Wow man thats a really good deal where did u get it.

local music shop. they had it on clearance because people think that because it's unlaquaered, it's a peice of shit, when in actuality.. i plaeyd it next to the laquered one, and i liked the unlaquered better. both played just as well, but the unlaquered had a better tone, subtle but noticeable. my mother's like, "are you sure this is the horn you want?" i said, " this is a 100% guarantee; you will not find a new horn that is better than this one for equal, less or even close to the same price." yeh.. it's true too. anyway, i'm loving this thing. only problem is now i can't blame my crappy playing on the horn though :-p.

congratulations on your new horn Matt! Sounds like a nice one!

connsaxman_jim what do you think about the z's

I think they're a great horn. They have a very nice action and feel. The Z is noticably brighter than the 62, but still a fairly neutral sound. They sound really good with the Otto Link New York metal mouthpieces. Of the newer saxophones that I have tested, the Yamaha seems to offer the most features and quality for the money.

Connsaxman_jim, I thought you said somewhere else that your favorite new horn is the Keilwerth SX-90R, which happens to be mine too (actually I prefer the SX-90 without rolled tone holes). The 82Z I tried had great action and free-blowingness, but its tone wasn't nearly as good as a Keilwerth SX, nor as a Selmer II or B&S. It is my opinion that Yamaha makes very reliable and trustworthy saxophones, but lacking some charachter that other horns have. This is especially true, in my opinion, for the 62II. I had it for a month and I had to return it because its sound did not satisfy me at all. I am now much happier with a B&S 2001.

I'm not really liking how they new Yamahas feel as far a ergonomics, but I can tell you that if you want a horn that will last, you should definetly buy the Yamaha over the Keilwerth. Keilwerth uses fairly thin and pliable metal on there horns, and right now Yamaha's saxophones are turning out pretty solid. I'd say next to Yanagisawa, Yamaha's the best brand out there right now. But I would wish you luck finding a good Yani anywhere around here, since Yanagisawa got pissed and quit distributing to the US. Leblanc who was their distributor here merged with Selmer, and Yanagisawa didn't really take to it to well. Sooo, any of the top line models like the 9930 are about impossible to find now.

The Keilwerth SX90 or SX90R would be my preference for the type of music I play, but the Yamaha is an excellent horn.