There are lots of people putting out lists of what to get people. This is yet another one.
iPad – The most essential things you need is an iPad. You can put ALL your music on there. You can take it to gigs. You can write on it using a Apple Pencil (gen 1) or Logitech Crayon. I’d recommend the Crayon. You don’t NEED an iPad Pro. The standard, 2021 current gen iPad is fine. It will set you back about $350 for a 64 gig one. More storage is always better.
Roland Aerophone Pro AE-30 – I was on the fence on this. I still don’t like the key noise. HOWEVER, it is just a JOY to play. It responds great….it plays great….it has amazing, editable sounds. It has Roland Cloud support for getting new sounds. The more I play it, the more I like it. It is THE EWI to get right now. Forget all the other ones. Spend the $1600 and get this.
Just Joe’s Sax Gel Strap – There are a TON of neck straps out there. This one I love. I have two. Might get another when gigging comes back. Absolutely the most comfortable neck strap I’ve used.
Woodwind Design Stands – Honestly, this guy is genius. His stands are amazing. It is so cool to be able to have everything just RIGHT with the horn. Forget those stupid looking Hercules stands. Carbon fiber is the new Yellow. The stands are not cheap. But they are worth it. Why spend thousands on an instrument to have it supported by a $30 stand. Would you spend $30 on a case for your horn?
Get-A-Sax Ligature – I got one of these for my alto. It’s awesome.
A Bag – It’s good to get a bag of some sort to carry all your accessories (microphone, cable, extra reeds, etc). I have this older Landsend laptop bag that I use, that they don’t seem to make anymore. Some sort of larger bag. Made of good material. Sort of like this bag, but made better (this one looks cheap). I believe my bag is canvas, and I’ve had it since the late 90s.
Amazon Basics Case – Get a couple of these to organize your stuff in the bag. A case for reeds. A case for tools. A case for your mic. Protect your stuff. These little cases are great.
Next up will be a software list……enjoy the holidays!
re: iPad. I love my iPad. I have the first generation iPad Pro and I’m getting ready to upgrade to the latest generation. I find that the large screen of the Pro is about the same size as a piece of paper; my aging eyes don’t need the stress of reading small fonts. It holds tons of my Real/Fake books and more apps than I could hope to use in a day. I found the Apple Pencil was a huge benefit when I started to use the iPad for writing music. Currently I’m using Touch Notation. It’s a great app, made by Kawai. It’s very helpful for lead sheets and exercises for my students, but not useful for scores. And suggestions as to what other Music writing app to use on the iPad?
iPad is a game changer. Every musician should own one…..or two…….or three…..
I haven’t ever used an app to write music on an iPad. I generally in a rehearsal write down notes on songs or sketches I have, and then make changes or create something with Finale. I’m a hardcore Finale user.