I'm really interested in learning more woodwind and brass but I'm really not sure where to start. I've played some sax and flute (though I don't own either) and I currently play and own a guitar and violin. I'd like to learn something different, preferably in the treble clef, and that can be applied to popular music. Any suggestions? Price ranges? Good beginner instrument brands? Anything?

well, I'd say an Alto sax would be a good one... or maybe just go buy a penny-whistle from your local guitar shop, cheap and effective. "Recorders" the instrument are also neat sometimes and if you get a decently nice one instead of a shitty plastic one they can be quite fun to play. With all that said - the two most common wind instruments that everyone thinks of are Sax and Trumpet. I'd say decide which you like better and go get a cheap one to fool around on. I think you can get entry level trumpets cheaper than entry level sax's but I'm not totally sure. Personally I like the sound of a Tenor sax more than any other wind instrument I can think of, though you might wanna go with an Alto if it's treble clef you're after - I really don't know, i learned how to blow em back in high school but i never learned to read for them so i don't know which one is in which clef. One thing to beweare of though is that with either Trumpet or Sax you WILL be in a different key signature because they are transposed instruments - meaning that when you play a "C" on a Trumpet it comes out as a "Bb" on the piano and guitar. Flute is a C instrument though i don't know if you're particularly interested in flute - i think oboe and french horn are also C instruments as well but don't quote me on that.

i say good beginner price = dirt cheap cuz if you buy a fancy expensive one you won't know what you're getting and you also won't care... then if you decide you don't like what you bought it's not a major investment... if you decide you DO like it then you can sell what you've got to a high school bander and get a better one.

anyway, i personally think that Sax is most easily applied to popular music - trumpet would be a close second and everything else is a little bit fringe - though you do hear flutes in such rare places as Jethro Tull and the Beastie Boys and DJ Logic, but I'd say it's not as common or as easy as adding a Sax to the mix - basically every likes a raunchy Tenor sax. If I had my pick that's probably what I'd buy - it's what coltrane plays and it's got that classic "Saturday Night Live!" sound. If you want a real rock sound for your sax then get a metal mouthpeice - I beleive they're even called "rock mouthpeices" cuz they have a much raunchier grittier edgier quality - that grinding blues sound - which is good for rock and pop.

you can pick up an el cheapo trumpet new for abotu $300 and an el cheapo tenor sax new for about $500 and i bet you could get something super cheap off of ebay, so look around... most instruments which don't qualify as being "acoustic guitars" are usually a bit more expensive - i.e. you can find guitar starters for like $99 but probably not in the wind instrument arena. also brand doesn't matter - not at this stage, and it usually doesn't matter anyway - buy what sounds good don't buy a brand name.

i say go for a tenor sax - but that's just me

I say trumpet, I love the sound of it and with some ingenuity you can fit it into any style, same as sax. But listen to Entheon, he knows what he's talking about.

BTW, my trumpet was used off ebay for $75(US). Saxes are more expensive though. And I got lucky.