Silver Yani: Worth the Money?

[leehwd]

Dear all Yani lovers and others,

Is silver Yani worth the money? I have read many reviews and comments on them, and one common evaluation seems that these are 'too' hi-fi. I don't know what this really means though. :(

I am now searching a good pro alto sax. I am a soprano player (3.5 years) and want to play the alto. My current shopping lists are Yamaha 82z, 875EX, and Yani A992. But, I also want to hear more about the Silver Yani. My experience with the soprano is that I will need a really good pro horn sooner or later, and it may be better to invest from the very beginning.

Any comments and/or experience are appreciated. Thank you.

Howard

[Dave Dolson]

Howard: There have been several posts on the old forum and this one about the silver Yanas. I have not played one. But, I have silver Yana necks for my curved sops (straight and curved). And, I've owned silver PLATED Yamahas and Serie sops. I don't think the silver Yana necks play better than the stock necks. However, I like the straight one better, but it probably has nothing to do with the material.

I'm not convinced that the material or finish has much to do with an individual horn's overall playability and sound. I once thought that silver plating may make a horn brighter, but my Yana bronze S992 is just as warm and round in sound as was the silver Serie III sop. My testing of several Yamaha Custom silver-plated altos was really mediocre. After years of playing a silver-plated YSS62S (sop) I tired of the tone (nothing special, yet somewhat bright).

My three silver-plated vintage Bueschers (all True-Tones, sops and an alto) are great players with marvelous tone, yet a gold-plated old Conn sop and my gold-plated Cigar Cutter alto sound much the same.

I know this is a lot of verbiage about something I don't know about . . . others have been very complimentary about the silver Yanas. Still, you may discover that a lacquered saxophoine, or one that's been plated sounds just as good. So much depends on the individual horn - how it was assembled, how it is set tp, etc., that it is very difficult to play one silver Yana and nominate it as being better than others you haven't been able to try. Lastly, they are extremely expensive and I'm not sure they are worth the price when compared to similar products of materials other than silver. DAVE

[3saxes]

Howard, in my opinion, the Yanagisawa Silver Series is ABSOLUTELY worth the money. And you can get significant price reductions, so don't bite at the first price you are quoted.

These are not silver plated horns, they are solid silver and the tone and resonance is excellent. They are not 'hi-fi' or 'tinny' like some silver plated horns I have played, these horns are just great sounding and playing across the board. They play wonderful in all registers from low Bb to Altissimo. My T-9937 will play a full scale in Altissimo with no effort and rock the bottom reg as well.

I have an S-9930, A-9937 and T-9937 and love them all.

[leehwd]

3saxes,

Wow! You have three Yani silver saxophones! The alto and tenor are 9937, the most expensive ones? You must be very rich.

In any case, thank you for your comments. By the way, where can I get further price discounts for these yani silver saxes? Did you make it through? Please let me know your tip about it.

Thank you. Howard

[Tears June]

Anybody who have seen a Silver plated Yana soprano S-992 ???

:cry:

[3saxes]

Howard, I am far from rich, but I love these horns. As for getting deals, just shop around and don't let the dealer just give you his first price, and don't buy from the first dealer you visit or contact. USA Horn has some competitive prices, but I actually bought my Soprano and Tenor from a local shop in Michigan, and I got the Alto slightly used on eBay for an extremly 'low' price from someone who needed the cash. The ones I have seen on eBay recently, are VERY, VERY HIGH in price and I wouldn't touch them at those prices.

Tears June, the S-992 is a Bronze straight soprano. The Silver Series is the S-9930 which is a solid silver body, bell and necks, or SC-9930 which has a silver body, neck and brass bell. Go to the LeBlanc website for more information on specific models.

http://www.gleblanc.com/instrumentpages/saxophone/saxhtml/index-2.html

[Tears June]

3Saxes

3Saxes

You're wrong. And the link you give is not completely listed out all Yana model.
S-992 not only has clear laqugered & Gold plated version. They also have silver plated version. However, only available in Japan domestic market (Even it's hard to find.

Check the Japanese page from Yana's official site:
It's S-992SP

http://www.yanagisawasax.co.jp/ja/soprano/992/


PS: They even have Pink gold plating it finishes version now (S-992PGP)

Unfortunately, I only saw some photo of S-991 silver plated version (S-991SP) but no chance to see a S-992SP & S-992PGP.


:cry:

[3saxes]

I stand corrected. Didn't know about the Japanese site, I guess LeBlanc shows a more limited family of models and options. Not sure how to get the other finishes, etc. however.

[MBushaw]

Howard- I played the A9937 at NAMM two different years (2002, 2003) and had this happen both times- NAMM is very noisy, and there are a lot of MONSTER players blowing all over the place. I'm a quiet player (Barone NY5), and not really very talented. I picked up the 9937 and blew a few notes (nothing fancy, just listening for the sound), and everyone within 30 feet stopped and looked. Really a strange feeling! The horn had a very strong sound, very rich 'character' compared to any other horn on the floor. Mel Martin was there (LeBlanc Artist), and he said he plays a 9937, but he had the neck gold plated. The Tenor was very similar, but I still lust for that alto!

[Morry]

I played a Yani at a local retailer, it was either a 9930 or 9930, and it was, bar none, the best alto I've ever played.

[barisaxx]

I own 3 silver Yani's as well. Bari (9930), Tenor (9930), and Alto (8830). My soprano is a 992. The two reasons why I don't have a silver sop are that 1) they are heavy and I don't like to use neck straps for sop playing and 2) the 992 is good enough and half the new price.

Whether these are "worth the money" is clearly a matter of opinion and my perspecitve is hardly unbiased. That said, I purchased the three silver horns at substantial discounts from the new "street price" that one typically sees. They were all comparable in price to a new brass horn from one of the big three companies (alto was a display model and tenor was used).

A few hightlights of my experience with these horns (all using Yani rubber or metal MP's) is:
- intonation is better than any other horn I have tried or owned with the possible exception of late '20's Bueschers using stock MP's.
- dynamic range is also better than anything else I've tried (can play pppp with wonderful control).
- maintenance is quite simple. The techs all rave about these saxes--how easy they are to adjust & work on. They also seem to stay in adjustment quite well (only a little experience here with Serie III tenor & Yamaha suggests that these Yanis have an edge).
- They are heavy. My main axe is the bari and I constantly struggle with its weight/ergonomics.
- Ergonomics are not as good as Selmer. I can not explain this very well but my hands always felt more comfortable on the Selmer horns I've played.

Are they worth the money? I no longer shop around for saxes. Perhaps that's because I sent so darned much already. :)

[barisaxx]

BTW: intonation of my Yani 992 sop is also quite good.