Saxophone reviews Yamaha YAS-280 - Refining a Classic

[Ads]

As an Update

After deciding to stick to one Sax last September (Tenor of course) I`ve missed having an alto so when I decided to grab another serious one, you can bet what it was - a YAS280 and it sounds and plays every bit as good as the last one . OK I did grab a scruffy Elkhart a month ago to see if I was going to play Alto much and when I did, looked for a mint 280 🙂

 

[kevgermany]

Not bad, holding out for nearly six months.

 

[Rob Pealing]

As an Update

After deciding to stick to one Sax last September (Tenor of course) I`ve missed having an alto so when I decided to grab another serious one, you can bet what it was - a YAS280 and it sounds and plays every bit as good as the last one . OK I did grab a scruffy Elkhart a month ago to see if I was going to play Alto much and when I did, looked for a mint 280 🙂

You could regret selling the JDX6 to me now, but I am not selling................. yet!

 

[Ads]

it actually was a full 6 months so didn`t do too bad Kev .. As for the JDX6, rather on the bright side for a Yamaha ..... thankfully I kept the fantastic (and unreplacable) LAW LCM .

When the Elkhart has gone I`ll be back to 2 saxes which is more than enough ..... says a lot for the YAS280 holding its own on Alto agains the SA80-II Tenor 😉

 

[Greg Strange]

Everybody needs a nice alto in their life...

Greg S.

 

[Ads]

UPDATE - Another 4 months gone by and still SA80-II + YAS280 swinging beautifully, have no need or want to "upgrade" the 280 and going by the longevity of YAS21s - and how long I had the Tenor MkVII , PLUS how I`ve managed to keep off these GAS inducing forums, this pair will live me out 😀

 

[Jeanette]

UPDATE - Another 4 months gone by and still SA80-II + YAS280 swinging beautifully, have no need or want to "upgrade" the 280 and going by the longevity of YAS21s - and how long I had the Tenor MkVII , PLUS how I`ve managed to keep off these GAS inducing forums, this pair will live me out 😀

Nice to hear from you, do visit from time to time.

Jx

 

[Ads]

Thanks - I`ll check in and stick in my 2P worth from time to time but ain't getting into the sax "trying" ratrace again, thankfully it didn`t develop into GAS but it was bad enough - LOL ..

 

[trimmy]

PLUS how I`ve managed to keep off these GAS inducing forums, this pair will live me out 😀

but ain't getting into the sax "trying" ratrace again

"Just when i thought i was out, they pull me back in"
😉

 

[Ads]

you`re in for the Duration Kev .. and you know it 😉

 

[Ivan]

... but ain't getting into the sax "trying" ratrace again, thankfully it didn`t develop into GAS but it was bad enough - LOL ..

The difficult path of the recovered addict

We knew you had it bad with squeeze boxes

I didn't know this forum re-awakened the NEED

Well done @Ads

Be strong

Get yersel' a bari for goodness sake

 

[Ads]

It didn`t reawaken any "need" - I joined because I was adding Alto and wanted to checkout the options which I did and enjoyed as I did Sops (don`t need one so ain't now got one) - Enjoyed a few tenors along the way too and managed to replace my worn out MkVII ..

I need a Bari like a hole in the head

in all the time I was on here, I went through less horns than David and Prof did in a week - LOL

 

[BigMartin]

It's been a pleasure dealing with you, @Ads, and if you find any more interesting items in the back of a cupboard, do let us know.

 

[trimmy]

in all the time I was on here, I went through less horns than David and Prof did in a week - LOL

I think the whole forum together couldn't match them 😉

 

[Ads]

It's been a pleasure dealing with you, @Ads, and if you find any more interesting items in the back of a cupboard, do let us know.

You too Martin and thanks - apart from a few odd mouthpieces fro sax and clarinet, All I have is a vintage wooden recorder and of course my two saxes ...

 

[kevgermany]

Good for you Ads. Pity the forum rekindles your addiction. Mines completely under control, just need to face up to a big clear out. Scary to think how much cash is tied up in saxes and mouthpieces that don't get used.

 

[Ivan]

I need a Bari like a hole in the head

You said it...

Now where's that drill?

 

[Ads]

Good for you Ads. Pity the forum rekindles your addiction. Mines completely under control, just need to face up to a big clear out. Scary to think how much cash is tied up in saxes and mouthpieces that don't get used.

I managed to keep it away from being an addiction but it certainly got me curious about trying different horns alto wise (started out and went back to Yamaha) - and Tenor wise gave me a divergence into Yamaha and then back to Selmer again where I came from - LOL ...

Give this place its due, if it hadn`t been for the forum I`d not have even dreamed of trying a "Student" Yamaha , least of all a battered YAS21 , it was a total success and gave me the sound I wanted from an Alto even if mechanically it was rather crude . the 275 was (as always Japanese or Indonesian) a bit lacking in liveliness but the 280 upped the ante in build quality (near 62 Mk3 levels) and sound (more like a 21 than a 275) so that`s sorted ..

If I started hanging around here, I`d end up messing with Keilwerth SX90 (non Rs) no doubt to try and "get into" the handling (always liked the sound) , maybe in both alto and Tenor but the SA80-II and 280 do more than enough and it`d be just Curiosity and divergenece I can well do without .

Enjoyed learning how to setup and maintain saxes though and apart from dent removal, have managed quite a bit. Valuable stuff which if I`d learned decades ago , my MkVII wouldn`t have ended up in the state it was

 

[trimmy]

If I started hanging around here,

We promise not to play with your mind if you pop in and out !

 

[Jeanette]

We promise not to play with your mind if you pop in and out !

Don't make promises you can't keep!!

Jx