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Hi all - I am answering a recent post here: Saxophones - Was it ...
but thought I would start a new post with a descriptive title for anyone interested...
I have been playing for a LONG time but this is my first Yamaha
Been curious about the 62's for a while, but I really am sorted for horns so I bought it to flip,
thinking "Oh yea, great price, I can try it for a while then flip it"
BUT, for the reasons stated below, I will now be keeping it...
It's a MkII with the G1 neck - by the way it was listed as needing a service but its FINE apart from
fluffy bell keys (they warm up) but its already in the shop for a preventative COA anyway...
Like a lot of modern horns, and annoyingly for me as I am mainly vintage, the G1 neck has the
WIDER neck-pipe diameter (takes a 16mm shank diameter, as opposed to my vintage 15.7mm shanks)
This meant only three of my MANY mouthpieces would fit - 1950's Soloist, metal Early Babbit, & Guardala
With the Soloist on G1 neck it was UNBELIEVABLY LOUD - I mean, as soon as I put it on I could hear my neighbours
two blocks away having a heart attack!
I soon found out the G1 neck also has INFINITE power - even though it was already very loud I kept pushing
and it just KEPT on giving, but STILL with a rock-solid core - absolutely NO degradation of tone whatsoever!
Phenomenal - never known anything like it...
With the Guardala on G1 neck it was a BIT quieter, with a nice "dirty" buzz running underneath the core (it’s a hand-made Studio model)
The metal Early Babbit on G1 neck tamed its OUTRAGEOUS volume, so my ears stopped ringing (!!), and had GREAT tone
BUT there was an Achilles heel with ALL these pieces, to varying degrees, on the G1 neck -
it had a tendency to BLAT - I mean THUNK! note note note THUNK! note note CRASH! note note note THUD! etc...
After 20 minutes playing it I became aware of this and had to remain conscious of it for the next 40 minutes
And you know what its like - anything you have to remain conscious of or guard against can SERIOUSLY get in the way of your playing, so after an hour I was thinking "interesting, but Nah, I'm gonna flip it"
BUT THEN I remembered I've also got a Yanagisawa Solid Silver neck here - AH!, I thought...
Two minutes later the world was a different place - the EB plays WONDERFUL on it! - the Blatting has all gone, and the Yanagisawa neck adds colour to and thickens the core tone, and it SUBSTANTIALLY improves articulation, expression, dynamics, fluidity, consistency... I mean you name it – it’s an improvement of SEVERAL MAGNITUDES in every aspect...
The horn has already gone in for a COA now so I didn't have time to try anything else, but I don't care!
The other thing is, the Yani Silver neck is the OLDER A-series version, so has the STANDARD neck-pipe diameter, which means ALL my pieces will now fit! - I'm MORE THAN HAPPY with the EB on it, but CAN'T WAIT to get it back from its COA so I can try a few of my other pieces!
OK, nearly over but two more things to say...
Firstly, if you think I am a freak for playing a Yamaha body with a Yanagisawa neck then I DON'T CARE - stuff it, they are just two bits of metal, what matters is they MATCH, so I don't care what names are on each part
Secondly, this is not the first time I have done this - I also have a WONDERFUL Chinese-made Bronze Walstein Alto here, that I also play with a Bronze Yanagisawa 020 neck - all due respect to Walstein (hi Martin!) but for very similar reasons, as the original Walstein neck also has the wider diameter - also to be honest (and with all due respect to the Walstein founders) the Yani neck DEFINITELY improves the intonation compared to the original
Funny thing is, I am NOT really a fan of the actual Yanagisawa HORNS - I'll be polite and just say "too neutral" (a friend of mine says "boring") - but as you can see I absolutely LOVE their necks! - I've got three actually, as I've also got a gold-plated brass one - they can do WONDERS on a horn they fit, and are available in all sorts of different materials and finishes etc, which is all good fun!
Anyway - long post so I will end soon, but I am sure you get the gist
I've also ordered the new Yamaha "Retro" neck in Silver-plate to match the horn - these are advertised as an after-market update on the Purple Logo necks - the scuttlebutt on the forums is there is some doubt they are genuine Yamaha items, as Yamaha do NOT show them on their official website, but at the same time ALL the posts on the forums simply say "don't worry about it, just get one" - or words to that effect - people say it improves intonation, or makes it sound like a Purple Logo, or simply improves EVERYTHING - so hell Yea, why not!!
...and Yes I KNOW I don't NEED one as I've lucked out with the Yanagisawa neck, but that's not really the point….
By the way don't bother with any negative comments - I don't give a HOOT and won't take any notice...
Keep blowing and have fun!!
