Contact Us
Visit Us
Fast UK Delivery
Feefo Platinum Service
BG Ligatures for Saxophone: Which One Is Right for You?
10th March 2026If you’re a saxophone player, your ligature matters more than you might think. In this post and the accompanying video , pro player, Jimmy Merchant breaks down the full BG ligature range, explaining what makes each one unique and how to find the right match for your reed, mouthpiece, and playing style.
Whether you’re a beginner just starting out or a seasoned professional looking to fine-tune your setup, there’s a BG ligature built for you.
Gear Spotlight – The Team at Dawkes
9th February 2026Imagine handling thousands of Clarinets and Saxophones every year, and all manner of interesting mouthpieces, ligatures and reeds. That’s the privileged position we’re in here at Dawkes Music and many of our staff are active woodwind musicians owning multiple instruments.
However, whilst temptation lies in every cabinet here, like everyone else we can’t buy one of everything! So, we caught up with a few of our staff to find out what gear they choose to use for their different musical pursuits, and why.
Upgrading Your Sax Mouthpiece
13th January 2026Upgrading your sax mouthpiece can be a real turning point in your playing. It’s often the moment where things start to feel easier, more responsive, and a way of finding ‘you’ in your sound. In our latest video, professional saxophonist Thom Conroy is joined by UK Product Specialist Tom Miller-Swain to explain why a mouthpiece upgrade is such an important investment, and how to choose the right option for your style with D’Addario.
Woodwind Awards 2025
27th December 2025Celebrating the Best in Woodwind for 2025
Each year, we take time to reflect on the instruments, accessories and innovations that have genuinely stood out in our woodwind department. The Woodwind Awards 2025 are chosen based on highlights, excellence in manufacturing, and products that have truly impressed us on the shop floor.
The Ultimate Gift Guide for Saxophonists
1st December 2025Shopping for a saxophonist? To help narrow things down, this ultimate gift guide highlights reliable, player-approved favourites across a range of budgets. Whether you’re buying for someone else or upgrading your own setup, these are solid choices that’ll get used, not forgotten.
Highlights From Our Big Clarinet & Sax Weekend
25th November 2025Our Big Clarinet & Saxophone Weekend was bursting with music, inspiration, and a whole lot of reed-fuelled excitement! From inspiring workshops to stunning concerts, the two days had something for every player.
Discover D’Addario Saxophone Reeds
11th November 2025When it comes to saxophone reeds, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Every player has their own sound, setup, and style. As Thom Conroy says, “The right reed on the right mouthpiece is the dream combination.” Finding yours means exploring a few options.
D’Addario offer one of the most complete reed ranges on the market – from student-friendly reeds that make learning easier, to premium organic reeds designed for the world’s top performers.
Technician Tales: Common Saxophone Faults – And How to Prevent Them
27th October 2025Saxophones look tough, but they’re full of sensitive parts like pads, springs, and keywork that can be thrown out of alignment with the wrong kind of handling. In the repair workshop, our technicians see certain issues over and over again. Most of them are preventable with better habits and a little more care. Here are the top faults seen by saxophone repairers – and how to avoid them.
The Art of Breathing for Musicians
22nd September 2025Breath is at the heart of music-making. Whatever your instrument, the way you breathe shapes your tone, stamina, and expression. It’s tempting to think that “more air equals more sound,” but in practice, the opposite is often true. In this blog, ‘The Art of Breathing for Musicians’ we offer a range of advice to get your diaphragm working and start improving your sound and stamina!
The Classical Guide to Funk: Saxophone Edition
18th September 2025If you’ve come up through the world of études and sonatas, funk might feel like a different planet. The good news? You already have the control and discipline – now you can channel that into crisp articulation and improvisation. Funk solos don’t demand endless runs; they thrive on short riffs, rhythmic variation, and space. With the foundation you already have, it’s about loosening the edges and letting groove take the lead.
Back to School: Picking Up Your Woodwind Instrument After a Break
28th August 2025As the new school year begins, the music bags are being dusted off and practice routines are starting up again. Whether you’re a student returning back to school or an adult player getting back into the swing after some time away, picking up your Woodwind instrument after a break can seem a challenge, but easing yourself (and your instrument!) back in carefully makes all the difference.
Saxophone Fingerings: A Complete Guide to Alternatives
4th August 2025These are some of saxophonist Preston Cummins’ most frequently used alternative fingerings, selected for their practicality, tuning flexibility, and tonal versatility. In his accompanying video, Preston demonstrates each option – including side Bb, side C, alternate G# positions, and venting techniques – so you can both see and hear how they work in context.
This complete guide to alternatives serves as a written reference to those saxophone fingerings, helping you apply them more confidently in your own playing.
Vandoren VK Synthetic Reeds
18th July 2025Vandoren’s VK synthetic reeds are the result of seven years of research and development in France. The VK line offers a synthetic, fully recyclable alternative to cane reeds, crafted from a composite material. Designed to closely replicate the acoustic qualities of natural cane, they provide the durability and consistency players have long wished for, without sacrificing tone, response, or feel.
