Here is one GREAT tenor for about $300.00
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=620&item=3781892912&rd=1okay....a little soap boxing......but these are just my amateurish opinions, and not meant to offend anyone. I'm convinced that the last good horn made was the Selmer MK VI because that is what my repair tech says, and he's seen ALOT of horns. He's in a position to know. I'll take it a step further and say that even some MK VIs can sound like crap. I think my horn sounds better than a MK VI. The whole MK VI thing is more a publicity thing than a reality thing - but it's still a dang good horn - one of the very best made.
Anyway, from the horns that I've fondled and play tested, the older ones generally have a better sound to them. Exactly why, I do not know, but I prefer that sound. Also, the quality is usually there. They don't bang up as easily, and they seem to last forever if taken care of. When I see a good, used vintage horn - anything from the late 1950's on back, I see a horn that I can buy for $100's instead of thousands that will blow the pants off of most modern horns. The early horns were all hand made and not mass produced. MUCH more attention to the minor details was given to them during manufacture. Defective horns rarely saw daylight back then.
Back then, there wasn't any such thing as student, intermediate, or advanced horns. Everyone played the same thing, so even the student had the potential to sound and play as good as any professional. The whole student, int, advanced thing was just an attempt by instrument companies to extract even more money out of people. This started happening around the 1960's. About the same time that automobiles started turning into aluminum cans as well.
The tricky part for people who think like me is finding the "right" vintage horn at the right price. It usually takes a lot of effort and time to make it all come out right. Or, like me, you can find your true love when you're least expecting it, but that's the exception and not the rule.
Unless one goes back to pre-1920's, the good horns are not limiting you in any meaningful way. It's more a matter of ergonomics. The body adapting to a few less keys, and a few less "easy to play" options. That's why some people say that the best horn is the one you learned to play on. You get used to what you've got, and you can get darn good with it. Just listen to the old players and then come back and tell me if pro saxophonists are able to play better today than they were back then. To my ears, modern technology may have made playing a little easier, but certainly not any better.
With all the modern technology out there today and the great selection of mouthpieces, accessories, etc. There is a trend for muscians to try and "fix" their problems by spending more and more money on changes to their setups. It is my belief that unless something is majorly wrong, that's the wrong way to go. Back in the old days, the horn and mouthpiece you first got, was usually what you were stuck with for many many years. That didn't hold back all those poor guys from across the rail road tracks did it? Some of these guys today will buy a sax just because it showed up on the front page of some magazine with Phil Woods holding it and smiling. They want to impress their peers.
For me, playing the sax is a "hand in glove" situation where the musician and the instrument must eventually become "one" rather than trying to sound better by tossing out a perfectly good sax and spending many thousands on the latest - which is probably not even the greatest. Unless that familiarity is breeding contempt, I see no reason for a musician to spend more money on a different instrument.
A main thing also is focusing on a horn with known intonation quality. Again, it all takes research, time, etc. There were some back then that were hard to get into tune, but there were also plenty that have a reputation for more solid output than many of the newer horns. A guy like me has to become educated on that.
....well....that's about it for now.
