[Rudy2]

I have researched this forum about "the best soprano sax" but have found no current information on this topic. I own two sopranos, a vintage "Rudy Weidhoft Special “from the 1920's, which is a bearcat to play but can sound good. And a Yamaha YSS - 475 which was sold as an intermediate horn. I experimented with mouthpieces and reeds with the 475 and never achieved the sound I wanted. Great horn, extremely well built, and fantastic craftsmanship.

I especially like the sensual sound Branford Marsalis gets from his Selmer Mark VI. But those horns are expensive and I think there may be even better horns for far less money out there now.

So what do you think? Thanks.



Randy

 

[datsaxman]

Lots of opinions out there. Have fun with it ...

 

[bruce bailey]

Yanagisawa for modern or Conn for vintage.

 

[Dr G]

I especially like the sensual sound Branford Marsalis gets from his Selmer Mark VI. But those horns are expensive and I think there may be even better horns for far less money out there now.

So what do you think? Thanks.

Randy

The Mk VI sops are in the vintage market - no longer made.

What is your idea of expensive? How 'bout a solid silver Yanagisawa sop?

FWIW, I've gone through Buescher (straight and curved), Conn, Selmer (MkVI, SA-80, Serie II, Serie III), and Yanagisawa SC-992, over the last 50 years, and my preference is the Borgani Jubilee half-bent sop. Were it not for the Borgani, I would remain most happy with either Selmer Serie III or Yanagisawa SC-992 - great horns.

 

[mmichel]

If you look carefully you'll find many threads in which people provide their opinions on this topic.

Also, FWIW, Branford plays primarily on Yamaha sopranos (82z, 82zr) these days, as you can see in the clip below:

 

[HeavyWeather77]

I love Yamahas and Yanagisawas. Selmer S80 series II sopranos can be very nice too.

 

[milandro]

I am not a fan of the search engine, at the moment, on this site ( I used to get better results with the old site Google Custom Search box)


Anyway, you will get any number of brands mentioned to you. Still, nobody would ever know what you sound like with any combination of player, mouthpiece, reed and saxophone.

If it were that easy to replicate someone’s sound by simply buying the same equipment people wouldn’t spend years trying to shape their sound.

Having said this, few can claim to build a better instrument than Yanagisawa and Yamaha , for different flavors people also play Keilwerth, Rampone & Cazzani, Borgani... but the choice is big even with other names and even more if you include vintage saxophones.

 

[datsaxman]

I like what Bruce says.

Yany for extra modern.
Conn for not so refined.

 

[malteof]

I'm not a good soprano player, but the 82ZR gives me a very nice warm sound. Probably can't go wrong with a Yanagisawa either.

 

[dexdex]

My vote would also go for Yamaha or Yanagisawa. Both brands offer an excellent mid-range horn, and several options in the high end, all with excellent keywork, top build quality, great playability and intonation. Many big names playing Mk6s on tenor or alto, play Yamaha on soprano.

 

[vbluesman]

A Series III Selmer is very nice, so is a new Keilwerth.

 

[Platner]

I play both a Selmer MK VI and Series III. The ergonomics of the Series III are superb. The Yanagisawa SW037 is an excellent instrument worth consideration. I have attached a photo of Jon Gibson, with Philip Glass, from 2019. He is playing an SW037. In an after-concert conversation with him, Mr. Gibson extolled the tone and ergonomics of the SW037.

 

[Fltenor]

Some time ago I went to Sam Ash in Hollywood California to buy a curve soprano. I also took the chance to try many straight sopranos. Off the top of my head these were a Yamaha 475, Yanagisawa 991, Selmer Mk VI, Yamaha 82Z & Yanagisawa S6 (modeled after the Mk VI). I can't remember but might have also tried a Yanagisawa 901. Days earlier at another store I had tried a Selmer Series III.

Of all of these, for my taste, the Yamaha 82Z was by far the best. The Series III was the most resistant and perhaps the one that disappointed me the most as I assumed it would have been a great horn. Notably, of the Yanagisawas, the one I liked the most was the old S6, which as a matter of fact I also liked more than the Mk VI, go figure.

Based on that limited experience, budget permitting I would consider a Yamaha 82Z for modern and perhaps a Yani S6 for vintage. Better than this, however would be to go to a store where you can try a bunch of horns.

Hope this helps.

 

[Ivan M]

I play on a YANAGISAWA SW020 and before that played on the SC992 Which is their curvy, LOVE this new SW020.........To me Yanagisawa makes some of the BEST Sops out there.

 

[Dr G]

Some time ago I went to Sam Ash in Hollywood California to buy a curve soprano. I also took the chance to try many straight sopranos. Off the top of my head these were a Yamaha 475, Yanagisawa 991, Selmer Mk VI, Yamaha 82Z & Yanagisawa S6 (modeled after the Mk VI). I can't remember but might have also tried a Yanagisawa 901. Days earlier at another store I had tried a Selmer Series III.

Of all of these, for my taste, the Yamaha 82Z was by far the best. The Series III was the most resistant and perhaps the one that disappointed me the most as I assumed it would have been a great horn.

That is a bad reflection on the store that had the III. It was not properly setup.

 

[Fltenor]

That is a bad reflection on the store that had the III. It was not properly setup.

I would need to agree. While I am not experienced enough to know the difference between a well set vs a poorly set soprano, this one just felt a bit off. In addition, it was a used sax so I wonder if the pads were not seating. The tone was not bad but getting the sound was harder than what I would have expected.

 

[JayeLID]

A Series III Selmer is very nice, so is a new Keilwerth.

Yes, Keilwerth deserves mention here. If one loves the tone of their old, vintage Sop but wants modern keywork, that would be my first suggestion....a modern Keilwerth or even a Couf version.

Yani, Yama....hard to argue against them, but sonically they are not the same paradigm as a vintage sop ....while a JK is.

 

[JayeLID]

By the by....I think you (OP) have done yourself an injustice here by titling your thread in such a manner, and quite honestly by not providing sufficient information.

"The Best Soprano...for Me"....is what you probably want suggestions on, yes ?

So, beyond simply "I like the way Branford sounds on his VI"....more info on the tone you desire, the tonal aspects you do not desire, what musical contexts you will be playing in, etc....

What about the Rudy sounds good to you ? What about your current Yam makes it not float your boat, sonically ? What did you do on your mouthpiece search to try to coax the sound you wanted out of your Yam ?

if you had your wish, would you want the Holton tone in a modern-keyed horn ?

Stuff like this.

Otherwise you will just get replies like "I have a YYY, and I love it"....which is only so helpful. Not that I am criticizing those replies. Given the current query, they aren't inappropriate....just perhaps not all that informative.

 

[turf3]

If you like the sound of the Holton, try a Buescher True Tone - similar sonic palette, but more refined mechanism.

 

[mmichel]

Yes, Keilwerth deserves mention here. If one loves the tone of their old, vintage Sop but wants modern keywork, that would be my first suggestion....a modern Keilwerth or even a Couf version.

Yani, Yama....hard to argue against them, but sonically they are not the same paradigm as a vintage sop ....while a JK is.

+1

I agree that the Keilwerth sopranos are outstanding, especially the newer Leibman-influenced SX90s. When I went through the process of shopping for a soprano a couple of years ago (as chronicled in this thread). I tried out many horns and ended up with a Keilwerth SX90.

I also agree with JayeLID that you're going to get a lot of recommendations that won't necessarily make sense for you if you don't provide more information on things like what type of sound you're looking for, how much time you spend on soprano (i.e., is soprano your main saxophone "voice"?), and what you find unsatisfying about your current horn(s).