Martin/Yanigisawa stencil soprano

[garyinla]

Hi. I just bought one of these. I havent received it yet. It is a curved soprano, branded as a Martin. It was made by Yanigisawa, about 1980, based on the serial no. chart I looked at.

I am wondering if anyone has tried one of these and how they think it compares to any other pro models, including modern Yanigisawa models.

I am new to sopranos and havent done comparative playing of sopranos, so any opinions would be of interest to me.

[super20dan]

i have one and its a sweet horn.best curved sop i have ever played by far. identical to a yani except the engraving.enjoyit

[garyinla]

Thanks for the info.
I just got mine and I am new to playing it.

It does not have a front high alternate F key. I asstme the new Yanagisawa pro models have this.

It does have a high F# key.

I am wondering how it would compare to a new Yanagisawa pro model in terms of tone, or any other pro model soprano.

I have not had the opportunity to compare yet, but this Martin/ Yanagisawa one is very playable.

I had an old Yanagisawa alto 1970's i think, no model designation on it, and it was a far worse sax than a new pro Yanagisawa model.

[Dave Dolson]

Gary: My SC902 has front-F and hi-F#, and it is the best curved sop I've ever played (and that includes vintage Buescher and Conn, cheap Taiwanese, Cannonball, Winston, Unison, and other Yanagisawas). Good luck with your Martin. DAVE

[Thomas]

why would it have an F# key but not front F? Never heard of such a thing

[garyinla]

I may be confused on whether it has a high F#.
I have never owned any saxes with a high F# so I am not familiar with how that key works and where it is.

I may have thought the alternate low F# trill key (that I never use) was a high F#, I will look this over further.
That low F# key is a flat bar, so i may have been confused over that.

It definitely has no front alternate high F. I looked and looked and it is not there.

I only just got this sax and havent spent time with it yet, so that is why I have been unsure on these things.

It came with a Yamaha 4c mouthpiece so i have to get a mouthpiece. I play metal modern mouthpieces on alto and tenor so i will get one of those for soprano too.

This was just an ebay purchase.

[Dave Dolson]

Gary: When a saxophone has high F#, there is usually a small rectangular flat bar just above the alternate low/middle F# spatula. The hi-F# bar will be right below (to the right) of the lower stack's tone holes. When you push it, a small pad will open at the top of the saxophone. I agree that if you don't have a front-F, the presence of a hi-F# mechanism would be curious indeed.

Front-F can be either a pearl touch button or a flat-or-semi-concave bar above the B touch. My vintage True-Tones do not have front-F.

I use Selmer Super Session pieces on all my sopranos, including the SC902, S992, and my three vintage straight sops. DAVE

[Grumps]

My '72 straight Selmer VI soprano has no front F, but does have a high F#.

[garyinla]

My Martin/Yanagisawa curved soprano has a high F# key but no front alternate high F key, I have checked again.

[Saxdude]

Actually, I just hit on one of these on ebay - listed as a alto, but looked pretty much like a SC901. As well, it is stenciled "Martin" and comes in a suede type case with Leblanc style hinges. The warranty card is still present and shows the model as a "1300". A Vandoren S35 mouthpiece came with this. Of course, G. Leblanc does'nt reply as this particular horn is not listed.

Not being one to brag, I picked this up for ~400 dollars and the thing is in mint condition. I have played a friend's SC901 and really can not tell the difference - it screams! (and in tune) What a deal!

Also, the front F key IS missing, but the horn IS equipped with a high F#. Another neat feature is the fact that the neck has a "alto-like" curve to it - much more than the sc901.

So, IMHO, if you see one, buy it!

[Perfect Pitch]

if you don't have a front-F, the presence of a hi-F# mechanism would be curious indeed.


My Mk VI too is with the benefit of Hi F# but no frontal F :(

[Merlin]

Oleg Products makes an excellent add-on front F attachment that fits Selmer Mk VI sops, as well as the Yanagisawa/Martin sops that are copied from the Selmer.