Caring for Your Single Reeds: Essential Tips for Clarinet and Saxophone Players
16th July 2025Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced player, caring for your single reeds will extend the life of your favourites and provide the best performance. Good reed maintenance not only saves you money, it ensures your playing stays consistent, smooth, and expressive. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you get the most from your clarinet or saxophone reeds.
Finding Your Musical Voice
Five Steps to Make Your Playing Truly Yours
In the world of instrumental playing, it’s easy to get caught up in perfecting the technical aspects – clean articulation, accurate intonation, and solid rhythm. But great players don’t just play the notes – they say something with them. Finding your musical voice is about making your playing unmistakably you. It’s a lifelong journey, but here are five steps to help you start carving out your unique sound, inspired by brass supremo Christopher Bill.
Celebrating 20 Years of P. Mauriat in the UK!
25th June 2025We are celebrating 20 years of P. Mauriat in the UK, bringing you a full review of their flagship range, the Influence tenor and alto saxophones. While P. Mauriat originated in the U.S. in 2003, it was in 2005 that these horns first arrived on UK shores – and over the past 20 years, they’ve carved out a loyal following among players seeking the warmth, feel, and soul of vintage horns with the reliability and precision of modern craftsmanship.
The Influence series has stood out from the beginning for its bold design choices, hand-built construction, and unmistakable tonal palette. Now, two decades on, it’s the perfect time to highlight these flagship models and see why they are becoming a household name amongst pro players.
A Self-Care Guide for Woodwind and Brass Players
24th June 2025World Wellbeing Week 2025
During World Wellbeing Week 2025, let’s shift the focus inward: from performance to presence. Woodwind and brass players know the intense demands of their craft – daily pressure on the breath, fine motor control, long practice hours, and often, physical tension. We’ve put together a self-care guide for musicians with 5 tips on slowing down and taking a moment. Whether you play oboe, saxophone, trumpet, or tuba, you’re constantly balancing technical skill with physical stamina and emotional focus.
We’ve also included some invaluable resources from the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine at the end of the blog to support all musicians through their journey.
The Stylish Saxophonist; Setup Choices for Jazz vs Classical Playing
10th June 2025By Alastair Penman
Although I see myself predominantly as a “classical” player, I also love playing jazz, and a fair amount of my work inhabits the area between the two. As saxophonists we’re often called upon to be musical chameleons, shifting between different styles (and even instruments); how can we choose a setup that allows us to do this as easily as possible?
A Beginner’s Guide to Reed Adjustments
29th May 2025Whether saxophone or clarinet, your reed is the heart of your sound, without it you couldn’t even make a sound! A great reed can make playing effortless, while a poor one can turn practice into a struggle. Learning how to adjust reeds gives you control over tone, response, and comfort. In this beginner’s guide to reed adjustments, we’ll show you how to get the most out of every reed.
A Guide to Ishimori and Wood Stone Super Custom Saxophones
14th May 2025About Ishimori and Wood Stone
In the late 1990s, Shinji Ishimori, a master craftsman, launched the ‘Wood Stone’ brand – named by combining ‘Ishi’ (stone) and ‘Mori’ (wood) – to create original products that met the evolving needs of saxophonists.
The brand began with a handcrafted ligature and has since expanded its lineup to include saxophones, mouthpieces, reeds and other accessories. They craft each product by hand, believing this to be the only way to achieve the quality they strive for. For example, all the screws are hand-made, allowing the products to feel more personal and not as structured as machine-made products.
Ishimori’s commitment to handcrafting ensures that each product, from ligatures to saxophones, meets the highest standards of quality and performance.
VENN Saxophone Reeds Review
26th April 2022With the arrival of the new VENN synthetic reeds for Saxophone we asked one of our own staff members to try one for a month and report back. How do they play? How does it compare to other synthetic and cane reeds? Over to Kasey to tell us her experiences…
From the Workshop: Sax Pearl Replacements
14th September 2021This lovely Andy Sheppard Autograph Series Tenor Saxophone recently came in for a full service and the owner enquired about options for key pearls. He loves his Sax, but the original finger button pearls on this model are totally flat. They also feel a bit ‘slippy’ under the fingertips. Looking for extra comfort, he was interested in concave pearls that his fingers could sink nicely in to.
Which type of Saxophone is best?
26th August 2021In this blog we check out which is the best type of Saxophone. We take a look at the main four members of the Saxophone family, alongside some of the speciality instruments. We also discuss which might be most suitable for you…
NEW! Yanagisawa Saxophone AKZ Necks
16th August 2021Yanagisawa have recently released a new ‘AKZ’ range of Alto Saxophone necks. These models differ from the standard necks that are supplied with instruments. As such they offer players the chance to upgrade their Yanagisawa set-up and play with new tonal colours and response.
