Saxophones Straight Soprano Good, Curved Soprano Bad

[Rosemary Joy]

My posting was tongue in cheek, but personally I have not found a curvy soprano that I liked playing - and that includes trying a couple of Yanagisawas. However, I am a beginner, and other players don't find much difference between straight and curvy, so I may be odd.

I compared the key layout on a curved and a straight soprano and it was the same. But these were both Elkharts, and a different manufacturer might have different spacing. Holding the straight one out in front does get tiring, so the curvy is more comfortable to hold.

You need to try both sorts to find out which you yourself prefer.

I have been trying out sopranos recently, and for what it's worth, my current view is that one should either pay less than £300 or more than £1800. (The exceptions to this rule would be a used Yamaha 475 or a vintage soprano.) It is possible to get a good used Chinese or Taiwanese soprano for under £300, and the next step up from that would be a Yamaha or a Yanagisawa or a Sequoia. Personally, I like the Elkhart Deluxe and Sakkusu "Tick-Logo" models - made in Taiwan. But intonation on cheap sopranos can vary a lot from instrument to instrument, even ones that are supposedly identical, so you need to try them.

Thanks for your helpful response which I appreciated.
I really would like a straight soprano but the more I research the more complicated it gets.
It seems it is not possible to use a neck strap with a straight one and that is a must for me as I have arthritic fingers and couldn't support it.
Maybe I should pop in to Dawkes and try one out.
Thanks again for your opinion.

 

[billbluesnjazz]

@Rosemary Joy If you use a padded neck strap it is perfectly possible to play a straight sop but you may still find that your right thumb gets tired/sore after a while. As Colin the bear says, the curvy has many advantages for ease of holding and comfort. Remember that the purpose of a musical instrument is to make music! The ideal instrument and setup will let you express yourself without getting in the way. I still find my curvy excellent for this. What it looks like is irrelevant, especially if you play with your eyes closed in true Jazz style!

 

[nigeld]

Thanks for your helpful response which I appreciated.
I really would like a straight soprano but the more I research the more complicated it gets.
It seems it is not possible to use a neck strap with a straight one and that is a must for me as I have arthritic fingers and couldn't support it.
Maybe I should pop in to Dawkes and try one out.
Thanks again for your opinion.

I use a neck strap with my straight soprano, but my right thumb is bearing most of the weight and it gets tired. A curved soprano is more comfortable.

As you say - you need to try them.

 

[Tiberius]

I play mine straight soprano with a neck strap (well actually usually I use the same jazzlabs saxholder as on my tenor, just pull it up a bit). Without the 'strap' its heavy and awkward to hold...no make that impossible to hold I think.

 

[Jeanette]

I sometimes use a neck strap with my sop it takes a little of the weight but not a lot. It is interesting though how different makes/models can weigh differently so worth trying a few. I had sellers weighing saxes when I bought mine to find a lighter one

Jx

 

[aldevis]

I sometimes use a neck strap with my sop it takes a little of the weight but not a lot. It is interesting though how different makes/models can weigh differently so worth trying a few. I had sellers weighing saxes when I bought mine to find a lighter one

Jx

Interesting: I find it a very odd question but a customer asked me the same and I found put a strange result about my Sequoias:
Silver: 1.46 kg
Lemon: 1.25 kg
200g of plating?

 

[Jeanette]

I asked a seller to compare a YSS 62 with the YSS 675


I just weighed them on my postage scale, which is accurate to a tenth of an ounce. The 675 weighs 49.8 oz. (3 lb 1.8 oz.) and the YSS-62 weighs 44.8oz. (2 lb 12.8 oz.). So the 62 is 10% lighter than the 675. It is really easy to feel the difference when you pick the two horns up. The keywork is also sprung much more lightly on the 62, so depressing the keys takes significantly less force on the 62 than on the heavier-sprung 675.

So 62 is 1.27 Kg and 675 1.411Kg

Jx

 

[Nick Wyver]

My 2 straight Bb sops are:
Yanagisawa S6 1.25kg
Yanagisawa S991 1.35kg

I have been known to use a sling on the 991 when playing with the curved neck, but usually I play without.

 

[Rosemary Joy]

I use a neck strap with my straight soprano, but my right thumb is bearing most of the weight and it gets tired. A curved soprano is more comfortable.

As you say - you need to try them.

Thank you Nigeld for helping me make my mind up. It's definitely a curved one for me. As you say it's more comfy and that's important if you want to enjoy playing.