Hmm....Which is correct?

2157 Views 11 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Yellowhorn, May 18, 2007

Yellowhorn

Discussion Starter · May 14, 2007

Yamaha USA says this:

This product is discontinued and may not be available at all dealer locations.

Model: YSS-62
Years: 1979-1991
Key: Bb
Auxiliary Keys: High F#
Engraving: Yes
Finish: Gold Lacquer
Keys: Gold Lacquer
Finger Buttons: Pearl
Current Model: YSS-475

And the Yamaha catalogue I have says that the YSS-475, which I own, is an intermediate horn.

But, I played a 62 sop yesterday, and it is far better than my 475 - in every sense of the word. Based on the different features (the 62 has single unit base, blue steel springs, engravings, more refined craftmanship, etc.), I think that the 62 is a pro horn, like a lot of posts on the Internet say.

So, is the 62 a pro or intermediate?

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SaxyAcoustician

· #5 · May 15, 2007

Dave Dolson said:
I recall one local dealer at that time urging me to consider an upgrade from my 62 silver sop to a Custom because the new Custom had a solid tube whereas the 62 had a soldered tube.

How do salespeople sleep at night? They give bogus reasons for you to buy something so that they can take your money. I can understand. They have rent/mortgage to pay.

The 62 was Yamaha's top-of-the-line for at least a decade. How much can actually be improved on a saxophone in this day in age? Manufacturers have to keep coming out with new models to sell horns. It's just the way the economy works.

Is the Custom a better horn than the 62? Absolutely not. It's merely different. And that's what's so great. We have more choices than ever. To me the 62 is still the best saxophone in Yamaha's lineup (when mated with the original 62 neck). No question.

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SaxyAcoustician

· #8 · May 15, 2007

Dave Dolson said:
SaxyAcoustician: So, are you asserting that the salesperson who told me that was incorrect?

No, by no means did I say your salesperson was giving you incorrect information. The body tube could very well be "solid" and not "soldered". Could it make a difference in the playability of a horn? Possibly. But will it make the horn play better? Uh, not necessarily.

Dave Dolson said:
I understand marketing and usually abhor those stragtegies, but seems to me that if a company brings out a "new" product while keeping the older product in the line-up, AND charges more for the new model, there must be SOMETHING new-and-improved about it. Am I gullible? Far from it - I just don't know about this. DAVE

We're not dealing with high-tech products like computers (and anything that has computers onboard like cars and airplanes) where great strides are made with each generation of models. Has the basic design changed much since the Mark VI? Nope. The Custom 875 was supposed to be a major step up from the 62 when it was introduced. I played a Custom for 13 years because it was hyped as the best and I wanted the so-called best (I was young at the time), then I tried a 62II. The 62 to me was the better horn, no question. The 82Z is a 62 in disguise, a 62 with the Custom brass alloy and possibly a different bore diameter but I don't think so. The keywork is identical. So it's never a question of "better" when it comes to saxophones these days, at least in a technical sense. They're simply "different".

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