Saxophones Yanagisawa A901 or Yamaha Yas-480?

[Bbbggg123]

Hello everyone. I am a rising sophomore in high school. I am currently in my school's wind ensemble, marching band, and jazz band. Since 6th grade I have played on a cheap lj hutchen with horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE intonation. I am looking for a step up model. I think I have narrowed it down to a yani 901 or a yamaha yas480. Problem is, yanagisawa is not carried in any store near me, but yamaha is everywhere. I need this saxophone for wind ensemble and jazz band (I will use my cheap sax for marching band) if anyone can tell me pros and cons of both horns I would gladly appreciate it

 

[Colin the Bear]

Both good horns. Never played either.

 

[Jeanette]

I doubt you would go wrong with either, have you played the Yamaha?

Jx

 

[ProfJames]

Both are great buys from what I have heard from other players.

 

[kevgermany]

The Yanagisawa is a full pro horn. The yamaha not quite. Best to find a way of playing both then decide.

 

[MandyH]

I have a Yani A901, bought 5 or so years ago new. I can't fault it.
I also have a Yamaha YTS62 (which is a step up from the 480) again, I cannot fault it.

You can't go wrong with either, but if there are lots of Yamahas around you, maybe the sax repairers will also be more comfortable with repairing one, rather than the Yani? Just a small thought.

 

[MandyH]

The Yanagisawa is a full pro horn. The yamaha not quite. Best to find a way of playing both then decide.

Interesting, I would have considered the Yani 901 as not quite up at full pro, definitely intermediate to advanced, maybe the 991 or 992 as being more pro....but maybe I'm wrong 😳

 

[kevgermany]

Interesting, I would have considered the Yani 901 as not quite up at full pro, definitely intermediate to advanced, maybe the 991 or 992 as being more pro....but maybe I'm wrong 😳

Lots of discussions in other threads about this. General consensus was that the 901 is full pro, but not as fancy as the 991.

 

[DavidUK]

My (second) second hand Yani A901 arrived today and is in immaculate condition. I've just finished playing it against my SA80II and YAS62 MkI purple logo. The 62 had already "lost" to the Selmer on sound and the Yani beats it too, just. But then I prefer a warmer, darker sound and the Yamaha is a little too bright for me. Key work is on a par between the Yani and Yam. The 480 is supposedly a watered down 62 without the annealed bell and fancy engraving.
Personally, on tonight's battle, I'd choose the Yani over the 62 and so I guess I'd choose it over a 480 too assuming the same price?
Having said that... the Yani A901 I had previously was not immaculate and had to be stripped, cleaned, rebuilt, and set up by a tech. After this it didn't do anything for me. So be careful if buying 2nd hand.
So, go buy an SA80II for the same money as an A901 or Yam 480... I did!

 

[SaxDon]

The 480 impressed me earlier in the year against the new AW yanis and cannonballs I played. Best bang for your buck out of those imo (assuming US reflect UK prices). Plus everyone knows how to work on them and has spares and repairs etc.

A lot of the 'intermediate' and 'pro' tags should be taken with a pinch of salt. Gotta love the newish yani tags - pro and elite!

'So you're a pro sax player, huh? Yeah, well I'm elite, bruv!' PMSL

 

[Bbbggg123]

Would it be okay to purchase a used yani 901 on ebay with a return policy? I mean as soon as it's in I will take it to the shop, and if they find anything majorly wrong with it, I can return it and get my money back.

 

[kevgermany]

Would it be okay to purchase a used yani 901 on ebay with a return policy? I mean as soon as it's in I will take it to the shop, and if they find anything majorly wrong with it, I can return it and get my money back.

In principle, yes. But be careful. Many sellers who oversell. Look for a detailed description with lots of clear photos from someone who knows saxes. When sellers talk about good/fantastic condition and claim to know nothing about saxes it's a first warning.

 

[Ads]

I`ve always appreciated the quality of build and the slickness of the keywork of Yanis but found the sound to be lacking in character and life - kinda like the total opposite of a TJ RAW .. Yamahas are bright and very lively which you`ll either like or not (I DO in an Alto big time but not so much in a Tenor) . I don`t mind dark so long as it stirs the soul such as a good Selmer - (which Vary drastically from horn to horn as I`ve recently confirmed) or a Jupiter.

I`d not own a Yani in Alto or Tenor because the sound does nothing for me personaly , I want brash and rude in an Alto and real Depth and life in a Tenor (I really need to try a Keilwerth SX90 again or Mod a 10M`s LH table) but there`s no denying that they`re among the absolute best made and handling horns out there.

As for the YAS480 - it`d need an old 32 neck on to interest me, Yamaha of late have been dumbing down their unique sound as of late (in all bar the 280 model which has taken a step back to the lively Mk1 62 sound) , very nice horn, not as well made or slick as a Yani by any means . if you want a Yamaha with Attitude, save a fortune and try a YAS280 (YAS26 over there?) , there isn`t much difference between it and the 480 build wise, certainly nothing of any consequence (bling mainly) and it really rips, it`ll need a Pro setup (as would the 480 and 62-III) as Yamahas come out of the factory set too heavy

 

[DavidUK]

Do a Google "Yanagisawa flux bleed".
This one is otherwise impeccable but there's still a small amount of bleed.
Perhaps it's to signify "hand made"?

