I've owned:
2 YAS-23s
1 YTS-23
1 YBS-52
Good horns. A tad bright, but decent tone. Good intonation. Not terribly resistant. "Modern" keywork on the 52 (which is now the 475, I think). Somewhat fragile, tho.
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I very much like the Yamaha saxophones.
About 20 years ago, I was shopping for a baritone to replace my Keilwerth-made Bundy. I got a 52 after I tried the 62 and a whole host of other baritones. Here are some comments:
First, the 52 was all of $2100, then, and I only paid $1800 for it. The 62 was probably the same percentage more expensive than the 52 back then that it is now -- about 50% -- thus my major question was, is the 62 50% better than the 52?
Nope.
There are differences between the 52 and 62: cosmetics (62's got the dark lacquer and the engraving), the one-piece bell (which does make a difference), the real "inset" mother-of-pearl keys (which makes a slight difference in the feel -- and they don't pop off as easily), the 52 has "post on body" key construction and the 62 has "ribbed and flanged" (that means the 62's a bit more rugged and has a somewhat lighter feel) and the 62 has the "annealed" brass (allegedly imparts some extra "warmth" to the tone).
In my opinion, the biggest thing was the bell tones: it's a bit -- and it's a small, but noticeable bit -- harder to get the bell notes to sound on the 52. Primarily, you just have to use a little more air, which is sometimes a bit difficult or inconvenient.
However, my only other real choices at the time were the Selmer USA, Jupiter and Vito: I wanted a low A. I was unimpressed by the Jupiter or Vito. The Selmer USA just didn't play very well (and had poor keywork). I tried the Selmer Super 80 Serie II, but it was out of my price-range AND the altissimo didn't speak very well for me.
All in all, my Keilwerth bari had better tone, but the Yamaha had so much better playability, intonation and keywork (plus a low A), so I went for the Yamaha.
I traded a Buffet Dynaction alto and sold the Keilwerth-made Bundy bari myself (I still remember: $800) to get the Yamaha.
A little while after I got my baritone, I had a need to get an alto. I tried a variety of Selmer horns (USA pro, which I think was the 300 at the time, S80 II and S80 III) and then the entire Yamaha SERIES of horns: 23, 52, 62, 855 and 875. The 875 was, hands down, the best horn out there: beautifully dark tone, good intonation, pretty to look at -- but I had problems with the altissimo. The 855 was a tad brighter, but I had problems with the altissimo (and I could easily recommend the 855 -- if they currently made it -- if you believe that the 62's too bright and the Custom 875 is too dark, that is).
So, I went to the YAS-62 -- and I felt essentially the same way I felt with the YBS-62 compared to the 52: it's a nice horn, but not 50% nicer than the YAS-52 (that'd be today's YAS-475).
I ended up buying the 23. For $500. New. Why the 23? Well, the 52 was definitely superior, but the 23 wasn't a bad little horn, it wasn't going to be my main axe and ... $500.
Several years later, I bought another 23 for approximately the same price. I was very happy with it. However, I did realize something.
The Yamaha 23 is fairly fragile. The 52, a little less so, but not in the same class as my Keilwerth-made horn.
While a lot of people denigrate the Selmer USA Bundy II, they neglect three positives:
*It plays in tune. Even after major damage.
*It can take heavy beating.
*It's really cheap.
Now, the Bundy II has a rather "plain" sound and the Yamaha 23 through 62 have a "bright" sound -- almost tinny, but not quite, and that "tinniness" is less pronounced as you go up the model chart. The Bundy II has a lot less ergonomic and convenient keywork than the 52, but really isn't terribly better or worse than the 23.
(I should also mention that the Yamahas come with pretty decent mouthpieces -- they look and play similar to Vandoren mouthpieces -- which is very good if you don't have one of your own. Selmer Bundy II's came with Bundy II mouthpieces. I can call those "usable", at best.)
So, in the past, when I had been asked by folks which student horn to get, I'd say, "A Yamaha 23, if your kid won't abuse it. A Bundy II, if he will."
Another thing is that you can still pick up a used good condition Bundy or YAS-23 for very, very little cash on eBay ($200 or so for a very good condition Bundy II alto and $500 or so for a very good condition YAS-23). However, if you can convince the beginning student not to beat on the instrument, the 52/475 is probably the best choice: it's got the same bore as the 62 pro-level horns, it has modern keywork and has a decent enough tone. It can easily last a pro throughout his career, if necessary.
============
The 23s were sold at some point. The 52 was sold to a school district to get cash for a car. (The car turned out to be junk.)