Signed: the Terminal Cynic
but thought I would start a new post with a descriptive title for anyone interested...
I have been playing for a LONG time but this is my first Yamaha
Been curious about the 62's for a while, but I really am sorted for horns so I bought it to flip,
thinking "Oh yea, great price, I can try it for a while then flip it"
BUT, for the reasons stated below, I will now be keeping it...
It's a MkII with the G1 neck - by the way it was listed as needing a service but its FINE apart from
fluffy bell keys (they warm up) but its already in the shop for a preventative COA anyway...
Like a lot of modern horns, and annoyingly for me as I am mainly vintage, the G1 neck has the
WIDER neck-pipe diameter (takes a 16mm shank diameter, as opposed to my vintage 15.7mm shanks)
This meant only three of my MANY mouthpieces would fit - 1950's Soloist, metal Early Babbit, & Guardala
With the Soloist on G1 neck it was UNBELIEVABLY LOUD - I mean, as soon as I put it on I could hear my neighbours
two blocks away having a heart attack!
I soon found out the G1 neck also has INFINITE power - even though it was already very loud I kept pushing
and it just KEPT on giving, but STILL with a rock-solid core - absolutely NO degradation of tone whatsoever!
Phenomenal - never known anything like it...
With the Guardala on G1 neck it was a BIT quieter, with a nice "dirty" buzz running underneath the core (it’s a hand-made Studio model)
The metal Early Babbit on G1 neck tamed its OUTRAGEOUS volume, so my ears stopped ringing (!!), and had GREAT tone
BUT there was an Achilles heel with ALL these pieces, to varying degrees, on the G1 neck -
it had a tendency to BLAT - I mean THUNK! note note note THUNK! note note CRASH! note note note THUD! etc...
After 20 minutes playing it I became aware of this and had to remain conscious of it for the next 40 minutes
And you know what its like - anything you have to remain conscious of or guard against can SERIOUSLY get in the way of your playing, so after an hour I was thinking "interesting, but Nah, I'm gonna flip it"
BUT THEN I remembered I've also got a Yanagisawa Solid Silver neck here - AH!, I thought...
Two minutes later the world was a different place - the EB plays WONDERFUL on it! - the Blatting has all gone, and the Yanagisawa neck adds colour to and thickens the core tone, and it SUBSTANTIALLY improves articulation, expression, dynamics, fluidity, consistency... I mean you name it – it’s an improvement of SEVERAL MAGNITUDES in every aspect...
The horn has already gone in for a COA now so I didn't have time to try anything else, but I don't care!
The other thing is, the Yani Silver neck is the OLDER A-series version, so has the STANDARD neck-pipe diameter, which means ALL my pieces will now fit! - I'm MORE THAN HAPPY with the EB on it, but CAN'T WAIT to get it back from its COA so I can try a few of my other pieces!
OK, nearly over but two more things to say...
Firstly, if you think I am a freak for playing a Yamaha body with a Yanagisawa neck then I DON'T CARE - stuff it, they are just two bits of metal, what matters is they MATCH, so I don't care what names are on each part
Secondly, this is not the first time I have done this - I also have a WONDERFUL Chinese-made Bronze Walstein Alto here, that I also play with a Bronze Yanagisawa 020 neck - all due respect to Walstein (hi Martin!) but for very similar reasons, as the original Walstein neck also has the wider diameter - also to be honest (and with all due respect to the Walstein founders) the Yani neck DEFINITELY improves the intonation compared to the original
Funny thing is, I am NOT really a fan of the actual Yanagisawa HORNS - I'll be polite and just say "too neutral" (a friend of mine says "boring") - but as you can see I absolutely LOVE their necks! - I've got three actually, as I've also got a gold-plated brass one - they can do WONDERS on a horn they fit, and are available in all sorts of different materials and finishes etc, which is all good fun!
Anyway - long post so I will end soon, but I am sure you get the gist
I've also ordered the new Yamaha "Retro" neck in Silver-plate to match the horn - these are advertised as an after-market update on the Purple Logo necks - the scuttlebutt on the forums is there is some doubt they are genuine Yamaha items, as Yamaha do NOT show them on their official website, but at the same time ALL the posts on the forums simply say "don't worry about it, just get one" - or words to that effect - people say it improves intonation, or makes it sound like a Purple Logo, or simply improves EVERYTHING - so hell Yea, why not!!
...and Yes I KNOW I don't NEED one as I've lucked out with the Yanagisawa neck, but that's not really the point….
By the way don't bother with any negative comments - I don't give a HOOT and won't take any notice...
Keep blowing and have fun!!
Signed: the Terminal Cynic