Recently, a friend of my mother heard me play the saxophone and asked me to play at her upcoming wedding. I am no professional, but I gladly obliged. 
I sent my 1988 Yamaha YAS-23 to the shop for it's routine maintenance and, of course, to make sure it was in top shape for the wedding. I was able to get my horn today and as I went to the counter to pay for the repairs, I could not believe what I saw - a shiny, brand new Yamaha YAS-82Z that was fully setup and ready to play!
After paying for the repairs, I asked the clerk if I could tryout the 82z and she happily obliged. She sent me to a practice room and left me alone with the horn. I took out my mouthpiece and reeds (Rousseau JDX w/Rico Jazz Select reeds) and proceeded with the testing.
One word: WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was my first time playing an 82z and I was so darn impressed! In regards to modern saxophones, I have tried out almost every other Yamaha before the custom series (21,23,62,62II,875), a couple of Selmer II and IIIs, a Yanigasawa A901 and a P. Mauriat 67R and this clearly was many leagues above them all.
One other important question was: how did it compare to my 1988 Yamaha YAS-23? While my 23 is a fine, excellent horn, being handpicked from a batch of several, older Yamaha models, the 82Z is just simply far better. My 23 and the 82Z have a similar quick, free-blowing nature, but the 82Z adds a much richer, warmer and fuller "singing" nature to the tone. It has also has far more power and I know I can easily overpower other instruments with this. With the keywork, it is based off the 62, and it initially gave me some problems on the upper area, but that was simply because it was different to my 23. I know with a week or so of practice, the feel of the keywork would fit me like a glove. All-in-all, one way to compare these two is like this: My 23 is like a well-balanced and tuned street car, allowing you to drive hard and have fun on the weekends on your favorite backroad. The 82z, on the other hand, is like a race-ready F1 car, ready to go head to head with other F1 machines on the track.
While I am planning to buy a horn in some months, I need to tryout other professional horns to see which is truly the best for me. But at the moment, the 82z is a very strong contender, having left an incredible, hugely positive mark on me. It's been a while since I have been this excited about a saxophone!
I sent my 1988 Yamaha YAS-23 to the shop for it's routine maintenance and, of course, to make sure it was in top shape for the wedding. I was able to get my horn today and as I went to the counter to pay for the repairs, I could not believe what I saw - a shiny, brand new Yamaha YAS-82Z that was fully setup and ready to play!
After paying for the repairs, I asked the clerk if I could tryout the 82z and she happily obliged. She sent me to a practice room and left me alone with the horn. I took out my mouthpiece and reeds (Rousseau JDX w/Rico Jazz Select reeds) and proceeded with the testing.
One word: WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was my first time playing an 82z and I was so darn impressed! In regards to modern saxophones, I have tried out almost every other Yamaha before the custom series (21,23,62,62II,875), a couple of Selmer II and IIIs, a Yanigasawa A901 and a P. Mauriat 67R and this clearly was many leagues above them all.
One other important question was: how did it compare to my 1988 Yamaha YAS-23? While my 23 is a fine, excellent horn, being handpicked from a batch of several, older Yamaha models, the 82Z is just simply far better. My 23 and the 82Z have a similar quick, free-blowing nature, but the 82Z adds a much richer, warmer and fuller "singing" nature to the tone. It has also has far more power and I know I can easily overpower other instruments with this. With the keywork, it is based off the 62, and it initially gave me some problems on the upper area, but that was simply because it was different to my 23. I know with a week or so of practice, the feel of the keywork would fit me like a glove. All-in-all, one way to compare these two is like this: My 23 is like a well-balanced and tuned street car, allowing you to drive hard and have fun on the weekends on your favorite backroad. The 82z, on the other hand, is like a race-ready F1 car, ready to go head to head with other F1 machines on the track.
While I am planning to buy a horn in some months, I need to tryout other professional horns to see which is truly the best for me. But at the moment, the 82z is a very strong contender, having left an incredible, hugely positive mark on me. It's been a while since I have been this excited about a saxophone!