2 YAS-23s
1 YTS-23
1 YBS-52
Good horns. A tad bright, but decent tone. Good intonation. Not terribly resistant. "Modern" keywork on the 52 (which is now the 475, I think). Somewhat fragile, tho.
============
I very much like the Yamaha saxophones.
About 20 years ago, I was shopping for a baritone to replace my Keilwerth-made Bundy. I got a 52 after I tried the 62 and a whole host of other baritones. Here are some comments:
First, the 52 was all of $2100, then, and I only paid $1800 for it. The 62 was probably the same percentage more expensive than the 52 back then that it is now -- about 50% -- thus my major question was, is the 62 50% better than the 52?
Nope.
There are differences between the 52 and 62: cosmetics (62's got the dark lacquer and the engraving), the one-piece bell (which does make a difference), the real "inset" mother-of-pearl keys (which makes a slight difference in the feel -- and they don't pop off as easily), the 52 has "post on body" key construction and the 62 has "ribbed and flanged" (that means the 62's a bit more rugged and has a somewhat lighter feel) and the 62 has the "annealed" brass (allegedly imparts some extra "warmth" to the tone).
In my opinion, the biggest thing was the bell tones: it's a bit -- and it's a small, but noticeable bit -- harder to get the bell notes to sound on the 52. Primarily, you just have to use a little more air, which is sometimes a bit difficult or inconvenient.
However, my only other real choices at the time were the Selmer USA, Jupiter and Vito: I wanted a low A. I was unimpressed by the Jupiter or Vito. The Selmer USA just didn't play very well (and had poor keywork). I tried the Selmer Super 80 Serie II, but it was out of my price-range AND the altissimo didn't speak very well for me.
All in all, my Keilwerth bari had better tone, but the Yamaha had so much better playability, intonation and keywork (plus a low A), so I went for the Yamaha.
I traded a Buffet Dynaction alto and sold the Keilwerth-made Bundy bari myself (I still remember: $800) to get the Yamaha.
A little while after I got my baritone, I had a need to get an alto. I tried a variety of Selmer horns (USA pro, which I think was the 300 at the time, S80 II and S80 III) and then the entire Yamaha SERIES of horns: 23, 52, 62, 855 and 875. The 875 was, hands down, the best horn out there: beautifully dark tone, good intonation, pretty to look at -- but I had problems with the altissimo. The 855 was a tad brighter, but I had problems with the altissimo (and I could easily recommend the 855 -- if they currently made it -- if you believe that the 62's too bright and the Custom 875 is too dark, that is).
So, I went to the YAS-62 -- and I felt essentially the same way I felt with the YBS-62 compared to the 52: it's a nice horn, but not 50% nicer than the YAS-52 (that'd be today's YAS-475).
I ended up buying the 23. For $500. New. Why the 23? Well, the 52 was definitely superior, but the 23 wasn't a bad little horn, it wasn't going to be my main axe and ... $500.
Several years later, I bought another 23 for approximately the same price. I was very happy with it. However, I did realize something.
The Yamaha 23 is fairly fragile. The 52, a little less so, but not in the same class as my Keilwerth-made horn.
While a lot of people denigrate the Selmer USA Bundy II, they neglect three positives:
*It plays in tune. Even after major damage.
*It can take heavy beating.
*It's really cheap.
Now, the Bundy II has a rather "plain" sound and the Yamaha 23 through 62 have a "bright" sound -- almost tinny, but not quite, and that "tinniness" is less pronounced as you go up the model chart. The Bundy II has a lot less ergonomic and convenient keywork than the 52, but really isn't terribly better or worse than the 23.
(I should also mention that the Yamahas come with pretty decent mouthpieces -- they look and play similar to Vandoren mouthpieces -- which is very good if you don't have one of your own. Selmer Bundy II's came with Bundy II mouthpieces. I can call those "usable", at best.)
So, in the past, when I had been asked by folks which student horn to get, I'd say, "A Yamaha 23, if your kid won't abuse it. A Bundy II, if he will."
Another thing is that you can still pick up a used good condition Bundy or YAS-23 for very, very little cash on eBay ($200 or so for a very good condition Bundy II alto and $500 or so for a very good condition YAS-23). However, if you can convince the beginning student not to beat on the instrument, the 52/475 is probably the best choice: it's got the same bore as the 62 pro-level horns, it has modern keywork and has a decent enough tone. It can easily last a pro throughout his career, if necessary.
============
The 23s were sold at some point. The 52 was sold to a school district to get cash for a car. (The car turned out to be junk.)
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