lower than we had priced them at other times.
He loved the saxophone and really wanted to buy it. But we talked him into visiting the music store we had rented his beginning sax from to see what they had in stock.
And we’re so glad we did!
When MK played the black Cannonball, I could tell, right away, it was a perfect fit. He just handled it like a pro and all of the notes were so rich and full … there was no need to shop around anymore.
Because we were long-time customers of that music store, we were able to cash in the equity in the sax we had been renting from them for the past three years and apply it to the Cannonball – let’s just say, it was LESS than half of what we would have paid for the Yamaha!
We were ecstatic.
AND, we had such a low balance left on the rental, that we went ahead and paid that off, so now he can play his old rental in marching band and save the Cannonball for concerts and competitions next year.
Win – win situation!
MK spent most of the day playing his new sax. When he wasn’t playing with it, he sat with the case, and when that got old, he opened it up and polished up the silver parts.
He absolutely loves it. He can NOT wait to show the rest of his band members when he goes back to school on Monday. He says he feels very special now and he will definitely stand out from the rest of the saxophone players. Considering he’s first chair, he really likes the idea.
I’m hoping this enthusiasm carries into the summer and he practices hard for his audition into the high school jazz band next fall.
This purchase couldn’t have come at a better time because today, is MK’s 14th birthday!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SON!! We’re so proud of you and your musical talent!
Write From Karen 
Oh what a great birthday present for MK – happy birthday to him!
Yea! That is a awesome story. Thanks for sharing and Happy 14th Birthday.
Thanks Rachel!
You’re absolutely right about different instruments sounding different – I’m so glad we didn’t go the online route because he needed to “feel” what was right for him. I was amazed at how good the intermediate saxes sounded when compared to the pros!
He tested a Cannonball pro and we thought the intermediate sounded tons better. And it was a lot easier for him to play. He was happier with the high notes, which, he says, he plays more of in jazz band than the lower notes.
I was very impressed with how professional MK was. He really put some thought behind the one he chose as we cautioned him that this one would likely last well into college (if wants to upgrade at that point, he can pay for it!)
Thanks again for the comment!
Yay for the new sax! I am glad you were able to pay off the old one and keep it for marching band. You wouldn’t want the new one to get all banged up, which would happen eventually.
Cannonballs are pretty good – and the black and etching really amps up the “cool” factor! Isn’t it amazing that you can try so many different instruments and they all sound different – sometimes good, sometimes bad. Then you play that one and the notes just come alive. I was talking about that last night with some friends of mine. They were looking at French horns and had a similar experience.
Happy birthday, MK!