Yani 991 soprano- Solid?

[Saxaholic]

I have some options as far as a new soprano goes. Please help me out with your experiences and knowledge.

Yani-991....is it a solid professional horn? I've heard good things about it, especially its excellent intonation. What have been the experiences on the horn? Is it a good horn for college, and how is the tone?

Or perhaps a Buescher Straight 232xxx Goldplate? New pads...perfect playing condition and gold plate is all original and 98%. Any opinions on which I might choose?

Any other excellent options?

[Gandalfe]

Both those horns sound great. The proof is usually in the playing. Will you get a chance to play 'em first?

[Saxaholic]

I believe both have nice return policies, at least a few days to try them out......but I wouldn't be able to do it at the same time as I am trading a 1934 Conn 6M to get the horn. That is why I ask opinions of professionals and such before I buy.

[singlereed]

The S991 is a fantastic soprano in every respect. The Yanis are the easiest of all sopranos to play IMHO, they are well made and cosnsistent and sound great.

[Paul S]

i have an s991, so i may be biased :lol: , but imo its a truly great horn...

it plays real easy, intonation is spot on and if you're worried that, because its japanese, it may be a bit flimsy.....DON'T BE! This is one very solid, well engineered horn... I am 100% happy with my choice

[Paul S]

i see there's one for sale in the marketplace for $1700 - sounds like a good deal to me ... i paid $2250 from USAHorn (who were great btw)

I don't know the seller, but suggest to you that this might be worth a look.

[Cliff]

I see there's a Yanagisawa Elimona on sale on E-Bay. Looks great from the pictures. If you could get it for about $1500, it would be a steal.

[Dave Dolson]

Saxaholic; I have an S992 (the bronze version of the 991) and two silver Buescher TT straight sops. While the S992 is a top flight horn and meets all of my performance standards, there is just something authentic (and thus more desireable) about the Bueschers. If that gold-plated TT is set up properly, It will be every bit as good as the S991 (albeit without the modern keywork of front-F and high F#), plus be serve as a pride-of-ownership thing. A lot of players will have a Yanagisawa, but few have a really neat vintage Buescher on gold-plate. Even if your music is modern, you'll blow 'em away when you break out the old Buescher! DAVE

[Dr G]

Or perhaps a Buescher Straight 232xxx Goldplate? New pads...perfect playing condition and gold plate is all original and 98%. Any opinions on which I might choose?

Is that from Gayle Fredenburgh at VintageSax.com? If that's my ol' sop, it's got a wonderful voice. Truly a gorgeous horn.