Yani SC991 Secondhand vs BW Bronze Sop + BW Bronze Alto?

[MellowD]

So the story goes like this ............... you have £1500 to spend and here is the choice at the store ........

1 x Yanigasawa SC991 Curvy Soprano

or

1 each (new) of Bauhaus Walstein Bronze Series Action Improved Alto & Straight Soprano for the same money

This is a genuine choice I'm faced with. What would you choose?

Mel

 

[daveysaxboy]

So the story goes like this ............... you have £1500 to spend and here is the choice at the store ........

1 x Yanigasawa SC991 Curvy Soprano

or

1 each (new) of Bauhaus Walstein Bronze Series Action Improved Alto & Straight Soprano for the same money

This is a genuine choice I'm faced with. What would you choose?

Mel

As much as the BW horns are very good copys if the Yani 991 horns i would grab the Yani 991 curved sop at that great price.Yani sops are fantastic and many think the best made.

 

[trimmy]

I'm the opposite of davey, my thinking is i'm not experienced enough to get the best out of the yani so why not have 2 quality horns.... then in the future who knows ?

 

[daveysaxboy]

O r get the yani and save up for a used BW alto.

 

[Pete Thomas]

It's a no brainer for me. As I prefer the BW soprano to a Yanagisawa, I would get the two BWs.

 

[daveysaxboy]

Any choice is a good choice here.I have owned the curved and straight BW sop and alto.The cured BW i had trouble with intonation i found but the straight BW sop was very good there.I much prefer the curved yani sop to there staight 1.The curvy yanni has a great sound i think.Maybe the guys have it right here.If you want 2 brandnew bronze horns why not then.They have a great rep and a good proven record.Build is great and they look rather nice.

 

[Profusia]

Such a subjective question really. How badly and urgently do you want an alto, and a sop? How much do you crave a Yan? Does a curved sop appeal more or less than a straight one? How do you feel about saving up and forking out again for an alto later, or to upgrade to Yans later?

I'm planning on getting a curved as I imagine it will fit in airline hand luggage so I can carry on practising on hols. It won't be a £1500 jobby though!

 

[TomMapfumo]

I have to agree with Pete - another no brainer - I have 2 BW sopranos and love the sound much better than on the Yani. If you go this way do get a good quality mouthpiece, especially on the soprano - such as a PPT or similar as quality of build does count and many mouthpieces lack consistency of manufacture.

 

[daveysaxboy]

Such a subjective question really. How badly and urgently do you want an alto, and a sop? How much do you crave a Yan? Does a curved sop appeal more or less than a straight one? How do you feel about saving up and forking out again for an alto later, or to upgrade to Yans later?

I'm planning on getting a curved as I imagine it will fit in airline hand luggage so I can carry on practising on hols. It won't be a £1500 jobby though!

Has your wife said you can take your sax on holiday.My wife would never allow that.

 

[TomMapfumo]

The BW saxes are available here for approx £1400: http://www.woodwindsalesandrepairs.com/instrumentsales.html - Give Dick a ring and he will see you right! You can put the extra cash towards mouthpieces!

 

[jazzdoh]

Either way i think you would be happy,but for me the Yani's are the best sop's on the planet,that why there are companies trying to copy it.

Best of luck with your choice

Brian

 

[BigMartin]

I'd definitely go for the two saxes. But then all my 5 saxes together came to less than £2000. And if I was only buying one, I'd get an alto before a sop. Not sure my opinion matters much though.

 

[Profusia]

Davey,

How much trouble could I get in if I answered that!?!?

One could conjecture that if you maintain single status and pay the lion's share of the holiday costs then partners might become surprisingly compliant. But then I couldn't possibly say! ;}

 

[MellowD]

WOW that's an excellent set of responses. My reasoning for the Yani sop is because I have the Yani Tenor. I'm coming into a special payment and want to spend it wisely on sax rather than dropping it over the abyss of utility bills and losing the chance.

The response from Pete is quite enlightening, and if he rates the BW this highly, then I would be foolish to discount it me thunks. Hmmmmmm, I've arranged to go to the store tomorrow to have a play on the Yani Sop and have sent them a message to say I would like to try the BW at the same time for comparisons. Will let you know what I come home with - if anything at all!!!!

