I can understand from a personal budget point of view, but it can make a big difference when starting out to have a decent instrument. I have a younger brother who decided to play sax. He saved up for a Selmer Mk VII, thinking, rightly, that if it didn't sound good, it was the player, not the sax. He was right, and recently gave it its first overhaul, thirty-odd years later. He's ecstatic over the result, as it now plays as good as new, and he now plays it with thirty-odd years more experience, having taken lessons from the outset with a top teacher. It cost more at the start, but was a sound investment. Whilst saving up, he studied the fingering by using a piece of wood..!