[rs1sensen]

Has anyone ever tried a Selmer Series II neck on a Yamaha? The octave mechanism doesn't link up, although I bet with a small straw on it, it would. Intonation seems improved, the horn feels a lot more like a Selmer, and I like the overall tone too.

Why would someone bother to experiment on a student horn?

1. I'm marching with the Yamaha, but also playing the Selmer for other things, so it gives me a good tone on the field but also keeps the "feel" the same for when I play the Selmer.

2. If I didn't own a pro horn, it makes enough of an improvement to justify the cost of just buying a neck, IMO. (You can buy Selmer necks at a pretty reasonable cost.)

I was just curious if anyone else has ever tried interesting neck combinations on a YAS-23, and what sort of results you got from it?

 

[barefootsax]

What do you mean by it doesn't link up. I can probably talk you through the process of fixing this!

 

[rs1sensen]

It's very simple. The bar on the sax that activates the octave key on the neck is too short, and doesn't reach the neck key. It's only about a centimeter too short. I wouldn't do a permanent change to the neck, but I messed around with cutting a piece of a drinking straw to extend the octave bar, and it worked great.

 

[gary]

Sorry, I don't understand your post the way it's worded, but if you mean you want to use your Selmer neck on your Yamaha for marching band, my question would be why jeopardise the Selmer neck on a football field, where its subject to dirt, bad weather and crazed drummers taking wrong turns, when you don't need much more than a ratty-assed tone out there anyway?

But not to diss the humble little 23, it's a great horn and I think you can get a fine tone out of it, in and of itself, without changing necks. I would keep the two instruments altogether separated in their use. FWIW I have an acquaintance who has subbed in the Rascher Quartet and she prefers the 23!

 

[barefootsax]

The bottom arm of the arm of the octave key, on the neck, has been bent upwards. to fix this, if you are comfortable, just bend it back down, holding the neck only grasp on to the neck and firmly pull downward, slightly. this should help, now on teh top side it may be a little open which you may have to adjust as well. MY SUGGESTION!!! Take it to a tech, it's a quick fix, but to save you any headache you should do this.

 

[rs1sensen]

Trahansax, I think you're confused on what I've described. The Selmer neck is not designed to fit the Yamaha octave mechanism. They both have different mechanisms, and the Yamaha octave key is designed to go lower. The Selmer neck fits perfectly on my Selmer.

Gary, I do think I'll stick with just the Yamaha as it is, and no Selmer neck. However...the Series II necks go for "cheap" compared to other after-market necks, and it seemed like if I were an advancing student looking to make an upgrade to my horn, but not being able to afford a better model, that something like a Series II neck could be very effective, even on a Yamaha student model.

I also agree that I can get a very good tone on my 23. The Selmer neck does improve it, but what I like the most isn't that it improves the sound, so much as it makes the horn "feel" more like a Selmer. It's not quite as free-blowing, there's a little push back on the airstream, and the tone is darker. If I were using the Yamaha more often, I'd definitely consider a neck upgrade for her just because of the different "feel."

 

[gary]

I think I've got it, but so I'm clear:

- you have both a Serie II alto and a YAS 23.
- you have tried out the Serie II neck on the Yamaha and are wondering if anyone else had tried that, too.
- you are just curious that if you kept the Yamaha for the future, instead of getting rid of it to "upgrade", you could simply get a new neck and that might do the trick.

If I got that right, and you just posted that you are going to leave the two horns separate and alone for the time being, my suggestion would be to keep a look-out on eBay for Barone necks, which he auctions off occasionally. I can't vouch for them and I don't know what final prices are being paid for them, but for future reference, you could ask around. Also I understand Ponzol makes necks for Yamahas specifically, and perhaps one will also pop up on eBay.

 

[barefootsax]

Trahansax, I think you're confused on what I've described. The Selmer neck is not designed to fit the Yamaha octave mechanism. They both have different mechanisms, and the Yamaha octave key is designed to go lower. The Selmer neck fits perfectly on my Selmer.

I'm not confused but from waht it sounds like you want to switch the neck back and forth from a yamaha to a selmer and it's a selmer neck; If you want it to work permenantly then just have a tech bend it to the right spot and boom, your done.