[Richard901]

https://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/musical_instruments/winds/digital_wind_instruments/yds_series/index.html

https://www.sax.co.uk/yamaha-yds150-digital-saxophone.ir

 

[Richard901]

Here's the YDS-150 manual:
https://uk.yamaha.com/files/download/other_assets/2/1361052/yds-150_en_om_b0.pdf

 

[mi000ke]

Is this just the modern day resurrection of the WX series or something significantly different?

 

[Benjamin Allen]

I thought this was a prank at first. Then I saw the manual and thought, "Wow, someone really went to a lot of trouble with this prank." Then I realized Yamaha is actually marketing this. I suppose they perceive there is a market. Then I remembered the Klangbogen thread and realized there is practically a market for anything.

 

[lydian]

I thought this was a prank at first. Then I saw the manual and thought, "Wow, someone really went to a lot of trouble with this prank." Then I realized Yamaha is actually marketing this. I suppose they perceive there is a market. Then I remembered the Klangbogen thread and realized there is practically a market for anything.

There already is a Klangbogen for this. Just connect a large capacitor to the ligature screws to "reduce electrical turbulance and stabilize the reed". Use one with tin leads for a bright sound and one with aluminum leads for a darker, more focused sound.

But seriously, I'm actually looking forward to hearing this thing. Would be great for doubling, practice and travel if it sounds decent. The fact that the promotional video has no sounds isn't a good sign though.

 

[rzzzzz]

 

[swperry1]

I hope sax co uk does one of their nice thorough demo/ reviews of this thing.
I read all the materials and manual...so is there an acoustic sound that comes from the bell or is it just for the magic resonance feedback feel? Incredibly lame that the Yamaha video has no audio examples. 73 sounds including 56 different saxophone voices categorized by genre...hope they’re better than the “dub horns” or “live sax” patches available on midi and synth products.

 

[Benjamin Allen]

So it's kind of cool . . . okay . . . I'll admit to that!

 

[swperry1]

This video is in the OP and has no audio from the instrument...why repost?

 

[mmichel]

I read all the materials and manual...so is there an acoustic sound that comes from the bell or is it just for the magic resonance feedback feel? Incredibly lame that the Yamaha video has no audio examples.

Agree that it is pretty lame that they didn't include any sounds (nor any video of someone actually playing it).

As far as I can tell it appears to have two speakers (one above the keys, near the mouthpiece end, and one at the bell). The documents refer to the instrument's "speakers" (plural), so I assume that means at least two but, again, it's pretty lame that they don't actually state any of this directly.

 

[mmichel]

Is this just the modern day resurrection of the WX series or something significantly different?

I would say it seems more like a competitor to the Roland AE-10 than a successor to the WX, with it's attention to *saxophone* key placement and action.

 

[swperry1]

Agree that it is pretty lame that they didn't include any sounds (nor any video of someone actually playing it).

As far as I can tell it appears to have two speakers (one above the keys, near the mouthpiece end, and one at the bell). The documents refer to the instrument's "speakers" (plural), so I assume that means at least two but, again, it's pretty lame that they don't actually state any of this directly.

Yeah, It's unclear...I'd assume you could use headphones that would mute the speakers, but it says it's quiet not silent, so I thought some sound might come out from the bell. Maybe their marketing strategy is to create a lot of unanswered questions so people will have to buy one to find out anything real.

 

[MartinMusicMan]

Oh noooo. I just got an Akai EWI Solo to add to my collection of Aerophone AE-10 and Yamaha WX. I'm a sucker for these things. I'ma maya hafta gonna getta Yamaha thingamajig.

But this site https://newatlas.com/music/yamaha-yds-150-digital-saxophone/
says "available from November for a suggested retail price of US$1,078."
Yikes. That's a bit rich for my blood. Unless the reviews are ecstatic and the videos of the sounds give me GAS.

 

[raindog]

To all wondering about the function of the bell:

Drawing on our extensive know-how and experience of making acoustic instruments, we designed this bell to gorgeously reproduce the long reverberation peculiar to wind instruments as well as the delicate sonic nuances sounds when playing pianissimo. Moreover, the authentic resonance causes the entire instrument to vibrate, and lets you truly feel the music as you play it.

