[SAMJM]

Hi I am facing a choice of these two great saxes but I just can't make up my mind on which one to go for. Can anybody shed some light on the Pros/Cons of each? Thanks!

 

[Oric Muso]

There's been a lot of fuss about the Raw tenor. It's a well made beast and can sound good, but the one I tried was not what I'd hoped. They seem to be wanting it to be dark and have probably widened the bore which seems to weaken the sound. If you listen to some of the Youtube clips you can hear it is weak and sometimes wooly-sounding.

Some people seem to get a good sound from them though so it may be fussy about mouthpieces. You really need to try one before considering of buying.

I play a Trevor James Signature which, to me at least, sounds far better than a Raw. I'd recommend trying the other Signature Customs. Try them.

Yanagisawas are well built, reliable horns. You'll get a great horn but again, you need to try it and see if it is what you are after. In that sort of price range I'd look at Yamaha 82 and 875. Got an 875 in just now which is a great horn.

 

[ManEast]

Hi I am facing a choice of these two great saxes but I just can't make up my mind on which one to go for. Can anybody shed some light on the Pros/Cons of each? Thanks!

Hi.
If you are unsure, I would say to go for the Yanagisawa. The bore size of the Raw is remarkably close to my own horn ( Borgani )
I think one would need to understand the difference in sound and response ...unless you just picked one up and thought to yourself "this is it for me "
The Yanagisawa is based on your standard Selmer bore pattern, plays well , beautifully made ... and will hold its value better than most.

 

[dealaddict]

I am just a beginner. I tried the Trevor James Raw, not my cup of tea. However, I love my Yanagisawa T990.

 

[Lennieonsax]

I've been playing a TJ Raw tenor for 10 months, I play it with an Otto Link Super Tone Master 10*. For me it blows the socks of anything else I've ever played in my 20 years of playing. The keywork is smooth, the intonation is spot on and the sound is massive when I need it but I can get the subtleties for the breezy, laid back sound from the old smoke-filled bar. (On another note, isn't it great to take your horn out of it's case after a gig and it doesn't smell of stale cigarettes!). I tried a Yani and had a Yam YTS62 for a few years but my Raw has a soul, maybe mine's possessed. I love it but as people say it's 'horses for courses', one size doesn't fit all. I did find the smell a bit strange to start with but now when I open the case it is like being reunited with an old friend, so much so I didn't want it to be alone so I've got it's little brother, it's coming tomorrow, can't wait.

 

[tommob]

What about compared to the Yamaha 62?

 

[kingsax]

I tried a Raw last year alongside a R&C Jazz tenor, a Mauriat 66r, yam 62 and Shep Autograph. For me the R&C had the best sound but I felt the keywork was a bit off. Shep was just dry and sterile. Mauriat was out of whack but non the less had a strange sound to it. Yam, never played one before and pleasantly surprised how good it was, but the Raw was just that little bit better than the others, quite a complexity to the sound reasonably bright and definitely the one I'd choose BUT one criticism I had, the key pearls were very concave and felt strange but I guess you could spec flat ones.

 

[tommob]

Every review I seem to read about the custom signature seem to be very positive but when I spoke to my local shop he spoke very negatively about them saying their tuning was nowhere near the level of a yanagisawa a901 o selmer Seles axos and that these two alternatives would be just as well suited for jazz playing of all kinds.
Could anyone advise me on this (I'm currently just very confused and could do with guidance)

Thanks
Thomas

 

[seant]

I can't understand these types of threads. The ONLY way to find out which saxophone you'll prefer to play is to go play them, and ideally take a friend who could comment on sound differences (which are often very small from the audience POV).

If you ask 10 people which is the tenor at a certain price you'll get at least 5 different answers. The correct answer is a Super 20, of course.

However if you have played them both and don't have a preference for either then the Yanagisawa would be the wiser purchase since the brand has more heritage and will hold its value better in the long term.

 

[tommob]

Ah thank you, I'm very inexperienced in this so was unsure how to go forward

 

[kingsax]

Every review I seem to read about the custom signature seem to be very positive but when I spoke to my local shop he spoke very negatively about them saying their tuning was nowhere near the level of a yanagisawa a901 o selmer Seles axos and that these two alternatives would be just as well suited for jazz playing of all kinds.
Could anyone advise me on this (I'm currently just very confused and could do with guidance)

Thanks
Thomas

that's because your local shop stocks the others but not the RAW of course there's nothing wrong with the tuning it's been hand assembled here in the good ole UK by a very well respected tech who's been at it for years, none the less it won't be as good as my Super 20...sorry.

 

[nachoman]

I've been playing a TJ Raw tenor for 10 months, I play it with an Otto Link Super Tone Master 10*. For me it blows the socks of anything else I've ever played in my 20 years of playing. The keywork is smooth, the intonation is spot on and the sound is massive when I need it but I can get the subtleties for the breezy, laid back sound from the old smoke-filled bar. (On another note, isn't it great to take your horn out of it's case after a gig and it doesn't smell of stale cigarettes!). I tried a Yani and had a Yam YTS62 for a few years but my Raw has a soul, maybe mine's possessed. I love it but as people say it's 'horses for courses', one size doesn't fit all. I did find the smell a bit strange to start with but now when I open the case it is like being reunited with an old friend, so much so I didn't want it to be alone so I've got it's little brother, it's coming tomorrow, can't wait.

I've had mine for two years and love it. Big sounding, versatile, does everything I require of it.... I'm totally with Lennie on this one...