TromboneChat

I love trying new brass and I sometimes buy stuff and I sometimes sell stuff (all used). Pretty common so far I think (hope). Usually I'm not operating on a loss, even making some money often times. But I still don't have lots of money so I need to be careful with my purchases. So the question often is:

Should I buy or not???

Currently I'm thinking about buying a K&H alto 122 I could get for a fair price I could manage but still a good amount of money in my situation. I already own an alto which I have already used outside my house with other people. It is a nice B&S, but I never tried another alto, so I have no idea what I'm missing out... The K&H probably is more modern with bigger bore and single instead of dual bore compared to my B&S.
I certainly don't need two altos so one would need to go if I would buy. For sure I could live well even with no alto, but I like altos.

Buying, cleaning, repairing, trying out and selling all takes time not available for other stuff like practising or making useful stuff for going forward in life (I'm just an amateur by the way). But of course it is fun but sometimes it is getting a burden...

This is more of a philosophical question.

In the spirit of a philosophical question, some things to consider:

How much alto you play?
How often will you play this one?
Do gig on it? (You say that you, "have already used [it] outside my house with other people." Is that for fun or money?
Can you say why the B & S isn't that great?
Are you skilled and experienced enough on alto that you believe that you'll feel/benefit from the change?

BTW, The dual bore vs. single is not related to how "modern" the horn is. There are plenty of modern dual bores out there.

Bottom line (soley from the "My Two Cents Dept.): It's a niche horn. If you can comfortably afford it and feel like messing around, go ahead - have fun. If its a financial stretch and you don't have a compelling need for a better performing instrument, pass this time around.

I've played a lot of alto for almost 40 years in professional settings. I own a Yamaha 871, which I bought new in the mid 80s and is perfectly "fine" but not amazing. I'd love to have a really fine European horn but honestly could never justify the expense for what might, or might not, end up being an upgrade.

Again, just my two cents...