Saxophones OMG Barone copper neck on a YAS62II. Unbelievable!!!

[AndyB]

I have spent most of 2 years laboriously conquering the tuning quirks of my 2007 Yamaha 62-II alto with the G1 neck. Yes, Yamaha's "fixed" neck not the original defective neck. Made significant progress but it really works you hard.

WAY flat on middle C# followed by WAY sharp on D half step above it. Back to even on D# and then somewhat sharp on E followed by even on F and flat on G and somewhat sharp on A and flat on B/Bb. In summary, up and down like a coney island roller coaster over the entire middle octave.

I remember asking folks over at sociopaths on the web last year and getting their typical responses like - "You're just no good." "You don't deserve to live unless you play a ____ brand horn like me." "Only mere mortals have problems like yours." "I have a $800 second source neck and a $500 mouthpiece and I don't have any problems, but you just dont have any chops." etc.

So I decided that I just had to man up and tough it out.

But I just got a used Phil Barone copper neck today and my Yamaha alto is a completely different horn. The sound is less "singing" than the G1 neck but richer and with what I call "oboe overtones" I've always associated with Selmers.

And the intonation is phenomenal. Middle C# and D are _PERFECTLY_ even instead of -15/+15 cents. I've learned to play the original G1 neck in tune by pushing the mouthpiece in and tuning the middle C# and lipping the ENTIRE horn down. I've never played any horn with an even middle C#/D before! I didn't even think it was possible.

I would recommend the investment to any YAS62-II owner.

 

[daveysaxboy]

I played a Selmer Ref 54 neck on my Yam 82Z Tenor and liked that more,tamed it atad.Still loving my new Magnum Mauriat neck on my 66RUL Tenor.Just lift's it up in all field's i think.Been wanting to try a different neck on my BW alto for some time.

 

[Lupifaro]

I played a Selmer Ref 54 neck on my Yam 82Z Tenor and liked that more,tamed it atad.Still loving my new Magnum Mauriat neck on my 66RUL Tenor.Just lift's it up in all field's i think.Been wanting to try a different neck on my BW alto for some time.

Hi guys I have been trying out my Yani solid silver crook on my BW Alto it suits it fine because they are both underslung:welldone.I have a mauriat solid silver crook that i use on my 67RUL again it gives it an instant ease of articulation and bags of punch.
Breaking news it is quite likely that Mauriat will be bringing out a Magnum Alto Crook in the near future:welldone
Watch this space
birdman

www.studiosaxophones.co.uk

 

[daveysaxboy]

So how is the Mauriat neck on the BW,any difference and is tuning ok with it.

 

[Lupifaro]

So how is the Mauriat neck on the BW,any difference and is tuning ok with it.

I have not tried the mauriat crook with the the BW as yet but will do that tonight Did the Durga arrive, i sent it yesterday recorded del ?/
birdman

 

[rhysonsax]

Did the Durga arrive, i sent it yesterday recorded del ?/
birdman

Don't know about his, but my bari Durga came this morning when I was out and I have just picked it up from the Post Office. Looks fine and I will give it a good blow at big band tonight.

Rhys

PS Sorry for butting in.

 

[daveysaxboy]

Not here yet Birdman,there's some sort of strike going on so hope it come's tomorrow,let you no what happen's,cant wait to try.

 

[Lupifaro]

Don't know about his, but my bari Durga came this morning when I was out and I have just picked it up from the Post Office. Looks fine and I will give it a good blow at big band tonight.

Rhys

PS Sorry for butting in.

Hi Rhys,sorry forgot to mention that it was on the way.
))
birdman

 

[AndyB]

I played a Selmer Ref 54 neck on my Yam 82Z Tenor and liked that more,tamed it atad.Still loving my new Magnum Mauriat neck on my 66RUL Tenor.Just lift's it up in all field's i think.Been wanting to try a different neck on my BW alto for some time.

I gather that the Barone neck may be similar to the Selmer neck. It certainly makes the YAS62II sound very different and more like a Selmer.

 

[Richard Perks]

I use a Barone neck on my Selmer 80 II and it is way better feel. Checked with my friends MKVI and it looks almost identical..... The original neck gave an impression that you were being forced up to play where the Barone makes it feel more natural to play.

 

[AndyB]

I use a Barone neck on my Selmer 80 II and it is way better feel. Checked with my friends MKVI and it looks almost identical..... The original neck gave an impression that you were being forced up to play where the Barone makes it feel more natural to play.

Interesting. The Barone neck does have a very different feel on the alto than the G1 neck. It actually blows more like a tenor now - it seems to take a bit more air but at the same time its very free blowing with less resistance than with the G1 neck.

Maybe Yamaha was trying to make their horns easier to blow and gave up something in the process with the design of their necks. When I bought my YAS62II I also tried out an 82Z and found the 82Z so easy to play that you could just about point the beak into a breeze and it would play itself.

 

[gilbertpz]

Interesting. The Barone neck does have a very different feel on the alto than the G1 neck. It actually blows more like a tenor now - it seems to take a bit more air but at the same time its very free blowing with less resistance than with the G1 neck.

Maybe Yamaha was trying to make their horns easier to blow and gave up something in the process with the design of their necks. When I bought my YAS62II I also tried out an 82Z and found the 82Z so easy to play that you could just about point the beak into a breeze and it would play itself.

