Saxophones Low C#/low B/low Bb linkage on YTS-25/Vito YTS-23

[skeller047]

It's as if, having devised the Balanced Action with its small keys and positive action, Selmer felt they just had to add some more parts and make it sloppier. And then they made the whole thing even worse with the bizarrely hypertrophied keys of the Mark 7, apparently only intended for NBA stars to be able to play comfortably.

On the money, turf! My SBA alto has the most nimble table keys of any horn I own. The little ramps the tech added make it even better.

The only downside to that design is the long curved bar that connects the C# touch to the rod. There is no positive stop to the key, it relies on the stop of the G# key. It feels kind of spongy at the end of travel. I put a chunk of cork under that curved bar, glued to the body, a positive stop. Feels much more solid.

 

[cappers]

The crooks look identical but I think the octave pip on the Vito one is a mm or so nearer the mpc. I might check later.

Just checked. The crooks are identical. Centre of pip to the mouth end 95mm, pip to tenon joint 125mm. Side by side, same curvature, brace bar, end height.

I think it was leaking seriously from the tenon. As said, the fit of the crook in the Vito is tight and I can't get the 25 neck in without force so didn't. The Vito crook goes into the 25 receiver but is loose even when tightened. Again didn't want to over tighten it.

Could wrap seem teflon tape round the tenon to fatten it out but can't be bothered; the 25 one is fine and I doubt the Vito will be any different.

 

[Woodpad]

The crook is at the top of the cone and it is hard to measure the differences.

 

[Woodpad]

Just checked. The crooks are identical. Centre of pip to the mouth end 95mm, pip to tenon joint 125mm. Side by side, same curvature, brace bar, end height.

Are the inside diameters on both ends equal? .

 

[cappers]

The crook is at the top of the cone and it is hard to measure the differences.

I placed a strip of painter's tape along the top of the neck/crook, marked the pip and mpc end, removed and flattened the tape and measured the distance between the marks. Identical 95mm on both.

Inside and outside diameters and wall thickness of the tenons appear to be the same on both necks. My callipers only go down to 1mm but I reckon by eye the Vito OD is a tad narrower.

The Yama neck fits the 25 ok but won't fit the Vito and I didn't want to force it.
The Vito neck is a tight fit on the Vito but a looser fit on the 25 and can't really be tightened without overdoing it (so I didn't!).

Reckon the weirdness I got with the Vito neck on the '25 was it was leaking badly, hence nothing would be playable.

Not problem, Yama neck on the Yama, Vito neck on the Vito

 

[cappers]

My alto 25 has the one piece art-deco 'race track' guard which I like the look of (others don't apparently)

Ooops! Got carried away.
The 'race-track' bell key guard was on the 61.

The 25 has an 'art-deco' style one-piece guard.....

.........similar to but not the same as on the 31.

 

[JayeNM]

It's as if, having devised the Balanced Action with its small keys and positive action, Selmer felt they just had to add some more parts and make it sloppier.

I kinda feel that way, as I said earlier in the discussion it has always struck me as a solution to a problem which never existed.
But I guess the argument would be you could hit Bb while pretty much having your pinky "stay home" on the C# touch....

 

[JayeNM]

Ooops! Got carried away.
The 'race-track' bell key guard was on the 61.

The 25 has an 'art-deco' style one-piece guard.....

.........similar to but not the same as on the 31.

Have always been a little curious about those, they don't really pop up too often, never have had one in my shop. Curious how much difference there really is between it and a 52, which would have been their model 1-step down....

 

[JayeNM]

It'll do for me and I have no need or desire to upgrade (message to self: STOP looking at YTS-61 ads)

61's are sorta the "forgotten pro Yamaha" Quite honestly....not to enable you...BUT if one was ever gonna seek an 'upgrade' Yamaha to a 23/25/200/280...and INSISTED on sticking to Yamas...

I would suggest looking more at a 52/475/480 (these 3 are all are essentially the same, except the earliest 52's didn't have the tilting Bb) or even better yet, an Allegro (34 or 575) which are really truly just 62's with non-ribbed post construction.