High F key missing

[robonsax]

Hi All, I recently acquired an Vito Alto student sax, The high F key is missing, but the
horn play's fine from low Bb to the upper palm key's, but no F# or altissimo. I have
searched for this key some but have not had any luck. Does anyone know of some sax
part's site's?, the horn is to good to junk.

 

[Wade Cornell]

The horn will not play if the F key is missing and there is a hole there. There's lots of horns that were made with no F or F# keys (no hole, no key). Those are not necessairly altissimo notes, but can be if you are playing them using harmonics. Altissimo notes are usually above the natural range of the keys of the horn. These keys are not something you go out and buy then drill a hole in your sax. They can be added by a very skilled technician (for lots of $$$). So, if these are important for you, it's probably cheaper to buy a sax with the high F and F#. Almost every cheap Asian horn plays up to F#.

 

[majordennis]

Hello, welcome to the forum, I have a Vito alto which is Kenosha, Wis, assembled from French made Beaugnier parts, from my understanding there are many "versions" of the Vito, a picture may help for identification. Good luck with this, some of the Vito's are wonderful players.

Edit: and what Wade said while I was typing this.

 

[nigeld]

Some Vito saxes were made by Yamaha, in which case I guess spare parts should be available.
But it all depends who made the one you have. So as @majordennis says - pictures would be a help.

 

[jbtsax]

Hi All, I recently acquired an Vito Alto student sax, The high F key is missing, but the
horn play's fine from low Bb to the upper palm key's, but no F# or altissimo. I have
searched for this key some but have not had any luck. Does anyone know of some sax
part's site's?, the horn is to good to junk.

I assume you mean the "front F" key that allows high F to be played using the C key. If your Vito has a keyguard that extends from low Bb around the bow to the C key and say Japan then it is the same as a YAS-23. The part is available from Yamaha and costs about $7.50.

 

[robonsax]

The horn will not play if the F key is missing and there is a hole there. There's lots of horns that were made with no F or F# keys (no hole, no key). Those are not necessairly altissimo notes, but can be if you are playing them using harmonics. Altissimo notes are usually above the natural range of the keys of the horn. These keys are not something you go out and buy then drill a hole in your sax. They can be added by a very skilled technician (for lots of $$$). So, if these are important for you, it's probably cheaper to buy a sax with the high F and F#. Almost every cheap Asian horn plays up to F#.

Hi Wade, yes you are correct, I did not give an accurate description of my problem. There is a place for the key.
it is just missing. I play E F F# G and above using upper front keys. It probably would play F# with the F# side key.
Thank you

++++++++ ++++++++ +++++++++ ++++++++++

Hello, welcome to the forum, I have a Vito alto which is Kenosha, Wis, assembled from French made Beaugnier parts, from my understanding there are many "versions" of the Vito, a picture may help for identification. Good luck with this, some of the Vito's are wonderful players.

Hi majordennis, I also have a Kenosha Vito alto horn that is a good player. I would be interested in swapping
pic's with you as I am trying to get an approximate date on it! However the one in question is a smaller Japanese
model. I'll have to get a pic of the key. Thank's






Edit: and what Wade said while I was typing this.[/QUOTE

Hello, welcome to the forum, I have a Vito alto which is Kenosha, Wis, assembled from French made Beaugnier parts, from my understanding there are many

I assume you mean the "front F" key that allows high F to be played using the C key. If your Vito has a keyguard that extends from low Bb around the bow to the C key and say Japan then it is the same as a YAS-23. The part is available from Yamaha and costs about $7.50.

Edit: and what Wade said while I was typing this.

 

[robonsax]

Hi Wade, yes you are correct, I did not give an accurate description of my problem. There is a place for the key.
it is just missing. I play E F F# G and above using upper front keys. It probably would play F# with the F# side key.
Thank you

++++++++ ++++++++ +++++++++ ++++++++++

I assume you mean the "front F" key that allows high F to be played using the C key. If your Vito has a keyguard that extends from low Bb around the bow to the C key and say Japan then it is the same as a YAS-23. The part is available from Yamaha and costs about $7.50.

Hi jbtsax, Thank's for the pic, however that is not the key. I will try to post an image but I am kinda new at posting
all this stuff, as I am typing I see in the left lower corner ( attach files not for images) so you might not get this
pic. Still if anyone know's of some sax part's websites I would sure appreciate that Thanks

 

[jbtsax]

This is still very confusing to me. Can you supply another picture a little bit farther up the saxophone? In the photo the high F (palm) key appears to be there along with the "front F" key.

Are you perhaps referring to the high F# key being missing? If that is the case, that saxophone did not come with that key, although it is possible to play high F# with a special fingering.

 

[Stephen Howard]

The horn is a Yamaha YAS23 under the Vito name, and as such it doesn't have a top F# key.
However, the note is available using a 'false fingering' - which is octave key + front top F key + A key + side Bb key.
You might find that using the Bis Bb key instead of the A gives a better top F#

 

[thomsax]

Most Yamaha parts can be bought. I can't find a seller in USA but here is one in UK. Alto Saxophone Spare Parts

 

[majordennis]

As per request I will put some pics into a media album, I will also include a pic of a Noblet "Beaugnier" tenor I used to have so you can compare some of similarities, keyguards, bell-brace etc. can't do it now off the the pub for the football

Serial Number is 3378A which I can only guess late 60's early 70's.