Check out our guide below to the NEW models…
Mail Order: 14 Day Home Trial
2nd November 2020As fellow musicians we understand that sometimes it’s important to compare similar items back-to-back and/or just get a few days to make sure something is right for you. Our 14 Day Home Trial option is there to help you find the right item and test it in an environment you’re comfortable in. Here’s how it works…
What Sax Mouthpiece Do I Need? Versatile All-Rounders!
11th March 2020There are many saxophone mouthpieces on the market designed to do one job, and do it well! However, equally there are mouthpieces that can fit in just about anywhere. Are you a student or pro that likes to stick to one mouthpiece? A doubler who needs something that does everything? Or maybe you’re just looking to explore a range of styles with a budget? Here are our Top 5 ‘All-Rounder’ mouthpieces that are suited to just about any occasion…
What’s Your Set-Up? Sax & Clarinet…
19th February 2020This question gets thrown around a lot! From first time mouthpiece upgraders looking for something new, to highly-skilled amateurs looking for a different sound. Truthfully, someone’s answer – beyond letting you know how much money they dropped on a mouthpiece! – isn’t a lot of use to you. Why is this?
What Sax Mouthpiece Do I Need? Rock, Pop and Commercial
9th January 2020Pop and rock sax players, as they need to compete with electronic instruments, often opt for very bright, metallic tones, with a lot of edge to really cut through the wall of sound. Jazz musicians also use metal mouthpieces if they need something to really speak out over everything else but it’s worth remembering that the internal design of a mouthpiece is more important than the material. For example some ebonite pieces are brighter than some metal models because of their internal design, so it’s well worth considering both ebonite & metal options as discussed below…
What Sax Mouthpiece? Ebonite Jazz Mouthpieces
4th December 2019‘Jazz’ is a broad genre, and as such there are many mouthpieces available for the styles. Jazz has a variety of sounds, such as that classic smokey sound, to brighter, ‘pingy’ sounds. Ebonite lends itself well to producing that warm, ‘classic’ jazz sound, but with the right design it can really be a contender against it’s metal counterparts! This is just a small selection of the ebonite mouthpieces we offer that could be suitable for jazz styles …
What Sax Mouthpiece? Classical Sounds
31st October 2019The mouthpiece is one of the most – if not the most – influential pieces of kit on the sound of your instrument. And, at some point, you’ll be needing to get yourself a new one! A new mouthpiece will help you explore an entirely new tone world. Furthermore, and particularly in the case of upgrading from a plastic student mouthpiece, a new piece will help develop stronger expressive tools like articulations and dynamics.
But with so many mouthpieces available, with a range of tip openings, lays, chambers, materials … which one is good for what style? Hopefully we’ll be able to provide some insight on to which mouthpieces work in a range of genres – starting off with classical saxophone.
LefreQue Part 3 – Saxophone
18th October 2019On our quest to find out just how versatile the LefreQue are, myself and sax specialist Nick tried a few out on his tenor. Nick’s sax is unlacquered brass with a solid silver neck and gold plated mouthpiece. I was excited to see which LefreQue he thought suited his sax best, with a mix of different materials in play.
(more…)Jody Jazz DV Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
16th January 2019Jody Jazz offer a great selection of mouthpieces to suit a number of needs. Known for their punchy projection, the mouthpieces include a variety of hard rubber and metal mouthpieces. But today, we’re going to take a closer look at one of their more intriguing pieces – the Jody Jazz DV. We asked one of our sax specialists to put it through its paces!
Dawkes Music Workshop: Saxophone Split and Patch
24th December 2015This Buescher 400 ‘top hat & cane’ came to us as a recent purchase for general set-up.
The biggest problem we found was a small split running along the bottom bow and into the low Eb tone hole. This would cause the pad to leak air from the split so it needed to be filled one way or another.
The Summer of Vintage Saxes!
15th September 2015This summer we have seen a multitude of beautiful vintage saxophones come into the workshop so we thought you might like to see what we have seen and what their issues were. Have a look through, there are some real beauties!
Simon Willescroft plays Cannonball Bari Sax at T in the Park with Paloma Faith
21st July 2015It was great to see our friend, and Cannonball Musical Instruments artist, Simon Willescroft rocking it with Paloma Faith at T in the park this weekend on his B5-B Cannonball Bari Sax!
Selmer Paris release new reeds!
15th July 2015We are excited to hear that Selmer Paris will be launching their own reed range for soprano, alto and tenor saxophone!
Snake Davis DVD – “Make It Sing” Review
15th September 2010“MAKE IT SING!” Snake Davis
“What good is a great finger technique if it is not supported by a fantastic sound? The notes won’t mean anything” (Snake Davis)
Want your first Sax?
4th September 2010To Rent or Buy?
Obtaining your first saxophone from Dawkes Music can be achieved in a simple and cost effective way. We offer various ways to get you your first saxophone, which we believe suits everyone.
As a woodwind and brass specialist shop, you will be guaranteed the best student model saxophones on the market, with the addition of ongoing workshop support from us to ensure the saxophone continues to play to its highest capabilities. Dawkes do not simply give you a saxophone out of the box; we add our personal touch to each instrument ensuring it is set up and easy to play suiting the players requirements.