So it seems it's "just" a regular wind controller with a speaker in a fancy brass bell. I don't know if it works as they claim, but as a whole it does look pretty cool compared to competition.

 

[Benjamin Allen]

To all wondering about the function of the bell:

So it seems it's "just" a regular wind controller with a speaker in a fancy brass bell. I don't know if it works as they claim, but as a whole it does look pretty cool compared to competition.

Substantively, and getting to the heart of the bell's function . . . Is it a one or two-piece bell? Is it annealed? Is it hand hammered? Is it yellow brass or French brass? Once those questions are answered, we can determine the true quality of this instrument.

 

[MartinMusicMan]

Substantively, and getting to the heart of the bell's function . . . Is it a one or two-piece bell? Is it annealed? Is it hand hammered? Is it yellow brass or French brass? Once those questions are answered, we can determine the true quality of this instrument.

And can you attach a Klangbogen?

 

[mmichel]

So it seems it's "just" a regular wind controller with a speaker in a fancy brass bell. I don't know if it works as they claim, but as a whole it does look pretty cool compared to competition.

To me, the most interesting aspects of it, compared with other wind controllers, are that:

1. It has articulated keys that are shaped and positioned similarly to saxophone keys.
2. It uses a saxophone mouthpiece.

These features would seem to make it much more useful to saxophonists who'd like to occasionally use a midi controller, or to practice quietly, but don't want to devote extensive practice time to learn a completely different instrument.
I agree that the bell, which is almost certainly 100% cosmetic, does make it look a bit more like a real instrument than the competition.

 

[Rich S]

Why the 1970's era red LED 3-digit 7-segment display?
Why not a modern OLED graphics display, that can show various settings in clear detail?

It can run off of 4 AA alkaline or 4 Ni-MH rechargeable cells. But for how long?
If you got a long gig, will you have to keep spare batteries? (when you cannot use plug-in AC-adapter power, i.e., outdoors).

The "headphone jack" instructions refer to there being a speaker(s) inside the bell.
So it can produce its own acoustical output, independent of any other equipment.
But there's no detail about that speaker in the specs. It does say water (spit) will drain out thru the bell (!), so, I hope they used a waterproof speaker

It seems to be purely a monophonic instrument. There's no mention about sending MIDI control data. (Though the specs do say "Compatible with Bluetooth Low Energy MIDI specification" ... ?!)

Maybe wait for version 2...?

 

[skeller047]

Oh noooo. I just got an Akai EWI Solo to add to my collection of Aerophone AE-10 and Yamaha WX. I'm a sucker for these things. I'ma maya hafta gonna getta Yamaha thingamajig.

But this site https://newatlas.com/music/yamaha-yds-150-digital-saxophone/
says "available from November for a suggested retail price of US$1,078."
Yikes. That's a bit rich for my blood. Unless the reviews are ecstatic and the videos of the sounds give me GAS.

Available for pre-order on WWBW for $799. So not a grand, but damn close.

I took the time to read thru the manual. They have restricted the range to that of the "standard" saxophone - Low A (with a thumb key, like a bari) to high F#. Every other wind controller I know of has a 5 to 7 octave range.

And the onboard sounds (73 - count 'em, 73!!!!) are mostly saxophone based. Like "Pop alto" and "Funk alto" ... you get the idea. 50 saxophone sounds, plus a few bagpipe / harmonica doodads. I wonder what the underlying synthesis technology is...

 

[lydian]

Available for pre-order on WWBW for $799. So not a grand, but damn close.

I took the time to read thru the manual. They have restricted the range to that of the "standard" saxophone - Low A (with a thumb key, like a bari) to high F#. Every other wind controller I know of has a 5 to 7 octave range.

And the onboard sounds (73 - count 'em, 73!!!!) are mostly saxophone based. Like "Pop alto" and "Funk alto" ... you get the idea. 50 saxophone sounds, plus a few bagpipe / harmonica doodads. I wonder what the underlying synthesis technology is...

So no altissimo range (maybe you could switch to soprano on the fly?). No C-melody (can only move A less than half a step up or down). No typical doubles like flute or clarinet. But alto, tenor and bari on a soprano sized stick is very cool, assuming the sounds are halfway decent.

I guess you could use it as a midi controller for some other device that has those additional sounds.