An Affordable Baritone Saxophone That Plays Like a Pro Horn

You all have been asking for my baritone saxophone recommendations…

So I went looking for a cheap yet good, baritone saxophone that you can order online with confidence.

Well in the end, a great yet affordable baritone saxophone found me and I’m going to tell you all about it today.

YouTube video

Singer’s Day Baritone Saxophone on Amazon

In the video I compare the Singer’s Day Baritone Sax to my Yanagisawa B-901 which is a professional instrument and certainly a good point of reference for comparison.

I am told that the design of the Singer’s Day Baritone Saxophone is inspired by the Yanagisawa horn so let’s examine the similarities and differences.

First let’s talk about the price. a new Yanagisawa horn equivalent to this one will cost you about $7000

The Singer’s Day Baritone sells for $2300 and is available on Amazon right now.

So the professional sax costs 3 times the price, but is it a 3x better instrument?

And just because the Singer’s Day is more affordably priced, does that mean it’s not up to professional performance?

Watch the video and listen to me playing both of them and see if one sounds better than the other.

Listening back, I can hardly tell the difference between the two saxophones. I will say that the Yanagisawa B-901 is more fun to play and has a slightly better tone from the perspective of the player. However, to be fair, the Yanagisawa is about as good as it gets when it comes to baritone saxophones. The Singer’s Day horn is really not all that far behind.

This instrument is very well made and is an extremely good copy of the Yanagisawa overall just at a much lower price.

Interested in more bari sax contetn? Check out my “Jody Jazz Baritone Sax Mouthpieces Review.”

Also be sure to follow BetterSax on Facebook, InstagramLinkedIn, and YouTube to stay up to date with us for news, giveaways, and other saxophone tips and tricks.

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25 Comments

Tom says:

Thanks Jay, I appreciate the review. Yes I think the Singer’s Day has a great sound.

Kurt Dressel says:

Amazon, unfortunately does not have this in stock. They say that they don’t know if or when it will be back. I did a little research and found that Singers Day are made by a company called Tianjin Shengdi Music Instrument Co. Their website however does not appear to have any way to purchase their products

Jay Metcalf says:

I’ve spoken to them and the problem has to do with the supply chain delays due to the virus in China and the factory closings. Apparently, Amazon is marking some items that are being delivered from China as unavailable based on their expectation that the supplier cannot meet the delivery timeline. I think this will sort itself out as things return to normal over there.

Mike says:

Thats good word, Jay. I was about to give in and try a taishen. They look nice… but too cheap. Makes me nervous.

Conrad says:

You should do a review of their tenor sax! A lot of people are looking to pick up new hobbies or a second instrument and it falls into the very managable price range, just like the jean paul you did a video on. I’m curious as to how it stacks up!

Music School El Dorado Hills - Mr. D's Music School says:

That’s really nice post. I appreciate Thanks for sharing.

Kane Taylor says:

When I had the $$ I got a Yamaha 62 because my school had a model 52. I didn’t know that much about the bari sax stuff but was familiar with the Yamaha. Plays good, I get comments on good tone, low A and high F# keys. Can ghost low Ab. Can’t afford another one but it does fine. Actually would like to check out tenor by this mfr, as mine is a very limited student tenor. After the big deal has settled, would like to investigate this mfr. It’s not at all un-American to buy musical instruments from foreign companies!

Dave says:

Great review, Jay. I was wondering if you have ever played the Kessler Solist. It’s also a B-901 copy and appears to be a quality instrument identical to the Singers Day except for the neck support (the Solist neck looks identical to the B-901). Since Kessler is also sold out, I wonder if both are made by the same manufacturer.

Jay Metcalf says:

I can’t say for sure but I suspect they are made at the same factory.

Robert says:

Awesome Review, Jay. I really liked the sound and it looks like a great pickup until I can get a pro. I found recently they now have a website, singersday.com. They have your image on the front page with your review and are selling many horns. Can you confirm if this is the same company? I would love to try getting my hands on the bronze Bari sax. lol

Jay Metcalf says:

Yes, that is the same company.

Richard Steinberg says:

Hi Jay.
How would you compare this sax with The Yamaha 52 bari .
Best Wishes,
Richard

Jay Metcalf says:

This is very much in the same league as the YBS-52

Dale Andrew says:

Hi Jay!

That is a really interesting Bari. Can you recommend a used Bari Sax to be on the lookout for?