Hello after one year do you think is good upgrade to buy a Barone Neck for a Yamaha Alto sax?... Did you try it in silver finish?... thanks!.

 

[gladsaxisme]

Hi everyone

I have a 62 that I have owned for some time but played very little,I believe it to be 12 or 13 yrs old that I purchased on ebay, it was in immaculate condition.The reason for not playing it was that although it seemed to have a much nicer tone than my lowly ELKHART 2 I had problems playing it, the middle D would squeek and low Bb was very difficult to get.However I put this more down to my own technique and embouchure than to failings in the 62.Now some time later I am giving it another go and having much more joy with it,all the original problems seem to have vanished and there seems to be no problems at all with it going in and out of tune,is this because it's a mk1 as opposed to a mk2,I'm using an OTTO LINK EBONITE TONE EDGE 5* mpc and La Voz medium reed with rovner lig and the the results seem brilliant.Are the 62's very reed and mpc sensitive.The only other problem that seems to have surfaced is that the mechanism seems a bit clattery on G# is this a common problem.One more question I would like to ask is,are most crooks on modern horns interchangeable I always thought that each manufacturer tended to have their own neck tenon size.Your comments will be much appreciated....john

 

[Greg Strange]

I have been playing a 62 series Yamaha alto for the last 24 years. They are a very user friendly horn and accomodate a lot of different mouthpieces. In regard to reeds, I think the reeds are related more to the mouthpiece than the horn. For example I find Van Doren ZZ 3 reeds very hard to play on most of my mouthpieces (e.g. Brilhart Level Air 6, Van Doren Jumbo Java A35, Beechler S6S, Roosseau JDX8) but play reasonable well on my Meyer 5M mouthpiece. I find the Van Doren ZZ 2.5 better reeds, the 3 are like playing a bit of 4 x 2. I regard to the G# key, there are two different types - my alto has what I call the Balanced Action type G# set-up and the newer 62 altos have the Mark VI type cantilevered set-up. It shouldn't be clattery - I would check and see if the spring is operating correctly. May also pay and get it checked out by a repair person. To be perfectly honest I have never been a fan of Otto Link mouthpieces on alto, although I have a Otto Link 5* hard rubber for soprano, and a metal Super Tone Master 7* for tenor.
I hope this info is helpful. By the way I think the Yamaha YAS62 Mark I alto is one of the best altos ever built.
Regards,
GS.

 

[gladsaxisme]

Hi Gregg

Thanks for your comments I have found them very helpful.I originally bought the 62 knowing it had a large following amongst pro players and was a good way to progress, I found your comments on mpc's very useful but probably won't be going down that road for some time until my confidence in my own playing ability is somewhat better and I can be sure that differences I might find is down to any mpc tried and not my own lack of ability.I have memories of going into a shop to try to buy a new mpc for a stagg sop I bought some time ago and felt it was somewhat disastrous,not being able to get a sound out of most mpc's I tried I eventually settled for the ubiquitous yam4c which is always a good starting point I suppose.I have had a feeling that some of the cork stops are somewhat hard causing a bit of a bang when you use certain keys so I will probably take it in to my tech to sort.

Thanks again for your comments the journey continues and loving every minute....john

 

[Fraser Jarvis]

I remember asking folks over at sociopaths on the web last year and getting their typical responses like - "You're just no good." "You don't deserve to live unless you play a ____ brand horn like me." "Only mere mortals have problems like yours." "I have a $800 second source neck and a $500 mouthpiece and I don't have any problems, but you just dont have any chops." etc.

Ha Ha, Exactly right! they are a bit like that and some of them are just plaine basket cases! i think one guy has something like 21000 posts! which begs the question how the hell does he find the time to play his sax, let alone do anything else with his life!

I have heard of people using Selmer ref 54 necks on various saxes with good results, but back to the Barone neck, have you considered getting rid of the Yam and getting a Barone sax if the necks are as good as you say they are?

B.T.W. I play a Barone tenor and can wholeheartedly reconmend them.

 

[kevgermany]

Another good thing about Barone is his availability. Not to everyone's taste, but at least he's straight and helpful!

 

[Mamos]

I just looked at the Phil Barone website and the prices seem very resonable

I might consider one when time comes to upgrade

Can you buy them in this country?

mamos

 

[kevgermany]

I just looked at the Phil Barone website and the prices seem very resonable

I might consider one when time comes to upgrade

Can you buy them in this country?

mamos

Send him an email. The answer's probably that he'll ship one to you - but when you factor in shipping, import/VAT thiongs might not look so rosy - and there's always the question of who carries the cost if there's a problem...

 

[AndyB]

but back to the Barone neck, have you considered getting rid of the Yam and getting a Barone sax if the necks are as good as you say they are?

B.T.W. I play a Barone tenor and can wholeheartedly reconmend them.

I'm still very happy with the YAS62-II with the Barone neck. Its very free blowing and I've come to think it sounds better than the original Yam G1 neck. I think it may overcome some peoples complaints over the YAS62. Some people say the YAS62 is too bright sounding and too focused. The Barone neck makes it sound much darker and richer and the intonation is much more open allowing more expression.