Oh, and my husband thoroughly expects that at least one sax will go away on holiday with me, as I've always taken guitar before (and its worryingly far easier than I thought to take knitting needles on board an aeroplane).

Mel

 

[TomMapfumo]

Good luck with making a choice. I remember when buying hi-fi years ago that the general good advice was to spend more money on equipment nearer the sound source - hence buy a decent cartridge/tone arm/turntable first, rather than spend more on amplifier & speakers - the sound will be better for a given budget.

Similarly a mouthpiece/reed/ligature has more of a role in sound than the sax so do not neglect this, especially on a soprano sax.

This is a useful discussion: http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?98609-My-new-Bauhaus-Walstein-soprano

 

[kevgermany]

Curved sop in case is easily within the current hand luggage regs.

 

[tengu01]

Curved sop in case is easily within the current hand luggage regs.

I know many people have been suggesting getting the two saxophones instead of the one...I'm going to head out on a limb and say the opposite. Pick one really good instrument (I don't think anyone disputes the quality of Yani sopranos) and spend the time mastering that one. If you've already got a tenor, then you're not even having to learn a different transposition.

More saxophones are always good, but the question is how much time you can devote to each one....

...just my opinion..

 

[Zeus]

991 Yanagisawa?
You already own a Yani...you know the answer, deep inside...i found out also yesterday, when my new Yanagisawa arrived.
Don't listen to me, I am biased, and newbie, but i know, you know the answer.
You will not find it anywhere else...close your eyes, and blow the Yani once more, and all will be cleared as the stars shine in a clear night.
Or you can go for the BW that are of excellent quality, i was just about to purchase a BW Alto m2-pro, and by the review it has, there is no loosing at all going for two BW!
You are in a win win scenario, you already own a Yani, so it will be so fun for you either way, you choose.
Personally, now i would go for the Yani, but if i were a better player, i would go for the two BW, to expand my arsenal of saxes, with two quality choices, as is Bauhaus.
Thus i would agree with Tengu on the matter of time, being the critical one...can you devote more time for more saxes? Go for the BW, if not go for the Yani.
My 2 cents, but hey, why am i writting here...i should ask questions to you all, not saying my little bit

 

[Jeanette]

I know many people have been suggesting getting the two saxophones instead of the one...I'm going to head out on a limb and say the opposite. Pick one really good instrument (I don't think anyone disputes the quality of Yani sopranos) and spend the time mastering that one. If you've already got a tenor, then you're not even having to learn a different transposition.

More saxophones are always good, but the question is how much time you can devote to each one....

...just my opinion..

A good point made above. I am learning sop at the moment and had a real yearning for a tenor but when I tried one it felt so alien I didn't buy it in the end as I was advised and quite rightly I think, that it might be better to put the sop away whilst I concentrated on the tenor but I didn't want to do that.

That said we are all different and you may have more time and or ability than me.

Try them and you will have a better idea



Enjoy your trip out and let us know how you get on.

Jx

 

[TomMapfumo]

I also started on soprano - after 8 months I got an alto - lovely move, much more in common with a soprano than I found a tenor. I personally think that the number of saxes issue is a red herring. I play 3 saxes, a trumpet and a trombone. I generally play 2 at any one time and have breaks between them all - 5 instruments is not a problem, and my standards remain very high, as does my interest. There is plenty of time and it is quite possible not to play one or more over weeks and months, and have different aims for each. Acquiring two and then only playing one of them for a few months is fine - the fact is that you do not have to play them all at once, but can play them once you have them.

Incidentally there are people who do rate the BW soprano more highly than a Yani soprano (not just Pete), just like some rate other altos above the Yani, and other tenors above the Yani, so lets not get carried away with Yani saxes. The BW may be described as a copy of a Yani - does not mean it is not as good. I have a Mouthpiece Cafe Espresso alto mpc which is modelled on the Selmer Soloist short shank. I know which I prefer. So copy does not necessarily imply worse than, in my experience, and can often mean better than.