Thanks a lot!

Chris King says:

How does the action compare to your Yani? I’ve played a few “copy cat” horns in the past and while they do a great job “looking” the part, they just don’t feel the same where the rubber meets the road.

Chris says:

Well, I folded and just spent the money on a new Yany BW01. WWBW is offering 48 months at 0% interest so, with such a minimal payment, I couldn’t justify skipping on buying the best! Thanks for the great videos and recommendations, Jay!

Jay Metcalf says:

Wow, what a great horn you’re getting. I have the 901 bari which I absolutely love. Congratulations and good luck with it.

jim Franzen, PhD, BTL says:

Anybody had problems returning saxes to amazon?

Brian says:

Hello, Jay

I watched with interest your review of the Singer’s Day Baritone sax. I’m wondering if there are other instruments in the Singer’s Day family that you would also describe as being well made Yanagisawa clones.

I’m hoping to find a reasonably priced replacement for my tenor sax that will sound good with a classical mouthpiece and stiff reeds.

Please do keep up the good work!
Thanks for all you are doing.

Be well.

Jay Metcalf says:

I haven’t tried a tenor from Singer’s Day yet so cannot say.

Antoine Astruc says:

Hello Jay,
I am looking for an affordable baritone. I love your videos and found the cheap baritone video to be very interesting.
Have you ever tried the ones from Thomann?
They have one at 1600 € and another at 2900 €. The Singer’s Day costs around 2000 €…
Thanks for all your videos !!

Jay Metcalf says:

Antoine, I have not tried the ones from Thomann sorry.

Anton Ross says:

Hi Jay.

Saw you at the JodyJazz booth with Jody and crew. He’s such a super cat! I’ve visited his shop in Savannah a number of times when I was playing in the Lowcountry (CHS, HHI) and Savannah, and used to have a quartet with his lead bari tech. Always saw him playing live on Hilton Head and at a terrific Cuban restaurant in SAV. Good times. Great player. Love his mouthpieces.

I just bought this Bari on sale at Amazon ($2K) and tested it out last night with my quintet. I originally needed it while my ’63 Martin Bari is in the shop, but after playing it last night, I think it will become my main “bar gigs” Bari and keep my Martin for Big Band and other legit stuff.

I can attest to the quality of this B-901 copy…it’s EASILY as good as the YBS62 I tried a while back, and plays smoothly with good intonation from Low A (which is set up really well) through the upper palm keys and into altissimo. I’ve read a number of reviews (you know where, I’m sure) that mention how small the keyboard is compared to vintage baris. 100% accurate, but also, it’s a good thing, even for a guy with a large span like me. It did take some getting used to, but the ergonomics on this heavy beast are quite good.

Now the bad: it came from the factory (I believe) with a lower Side E key bent in almost all the way. It didn’t look damaged by shipping, so I’ve contacted the reseller in LA (I’m in SF) about this. We’ll see what happens. It doesn’t totally impact my playing, since I typically use that key for fast classical passages in weird keys. It just “feels” strange under my right hand index finger. By the end of a 3-hour rehearsal, I was used to it, and it didn’t impact my playing or soloing.

As others noted, the case is nothing special, but at least it has wheels. I also don’t see the need to get a pricey hardshell case, since I travel by car everywhere. The case does the job for now.

The mouthpiece, ligature, cap, and reed are nothing special, but now I have an extra cap!

For $2k, I could not ask for a better bari. I’ve played the Kessler Soloist and liked it (2017-ish), and I’ve known the Kessler crew for years (and played a number of their horns; their ProOne soprano is my main sop). I would have gotten a Solist if they weren’t so back-ordered.

Anyhow, this is a long-winded post in appreciation of both your site and your review of this axe. MANY THANKS! I may step up to a $10K new Yani some day, but since this isn’t my main profession these days (I’m an SEO), and I’m happy with my investment.

One question I’d ask you is this: would a neck upgrade be worth it on this bari? My Yamaha V1 necks (solid silver) for my main alto and tenor (YBT61 and ’66 Buffet SDA alto) really do sounds worlds apart from stock, so I’m thinking a better neck may enhance my sound?

Again, many thanks!
Anton

Jay Metcalf says:

Glad to hear it worked out for you. For the necks it’s always worth a try.

Victor Joseph Osborne says:

Good morning, Jay:
Any wisdom in comparing Singer’s Day Bari to Keilwerth ST90 Bari?

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