Maybe, unlike Yamahas, Yanis, sorry... Yanys, vary as much as MkVIs horn to horn? Another feature of "hand made" perhaps? The last one was lacking in character but this one has it in abundance. I had to play countless tunes to try and discount it against the Selmer last night, and it's still playing on my mind...

 

[ProfJames]

Best thing is to try them!

 

[SaxDon]

Best thing is to try them!

Definitely a good idea whenever possible. Used to trawl through the web trying to find the best deal and save a few quid - particularly on road bikes and saxes - but it often ends up more trouble than it's worth - ie delivery damage, not as described, not what you really wanted anyway. Too much bloody hassle!

 

[jonf]

The overwhelming majority of the tone a player gets comes from the player. As has been said above, to decide which you like you really need to play them. If you decide you don't like the sound of a sax, what you really mean is you don't like the sound you make through that sax.

First things first. Have you played another sax of proven quality? If so, I presume the intonation problems you have on the cheapy went away? Both the horns you mention have good intonation. No sax has perfect intonation, the player has to make it play in tune, but some are definitely better than others.

I've played both the the Yamaha and Yanagisawa, and I've owned a number of Yamahas and still own two Yanagisawas. The build quality on both is in my experience exceptional, and they stay in fine playable condition without the need for frequent technician intervention. They also both have excellent ergonomics. Personally I'd pick the Yanagisawa for its quality and feel. I've played loads of Yanagisawas and contrary to what David has said, I find them to be consistently good rather than variable.

I have read some of the internet stories about lacquer bleed on Yanagisawas. Neither of mine suffer from this problem, and I get the strong impression that a large part of it comes from an anti-Japanese bias exhibited in certain quarters of the web. It's all very reminiscent of the campaigns against Toyota cars in some areas. Think about it and make a rational decision, not one based on bias (which I don't think you have, given the two saxes you are considering).

What does it say about the quality of music from marching bands if it is acceptable to play a sax with poor intonation in one?

A final thought. Once you've got your new sax, the thing to do is just play it - that's how you get to be the best player you can. Agonising over which sax you should or should not have bought doesn't really help, once you're over a certain quality threshold, which both these saxes certainly are, neither will in any way impede your progress. Neither in themselves will advance your progress either, only you can do that. Personally, I have owned an awful lot of saxes, but that's purely because I trade in musical instruments as well as playing them. I also keep a couple of old ones for purely sentimental reason (old softy that I am). Other than that, for actual playing, it's one soprano, one tenor, one alto, one baritone, one c mel.

 

[DavidUK]

@jonf - I bow to your knowledge on Yanys. The reason I bought another was to give it a 2nd chance as the first one was odd... it arrived with a "skin" all over, what this was I have no idea but it had to be peeled off as a start to the cleaning process. I'm guessing it was owned by a lizard previously?

I agree with the "feel" comment. It's very comfortable and the l/h pinky table appears slightly better positioned than the Selmer.

Jon, I'm guessing you have played the four altos I refer to, albeit not side by side, and perhaps not an EX90 Series I but another Keilwerth? If so, and you ended up with a Yany alto, which model and why, in comparison to the others?

 

[Ads]

I found Yanis to be consistent to be honest both Tenors and Altos all models from the 901 to the 9932 ...

I may not favour Yani Altos or Tenors but I love their Sopranos ( I wish I could warrant owning one) ...... their Baris (which I`ve not tried) are the stuff of Legends .

 

[jonf]

David, it's not really a question of my knowledge or anything, it's just my opinion, that's all. Anything I post on a web forum is really just my opinion, and no more or less valuable than anyone else's.

For what it's worth, the 'lizard skin' thing you found doesn't sound like lacquer bleed, it sounds like someone's tried to clean the sax with something unsuitable and it's knackered the lacquer.

Yes, I've played the saxes you mention, although only a couple of Keilwerths, and I cannot remember the model. I think, from memory, both alto and tenor were the rolled tone hole ones. The tenor was pretty raucous, the alto a bit stuffy like it had a top stack leak. Probably just needed a light set up.

The tenor I bought was a T992, bought new. My Yani alto is an A6 stencilled as an 'Astro', bought in poor shape for the princely sum of £80. It now has an A992 underslung neck (bought from a Howarths sale, also for £80), and has had some quality Griff time, and it plays great. Total investment in it was £230. I generally use a Yani 7 metal mouthpiece on it, although occasionally I use a screaming Oleg Maestro piece. The sax, at that price, was an opportunistic purchase on SOTW, but since Griff fettled it, it's become my alto. The others I buy and sell are really just stock, this one's for me, for good. Same can be said about my T992.

Jon