 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: :-)
Date: 2003-01-31 06:33
I know this is a CLARINET bulletin board, but don´t know of any saxophone bulletin board so...
I´ve been playing the clarinet for quite a while and though I´d take up saxophone aswell. A friend of mine has a Yanagisawa alto sax he wants to sell. It doesn´t have any other engraving except for a number: 00154445. Does anyone know what kind of a sax this is? A beginners, intermediate or advanced? What would be a reasonable price to pay? (it´s in good chape).
Another sax question: The mouthpiece and ligature that comes with it are really bad, so I would probably búy new ones. What´s a good mouthpiece for a beginner (that I can use even when I start getting better)?. I´ll probably mostly play classical music and wind band music. What about ligatures?
Thanx for any advice!
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Author: Fred
Date: 2003-01-31 11:34
A Selmer C* mouthpiece is a good place to begin, especially if you are going to play classical. Essentially all Yanagisawa saxes are pro level instruments, so it's a great brand and a very player-friendly one. If your friend knows how old it is, that might help date it. I THINK it was made in 2001 based on the second and third digit of the sn. If memory serves, that's the convention that Yanagisawa uses. Check around the thumb rest for a model number. A used 900 or 901 should go for $650-1000 depending on condition. Other models will go higher (again, if it is a 2001 model.)
On condition - it really needs to be checked with a leak light to see how the pads are sealing. Unlike clarinet pads, sax pads usually don't experience a break when they go bad . . . they just get hard and don't seal. If it is a 2001 model, pads should be OK.
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Author: kenabbott
Date: 2003-01-31 11:34
The there are many sources here, but my favorites are alt.music.sax on the usenet, and Sax on the Web at http://forum.saxontheweb.net/. Both are frequented by lots of sax folk.
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Author: ed
Date: 2003-01-31 14:43
keep in mind that the ALTO sax or clarinet is in Eb, which means you won't be able to play your Bb music to your cds or with someone else without transposing the music first. it's easier in the long run to buy a tenor sax. just a thought.
ed
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Author: William
Date: 2003-01-31 14:50
My good friend, who is a Chicago born, New York City experianced and local university professor of composition and saxophone, is an advocate of the new Yanni saxophones--placing them even over the old Selmer Mark VI's in quality and performance. And from the excellance of his jazz performance and stylings, I can believe he knows shat he is talking about. For myself, I play Selmers--but if I ever can afford to switch brands, I will definately be considering the Yanagisawa line. User friendly key action with great sound and intonation--that's what I am told by my prof friend. (BTW, his doctorate is from Eastmann School of Music, if that matters at all)
The Selmer C* mouthpiece is a good universal product for jazz and classical styles, but you might want to check out the Yanni mouthpieces as well.
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Author: Bob
Date: 2003-01-31 15:18
I recently bought a Yamaha alto on eBay and have been "learning" to play it. Reading lots about saxes I hear that Yangisawa is "tops". I would have thought that $1,000 would be about bottom of the price scale for a used one.....but I'm not an expert
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Author: Mark Sloss
Date: 2003-01-31 15:39
C* is a good start, and many of the same brands of ligs you can get for clarinet have sax equivalents.
Even though I'm a made man in the Buffet clarinet mafia, I am also a card-carrying member of the Selmer mafia when it comes to saxes. I owned a Yani "pro" tenor once upon a time, and it was the most god-awful soulless piece of @#$% that ever existed. Nice mechanism, but bad sound and a worse scale. I was only a sax novice at the time, so I didn't know better, but got set straight in short order by some top shelf instructors and pros. I know it isn't fair to paint the whole line with the same brush, but since getting an SA80 S1 tenor, I have yet to find a Yani or Yamaha that could touch it.
If you are buying used, go to some dealers and try out used Selmers, Keilwerths, and even Buffets. If they have vintage horns, your brand selection gets even broader.
As for the comparison of Yanis to other makes, be fair and match the vintage before making the comparison. The Mark VI is a wonderful horn with an incredible sound and character, but has its own issues (pitch, for one). New-to-new, discuss the Yanis vis a vis Selmer Series III and Reference horns. I'd even go so far as to say the new top-line Yamaha whups the other Japanesque brands.
Of course on a clarinet board, some might argue that saxophones are only good as urinals and strawberry planters anyway, so it doesn't really matter what brand you use...
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2003-01-31 17:15
Clark Fobes makes a very nice Debut mouthpiece for saxes; my little guy's been using that on his alto sax for quite a while & both he and his band teacher are very happy with it. He uses V16 3s on it.
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Author: Fred
Date: 2003-01-31 17:17
Does relacquering a sax affect the taste of the strawberries?
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Author: Brent
Date: 2003-01-31 18:25
Hite Premiere is another very good and inexpensive starter mouthpiece, along with the Fobes Mark mentions.
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Author: Fred
Date: 2003-01-31 21:20
I was wrong about the year of manufacture. I found their key on the web; the alto was made in about 1988. Still a good horn, but not just like their models today. Could definitely have some pad issues; then again, maybe not. Check for leaks.
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Author: Bob
Date: 2003-01-31 22:10
Just got a Debut for my Bb clar. and like it very much.
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Author: zadu
Date: 2003-01-31 22:32
Still Laughing..
Fred,
The strawberries will still taste the same, many of them will appear to be blurrier,and somewhat lighter in color; the color can, of course, be adjusted by the selection of just the right dyes(unknown to modern science) to mix with the last coats of lacquer.
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Author: Fred
Date: 2003-01-31 22:34
By the way, that 1988 date will lower the price range of the alto. But it really depends on getting a correct ID on the model. The A-900 alto was introduced in 1992. Yours is probably either aan A-500 or an A-880. The 880's were the better of the two and some (maybe all) the 880 altos had an underslung octave key (underside of the neck).
Hope that helps.
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2003-02-01 09:23
I don't know too many serious sax players that use a C*! Although there are a few older soloist models around. If the sax is from 1988 it ir probably in the 800 to 880 range. If it has an underslung octave it is almost definitely an 880 and definitely if the Yanigasawa logo is a medallion on the bell. Like any Japanese sax the handling it has received is important. Many of these old Yani's are worth full overhauls, they are not however any better or worse than a Mark VI. Comparisons of this sort are marginal to say the least. I own and play both Yanigasawa and Selmer. Wouldn't touch a C*, go straight to a Meyer 5 or 6.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2003-02-01 10:15
Many players in New Zealand use a C*, including very good ones.
Yanagisawa design and manufacture is has one of the highest standards in the world. They are extremely consistent and reliable.
There is nothing too much wrong with Yanagisawa mouthpieces. Perhaps the cut of the particular one you have is inappropriate for a beginner.
Yanagisawas are VERY easy to play. If you are having problems you almost certainly have leaks that need to be attended to.
Even a cheap, Yamaha 4C will give no problems for a beginner. I use one for all my alto sax testing after servicing. No problems! Some people get over-fanatical about different mouthpieces. This may be an issue for the top 5% of players, but certainly not beginners.
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Author: Fred
Date: 2003-02-01 14:37
Mark, the questioner is a beginner on sax and will be playing classical. I couldn't write a better script for a C* if I tried.
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Author: super20dan
Date: 2003-02-01 16:23
i agree with gordon on this one. i have never seen a bad yani sax .even their older models. the selmer s80c* is the accepted std.mpc for concert band work. its a good place to start.
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