Saxophones Another Yanagisawa "Frankenyani" issue

[Mark Hancock]

So is this rod more delicate or prone to damage on a soprano?

Yany don't have this feature on their other saxophones AFAIK, and other makes like selmer seem to just use brass rods on their sops..

Good point. My TWO2 has all brass rods. At least they all have a brass looking finish.

 

[Jazzaferri]

Nickel silver is “harder“ without getting technical than brass. Small brass keys are more prone to bending So that might explain the difference.

my Keilwerth Shadow alto is all nickel silver which explains its near pristine appearance in my distractible hands

 

[MMM]

My S880 has the same nickel silver rod, so Yani have featured it for a long time on their sops.

 

[Stephen Howard]

There's a picture of this for the curved sop:

Maybe @Stephen Howard can shed more light on this?

The 'occasional' use of nickel silver for key barrels on saxes has been around for a very long time. I know that nickel silver is stiffer than brass - but it's really not by very much, and in the context of the keys in question it very likely makes near as no difference at all. If you really wanted to beef things up you could use stainless steel. Wouldn't add any noticeable weight, though would make assembly of the key trickier (and thus more expensive).
All things considered it's probably best to view it as a cosmetic tweak rather than a mechanical advantage.

 

[saxyjt]

All things considered it's probably best to view it as a cosmetic tweak rather than a mechanical advantage

Rather than a mechanical benefit, could it be simply that this rod is more exposed to wear than the others and making it nickel silver prevents it from being prematurely worn if it was lacquered brass?

So a solution to a potential cosmetic issue...

Hmm, looking at my sopranos, I'm not convinced by my own suggestion!

 

[Stephen Howard]

Rather than a mechanical benefit, could it be simply that this rod is more exposed to wear than the others and making it nickel silver prevents it from being prematurely worn if it was lacquered brass?

So a solution to a potential cosmetic issue...

Hmm, looking at my sopranos, I'm not convinced by my own suggestion!

Nah, it may have a slightly greater resistance to wear in mechanical terms (i.e against rod of point screw wear) - but cosmetically it's only as good as the lacquer/plating applied to it. Key barrels don't tends to suffer from a great deal of external wear, given that the only time you tend to touch them is when picking the horn up or holding it during a rest.

 

[Nick Wyver]

I imagine they use them because they've over ordered and have been thinking of a way to use them up.

 

[Stephen Howard]

I imagine they use them because they've over ordered and have been thinking of a way to use them up.

I don't think Yani work like that. They're quite a small company (compared to other manufacturers) and everything's done in-house.
But yeah, I guess they could have had a bin of surplus parts and thought they could slip them on unnoticed. They clearly didn't bank on the sharp-eyed punters at Cafesaxophone.

 

[Mark Hancock]

They clearly didn't bank on the sharp-eyed punters at Cafesaxophone.

Like that guy who had the SWO1 for 3 months before he noticed

 

[Stephen Howard]

Like that guy who had the SWO1 for 3 months before he noticed

Meh, that's nothing...I had my car for a good six years before I found out that I could open or close all the windows with the electronic key. And that was only because I sat on the key. And, naturally, it was raining.

 

[Pete Effamy]

Meh, that's nothing...I had my car for a good six years before I found out that I could open or close all the windows with the electronic key. And that was only because I sat on the key. And, naturally, it was raining.

But that’s not all it does! Put it in gear, and it goes places..
Well I presume it does. I have seen your car. Not going tho..

 

[CliveMA]

Surely Yanagisawa want people to know the rod is different. Otherwise they'd make the finish the same as the rest of the horn for aesthetic consistency. It sounds like the real reason for the different rod is simply marketing.

 

[saxyjt]

It sounds like the real reason for the different rod is simply marketing.

It's a long shot!