 

[nigeld]

@robonsax - I can't work out what key we are talking about.

Is it:
- Front high F (the one just above the B key)
- Palm high F (the one beside the left-hand D and Eb palm keys)
- Side high F# (the one down near the right-hand side Bb key)
or some other one?

Also, it would be a big help if you could post a picture of the left-hand side of the sax, showing the keyguard.

 

[kevgermany]

I think @Stephen Howard has given the definitive answer. The key wasn't fitted to these horns.

Trying to fit one is pretty pointless imho. Just use the fingering suggested, when you do get that high.

 

[robonsax]

This is still very confusing to me. Can you supply another picture a little bit farther up the saxophone? In the photo the high F (palm) key appears to be there along with the "front F" key.

Are you perhaps referring to the high F# key being missing? If that is the case, that saxophone did not come with that key, although it is possible to play high F# with a special fingering.

Hi jbtsax, the picture you posted in previous post yas 23 high f key won't work. I'll try pic's again. O.K. the
high f key shown is the one I need, you can see where it goes in other pic. When f key is depressed it closes
B tone hole, and the smaller tone hole above, or adjacent (to the left), also it open's the palm f key. Also to
the left you can see where the key, mount's. screw is showing, key is off the horn, in picture. I have 2 of these
horn's. This key, is from the one my granddaughter is using in band. I have another one that is missing this
high f key. My intent was to see if anyone knew of a aftermarket, part's or has a horn that is to damaged to
repair. I Thank all that have participated in this thread. So below is the high f key I am searching for....it
would mount right above the B key in picture. One horn is a Japanese, the other Taiwanese.

 

[jbtsax]

Now we are getting somewhere. Do you need the key for the Vito made in Japan or the one from Taiwan? If it is for the Vito made in Japan that is identical to a YAS-23 and is the key shown in your photograph. That is the key I referenced in my previous post that Yamaha sells for $7.50. I'll admit it does look a bit different than the parts "schematic" from the Yamaha website.

If you have the Vito made in Taiwan, it was probably made by Jupiter. In that case the "front F" is a different design. The "key touch" is hinged with the upper stack. That key moves a second "rocker mechanism" that is hinged parallel with the saxophone body which in turn lifts the F palm key itself. Those parts would have to be obtained through the repair shop of a music store that is a Jupiter dealer.

If it is the Yamaha part you need, I can help you get that.

 

[robonsax]

Now we are getting somewhere. Do you need the key for the Vito made in Japan or the one from Taiwan? If it is for the Vito made in Japan that is identical to a YAS-23 and is the key shown in your photograph. That is the key I referenced in my previous post that Yamaha sells for $7.50. I'll admit it does look a bit different than the parts "schematic" from the Yamaha website.

If you have the Vito made in Taiwan, it was probably made by Jupiter. In that case the "front F" is a different design. The "key touch" is hinged with the upper stack. That key moves a second "rocker mechanism" that is hinged parallel with the saxophone body which in turn lifts the F palm key itself. Those parts would have to be obtained through the repair shop of a music store that is a Jupiter dealer.

If it is the Yamaha part you need, I can help you get that.

Thank's for the reply jbtsax! Both of the Vito Alto's that I have are EXACTLY the same, even though they are
made in different countrie's. I put that same key on the other horn and it fits. Yes, I tried to explain in my post....
That key moves a second "rocker mechanism" that is hinged parallel with the saxophone body which in turn lifts the F palm key itself. It is the same on both horn's. If you can get it, BUT! make sure you get an actual pic.
because, I would not buy that YAS-23 from the schematic alone!

 

[jbtsax]

Thank's for the reply jbtsax! Both of the Vito Alto's that I have are EXACTLY the same, even though they are
made in different countrie's. I put that same key on the other horn and it fits. Yes, I tried to explain in my post....
That key moves a second "rocker mechanism" that is hinged parallel with the saxophone body which in turn lifts the F palm key itself. It is the same on both horn's. If you can get it, BUT! make sure you get an actual pic.
because, I would not buy that YAS-23 from the schematic alone!

I am still confused. Which sax is in the pictures you posted in post #14? Does one sax say Taiwan and the other say Japan?

 

[Colin the Bear]

 

[robonsax]

I am still confused. Which sax is in the pictures you posted in post #14? Does one sax say Taiwan and the other say Japan?

Yes, one horn say's Taiwan with a 4 digit ser.# the other say's Japan w/4 digit ser.# the one in the pic post#14
is Japanese. It does not matter because they are exactly the same.

 

[jbtsax]

Option #1: Got to this link: Yamaha 24/7 Then register as a consumer. Search for a YAS-23. Got to view 3 of 5 by clicking v. The part you need is the "front F" #62 part N1130451. You may also need the rod that holds the key in place which is #82 and says "contact me". If you have trouble getting the rod, let me know and I will send you one.

Or . . . . . . .you can send me a pm with your address and I will send you the extra key I have and the rod that goes with it and you can pay me $8.00 via Pay Pal if you don't want to mess with joining the Yamaha website.