ellinas
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 1,290
- Location
- Athens, Greece
Hello all.
Many years ago I played a T3 yanagisawa tenor that I really liked (apart from it's ergos) ... It had a huge sound and modern sax like intonation ... If only it had better keys/action ...
And then what? I find a strange unique T3 body yanagisawa .... With modern keywork .. very similar to series 5 I think.
boom. I bought it. A quick blow shows me it's a bomb .... But with the typical "playing" condition ...
I quickly ran to my tech .... Where did you find this? I asked a full overhaul. I want the best that can be done to this sax to see if I will keep it or sell it .
I got it some days ago ..... I gave it a couple days to get used to it .... And of course I called my good friend for saturday night sax battles .. wine and food on me....
He came with his minty purple logo 62 ... Oh man ... That was unfair ... And with his SBA ... His mouthpiece is a florida link .
I joined the battle with my vito Beaugnier duke tenor .. with a 10m fan classic mouthpiece
&
With the new Yanagisawa FrankenYani .... ( Also stamped vito ...btw ) played with an Otto link NY.
We didn't exchange saxophones this time as we used to due to covid-19 but we always critically share our thoughts about our playing and our axes....
All four saxophones are brilliant in such a different way ....
The yamaha is a powerful beast .... With remarkable evenness of tone up and down .... The best of the brighter saxophones ....
The SBA a much more flexible and rich sounding instrument ....
My beaugnier was a bit fatter than the SBA .. and we both agreed that the 10mfan mouthpiece gives it an extra punch as it's a darker large bore instrument ..... It's action is lightning fast .... And comes with a slightly odd G# spatula for those used to selmer/yamaha ...
Now the Yani .... Oh lord ... Is so much different than modern Yanis ... Much more aggressive ( T3 body!?? ) Loud with great projection ... Almost perfect intonation .. FAT SOUND... but it's G# spatula is not as perfect as the newer ones ....
We both agreed that this sax kills many modern Yanagisawas in terms of sound ... this one's odd. Bell toneholes are on the left ...like martins ...etc.. but this T3 doesn't have the archaic keywork .... What a find..
We came to agree ( after lots of wine and food ) that that all four saxophones were beasts ..... And how lucky we are to be
a) healthy
b) in the position to have multiple quality instruments and still be able to share some time together playing ... Despite all the insane measures taken all over the world.....
c) someone doesn't need to pay a fortune to get top quality hear ... For example my two saxes including overhauls were at about 1000 ... The SBA was bout at around 5000 but hey .. it's a minty SBA ... and the purple logo for about 1000... As well....
All dream saxophones .. honestly ... Much much better than many contemporary options costing 2000+
But .... There's always a but .... Vintage saxophones of not selected carefully can be a nightmare instead of a dream .... Lots worn out ones and lemons out there .... Be careful .... And enjoy the merits of a treasure from the past.....
Many years ago I played a T3 yanagisawa tenor that I really liked (apart from it's ergos) ... It had a huge sound and modern sax like intonation ... If only it had better keys/action ...
And then what? I find a strange unique T3 body yanagisawa .... With modern keywork .. very similar to series 5 I think.
boom. I bought it. A quick blow shows me it's a bomb .... But with the typical "playing" condition ...
I quickly ran to my tech .... Where did you find this? I asked a full overhaul. I want the best that can be done to this sax to see if I will keep it or sell it .
I got it some days ago ..... I gave it a couple days to get used to it .... And of course I called my good friend for saturday night sax battles .. wine and food on me....
He came with his minty purple logo 62 ... Oh man ... That was unfair ... And with his SBA ... His mouthpiece is a florida link .
I joined the battle with my vito Beaugnier duke tenor .. with a 10m fan classic mouthpiece
&
With the new Yanagisawa FrankenYani .... ( Also stamped vito ...btw ) played with an Otto link NY.
We didn't exchange saxophones this time as we used to due to covid-19 but we always critically share our thoughts about our playing and our axes....
All four saxophones are brilliant in such a different way ....
The yamaha is a powerful beast .... With remarkable evenness of tone up and down .... The best of the brighter saxophones ....
The SBA a much more flexible and rich sounding instrument ....
My beaugnier was a bit fatter than the SBA .. and we both agreed that the 10mfan mouthpiece gives it an extra punch as it's a darker large bore instrument ..... It's action is lightning fast .... And comes with a slightly odd G# spatula for those used to selmer/yamaha ...
Now the Yani .... Oh lord ... Is so much different than modern Yanis ... Much more aggressive ( T3 body!?? ) Loud with great projection ... Almost perfect intonation .. FAT SOUND... but it's G# spatula is not as perfect as the newer ones ....
We both agreed that this sax kills many modern Yanagisawas in terms of sound ... this one's odd. Bell toneholes are on the left ...like martins ...etc.. but this T3 doesn't have the archaic keywork .... What a find..
We came to agree ( after lots of wine and food ) that that all four saxophones were beasts ..... And how lucky we are to be
a) healthy
b) in the position to have multiple quality instruments and still be able to share some time together playing ... Despite all the insane measures taken all over the world.....
c) someone doesn't need to pay a fortune to get top quality hear ... For example my two saxes including overhauls were at about 1000 ... The SBA was bout at around 5000 but hey .. it's a minty SBA ... and the purple logo for about 1000... As well....
All dream saxophones .. honestly ... Much much better than many contemporary options costing 2000+
But .... There's always a but .... Vintage saxophones of not selected carefully can be a nightmare instead of a dream .... Lots worn out ones and lemons out there .... Be careful .... And enjoy the merits of a treasure from the past.....
