I've been doing this a long time. My first pro gig was in Junior High School, I'm now of retirement age (but not considering that) and for almost all of my adult life I've made a living doing music and nothing but music. Sax is my primary instrument, but I also play drums, flute, guitar, bass, wind synth, keyboard synth, and vocals.
In my career I've had a Conn (fireworks), Selmer Modele 26, Pan American (el-cheapo backup horn), Selmer Mark VI (bought new), Selmer Mark VII (shouldn't have traded the VI in for it), H.Couf Superba II (one of my favorites and which I liked better than the Mark VI), Grassi Supreme (gold plated) and a custom finished MacSax Classic (with two coats of silver colored nickel plating).
My Grassi was a backup horn, and it neededan overhaul. I thought I would really like to get it relaquered, but that gets expensive and the horn is gone for a long time. What if my main (MacSax) breaks while my Grassi is shipped of to points unknown?
So a friend of mine who trades saxes tells me why not buy a used Yamaha YTS-52. He didn't have one but said they go for about the price of an overhaul if you are patient and find a good one.
So I got one from Sam Ash Houston via Reverb. It has only a few minor scratches on it near the neck strap ring.
The intonation is very good, the tone is a little brighter than my MacSax, but it quickly became my favorite horn.
Why?
Response and flexibility.
Response first - very free blowing (I'm using a Link ToneMaster 8 NY) - almost no back pressure - I have big strong lungs and this is so easy, it's almost like breathing into the horn.
Flexibility - I am so impressed at the different sounds and tones I can get out of this thing. It can purr, it can scream and by adjusting my oral cavity and breath support I can get a very wide range of different vowel sounds (oohs and aahs) and degrees of edginess to the tone (from a soft subtone to a shrill bite). It simply has more vox humana than my other horns (my Mark VI has been gone too long so I can't make a comparison to it). Anyway, I'm very, very impressed with it.
It also feels very solidly built, and the intonation is about as good as any sax gets.
So the 'intermediate' level horn that was supposed to be my new backup horn has become my primary horn.
I don't know why I never thought about a Yamaha sax before. After all their first product was a grand piano and have been in the music instrument business longer than I've been on the planet.
Insights and incites by Notes
In my career I've had a Conn (fireworks), Selmer Modele 26, Pan American (el-cheapo backup horn), Selmer Mark VI (bought new), Selmer Mark VII (shouldn't have traded the VI in for it), H.Couf Superba II (one of my favorites and which I liked better than the Mark VI), Grassi Supreme (gold plated) and a custom finished MacSax Classic (with two coats of silver colored nickel plating).
My Grassi was a backup horn, and it neededan overhaul. I thought I would really like to get it relaquered, but that gets expensive and the horn is gone for a long time. What if my main (MacSax) breaks while my Grassi is shipped of to points unknown?
So a friend of mine who trades saxes tells me why not buy a used Yamaha YTS-52. He didn't have one but said they go for about the price of an overhaul if you are patient and find a good one.
So I got one from Sam Ash Houston via Reverb. It has only a few minor scratches on it near the neck strap ring.
The intonation is very good, the tone is a little brighter than my MacSax, but it quickly became my favorite horn.
Why?
Response and flexibility.
Response first - very free blowing (I'm using a Link ToneMaster 8 NY) - almost no back pressure - I have big strong lungs and this is so easy, it's almost like breathing into the horn.
Flexibility - I am so impressed at the different sounds and tones I can get out of this thing. It can purr, it can scream and by adjusting my oral cavity and breath support I can get a very wide range of different vowel sounds (oohs and aahs) and degrees of edginess to the tone (from a soft subtone to a shrill bite). It simply has more vox humana than my other horns (my Mark VI has been gone too long so I can't make a comparison to it). Anyway, I'm very, very impressed with it.
It also feels very solidly built, and the intonation is about as good as any sax gets.
So the 'intermediate' level horn that was supposed to be my new backup horn has become my primary horn.
I don't know why I never thought about a Yamaha sax before. After all their first product was a grand piano and have been in the music instrument business longer than I've been on the planet.
Insights and incites by Notes