Sax on the Web

Sax on the Web Forum Archive / Baritone Saxophone / Yamaha 52 vs. 62

Grease
User ID: 9293943 Apr 9th 3:10 PM
I need to buy a second bari and it`s probably gonna be one of these. Of course there are none to try in my area. What`s the difference between these two? I`ve heard everything from "just engraving" to "completely different keywork".
Has anyone played both and actually know?

MojoBari
User ID: 1320554 Apr 10th 12:36 PM
They both have the same keywork except the 62 goes up to high F#. The 62 has engraving and gold-colored lacquer. The 52 has clear lacquer and looks more yellow. Mine is an older 52 (1987)so some of the other diffs might not be on the newer 52s. Yamaha trickles down a lot of pro features to the intermediate horns as time goes on. Other diffs may be: pearl keys vs plastic, ribbed and flanged posts vs just flanged, G# and low C# adjusting screws may be missing on the 52, annealed metal, neck reciever beefyness. Most of the keys have adjustment screws on both horns. Real nice to be able to regulate the horn with a screw driver.

To me they both played the same so I saved the $$$. I recently played a new 52 and new 62 last January. I still felt there was no difference.

Sherry
User ID: 1759784 Apr 10th 1:41 PM
I have been told by some pros whom I respect that the Yamaha 52 is a great value - that it plays as well as the 62 and costs a lot less.

When I got my bari I seriously considered the 52. However, I realized that I could get a Yanagisawa 901 for just $100-150 more than the Yamaha 52. My experience generally with a Yamaha 52 (although not the Baris) is that the 52 series Yamahas have poor resale value - you can recoup your investment on a pro horn but not on the intermediate ones. I don't know about you but what I want or think I want tends to change over time, and resale is important to me. I ended up getting the Yani 901. If I were going to do it today I'd probably spring a few $$ more and go for the 991, both for resale and durability.

john
User ID: 0582664 Apr 10th 2:45 PM
I just sold my vintage bari (HCouf) and traded my SX90 for the Yani 991. No regrets. I agree with Sherry it's worth the extra bucks to move to the better horn. USUALLY better resale, adjustment, and intonation. But as always- buy what sounds good and plays well for you.

OnyxSax
User ID: 9683713 Apr 10th 7:45 PM
I have a "loaner" Yamaha 52 right now. It has the high F# key. The 62 has ribbed construction versus the 52's soldered posts.

The Martin
User ID: 0631424 Apr 11th 1:19 AM
I second the Yani 900/901 bari.

Very good keywork (Better then Selmer SA80 II) and comparable sound.
Wonderfull horn.

grease
User ID: 2114994 Apr 11th 8:53 AM
Thanks everyone. I know people love the yani but this is to be a backup horn . With no first hand information the yamaha seems to be perfect.
A couple of 52`s on ebay indicate that the 52 brings pretty good resale, if the bidding is honest.

MojoBari
User ID: 1320554 Apr 11th 9:10 AM
My daughter has been using the school's 52 bari. It is newer than mine and is still missing the high F# (which is a key I do not miss). It does not surprise me that Onyx's 52 has a F#.

Other old/new Yamaha observations: Serial numbers do not correlate with dates. An "A" after the serial number indicates an American assembled sax. 52/62s with the purple painted "YAMAHA" on the bell are earlier ones (~79-92?). They went to a stamped "YAMAHA" around 1992. Somewhere around 1997 the low Bb key went to a tilting style design like on the Mark VIs. This seems slick, but actually requires more pinky travel to play a low Bb.

I would guess the high F# was added to the 52 bari somewhere after 1997. I did not notice if the new 52 bari I played last Jan had it or not. Next time I'll look!

As for resale value on 52s, they look like the hold up to me. If you see a deal on a used one, grab it.

Grease User ID: 9293943	Apr 9th 3:10 PM I need to buy a second bari and it`s probably gonna be one of these. Of course there are none to try in my area. What`s the difference between these two? I`ve heard everything from "just engraving" to "completely different keywork". Has anyone played both and actually know?
MojoBari User ID: 1320554	Apr 10th 12:36 PM They both have the same keywork except the 62 goes up to high F#. The 62 has engraving and gold-colored lacquer. The 52 has clear lacquer and looks more yellow. Mine is an older 52 (1987)so some of the other diffs might not be on the newer 52s. Yamaha trickles down a lot of pro features to the intermediate horns as time goes on. Other diffs may be: pearl keys vs plastic, ribbed and flanged posts vs just flanged, G# and low C# adjusting screws may be missing on the 52, annealed metal, neck reciever beefyness. Most of the keys have adjustment screws on both horns. Real nice to be able to regulate the horn with a screw driver. To me they both played the same so I saved the $$$. I recently played a new 52 and new 62 last January. I still felt there was no difference.
Sherry User ID: 1759784	Apr 10th 1:41 PM I have been told by some pros whom I respect that the Yamaha 52 is a great value - that it plays as well as the 62 and costs a lot less. When I got my bari I seriously considered the 52. However, I realized that I could get a Yanagisawa 901 for just $100-150 more than the Yamaha 52. My experience generally with a Yamaha 52 (although not the Baris) is that the 52 series Yamahas have poor resale value - you can recoup your investment on a pro horn but not on the intermediate ones. I don't know about you but what I want or think I want tends to change over time, and resale is important to me. I ended up getting the Yani 901. If I were going to do it today I'd probably spring a few $$ more and go for the 991, both for resale and durability.
john User ID: 0582664	Apr 10th 2:45 PM I just sold my vintage bari (HCouf) and traded my SX90 for the Yani 991. No regrets. I agree with Sherry it's worth the extra bucks to move to the better horn. USUALLY better resale, adjustment, and intonation. But as always- buy what sounds good and plays well for you.
OnyxSax User ID: 9683713	Apr 10th 7:45 PM I have a "loaner" Yamaha 52 right now. It has the high F# key. The 62 has ribbed construction versus the 52's soldered posts.
The Martin User ID: 0631424	Apr 11th 1:19 AM I second the Yani 900/901 bari. Very good keywork (Better then Selmer SA80 II) and comparable sound. Wonderfull horn.
grease User ID: 2114994	Apr 11th 8:53 AM Thanks everyone. I know people love the yani but this is to be a backup horn . With no first hand information the yamaha seems to be perfect. A couple of 52`s on ebay indicate that the 52 brings pretty good resale, if the bidding is honest.
MojoBari User ID: 1320554	Apr 11th 9:10 AM My daughter has been using the school's 52 bari. It is newer than mine and is still missing the high F# (which is a key I do not miss). It does not surprise me that Onyx's 52 has a F#. Other old/new Yamaha observations: Serial numbers do not correlate with dates. An "A" after the serial number indicates an American assembled sax. 52/62s with the purple painted "YAMAHA" on the bell are earlier ones (~79-92?). They went to a stamped "YAMAHA" around 1992. Somewhere around 1997 the low Bb key went to a tilting style design like on the Mark VIs. This seems slick, but actually requires more pinky travel to play a low Bb. I would guess the high F# was added to the 52 bari somewhere after 1997. I did not notice if the new 52 bari I played last Jan had it or not. Next time I'll look! As for resale value on 52s, they look like the hold up to me. If you see a deal on a used one, grab it.