I have seen the light! Yanagisawa!

Hi. Just thought I should share my recent experience. I needed a new Alto. I have a Selmer Mk7 at the moment, but I never really got on with it. So I thought ‘Right, that’s it, I’m off to www.sax.co.uk to try a bunch of them’. I am fortunate enough to live about 1 hour’s drive from the shop. So, open mind, I put a bunch of them in the practise room, and got to work. First thing I said to myself is I’m going into this with my ears, and not my eyes. First up, Rampone R1 Jazz, Yani 992, and a Reference 54, and my Mk7. Rampone, forget it! Did not get on with it at all. Need the fingers of an giant to play it, keys all over the place. And the sound was not much better than my Mk7. Yani 992, Great horn, action was excellent, tone was great, a bit vintage dare I say. This is the solid Bronze model. Reference 54, Action not so good as the Yani (Remember, I’m a Selmer fan at this point, I have had 5 Selmer’s in the past, and currently own two.) Sound was good, however the bottom was cracking up! So I changed it for another one. That one was much the same, a bit better at the bottom. But the sound for me was not to much different to my Mk7. I then tried the Yani 992 unlacquered. Now, there has been a lot of hype about unlacquered horns, and I just thought it would be hype. However, When I tried this horn I was totally surprised!!! It was GREAT! Nice round vintage sound with loads of power, more so than the lacquered sister. It seemed to do everything, it hard to explain, it was also very subtle. I then tried the Selmer Series 3, I liked this horn, I play a series 3 Tenor, which I love. This felt very much the same, but remember, I had the Mk 7 sitting there, and although the series three had a bigger sound, it some how did not give me anything different. So I went back to the Yani unlacquered, and once again it sounded and played like a dream. Finally, I tried the Yamaha 82Z (also unlacquered). I liked this horn, sounded very much like the Yani 991 brass (Which I also tried)… But once again I came back to the Yani 992. So this went on for a couple of hours, Tried the Keilwerth also, same problem with the key work as the Rampone, and a couple of others, it was a great day. So, all of the major players in the saxophone world, all around the £2000 to £2500 mark, and I ended up walking out of the shop with that Yanagisawa 992 unlacquered Alto, solid bronze. And I love it! Remember, I’m a big Selmer fan, but this horn just did everything for me. And apart from the Yani 991 (Brass) it was the cheapest as well! Have you tried a Yani 992 ? Let me know your thoughts. Paul (London, England).

Reply To Post [Report Abuse]