[Jonathan C.]

One of these has jumped up, and I have no expierence with them. I know that they are a stencil. But I don't know if it is a Pro, or a student model horn.
Also how do they play? How old is it?
This is the ad
VITO VSP alto saxophone for sale. This is an entry level pro saxophone that was designed/built by Yanagisawa in Japan. It is all gold lacquered (including keys) with mother of pearl buttons on the keys. It features high F# key, double-arm low C key, and comes with original Leblanc hardshell case with a Selmer case cover. Aesthetically it is in good condition with scratches and small dents to the bow (bottom) and it is in excellent playing condition. I am also including my Vandoren A-15 classical mouthpiece and Rovner ligature.

 

[Fred]

A double-arm low C puts it in at least the 880 era or some derivation of that model. Usually Yani kept their own serial number on their stencils - you might be able to get an idea of manf. date from that.

 

[super20dan]

buy it! mine is the best alto i have ever owned

 

[Jonathan C.]

I liked the price.

Can I use it in college?

 

[Hurling Frootmig]

Great horns.

 

[Jonathan C.]

Here is the picture that was attached with the ad. Kinda looks like a Tenor.

 

[super20dan]

yes you can use this in college-i use mine in the recording studio-better sound than any of my selmers-super20 etc. this horn will handle any task you ask of it with ease.

 

[Jonathan C.]

I am waiting for pictures of the dents. And then set up a time for me and my private lesson teacher to play it. And I am still waiting to hear if it is a 901 or an 880. I heard that with the double arm low C, that it would be at least 880. But does the 901 have one as well. Hopefully I will get it. My search for an Alto may be almost over.

 

[Jonathan C.]

I got the message back he said that all he See's is the number 800. So is this a PRO. Horn that can be used in college. Sorry to ask again. Just curious.

 

[pth]

I have a Martin stencil Yani soprano, alto, and tenor. The tenor serial number is 57xxxx and it has double arms. I have played 992, 991, and 880 tenors. The only one that I enjoyed perhaps more was the 992.

The tenor has double arms and full ribbed construction, but there is something different about it compared to the 880 that I played. I think my horn somewhat pre-dates the 880 series. The bell on my horn felt noticably stiffer than the later Yanis.

I bought it for $500 off of ebay and sent it to Wil Grizzle in Atlanta for an overhaul. The result was a very fine horn. The feel of the action is close to that of a Mk VI. The tone is very good, neither bright nor dark inherently, and therefore quite malleable. If you can get past the inexpensive price so that you aren't thinking that this horn can't be as good as it is, you probably will have a fine horn that you can do anything you want with.

Mine had a really bad ding in the middle of the neck. I can't remember why Wil didn't fix it. In any case, I bought a used Yamaha G1 neck and it works extremely well. Eventually I got the original neck fixed. I still like the G1 better though.

 

[Jonathan C.]

Thanks. I am setting up a meeting today or early tomorrow, so that I can play the horn. The neck looks in decent shape. Their are some small dents on the bottom. I will let you know who it plays.

~Carbs

 

[cymru97]

I've owned one in the alto flavor, it was a very fine horn. Good luck!

 

[Jonathan C.]

Thanks. Something I noticed that may be wrong with the horn. Is the neck. Their appears to be some corrosion. Is this normal. Fixable?

 

[EZ]

They are great horns, but you don't want to get into a major project horn - better to find one that's in better condition otherwise your acquisition plus repair costs could add up to far more than you could get for it should you not like it.

When you mention corrosion... rode hard and put away wet does not bode well for other potential issues that may pop up once your tech starts getting into it.

Great that you have a chance to see it in person it sounds like. If the action is clean and it's just a few little dings here and there, it could be a find!

 

[Tryptykon]

Thanks. Something I noticed that may be wrong with the horn. Is the neck. Their appears to be some corrosion. Is this normal. Fixable?

Modern(read: current) necks are available at very reasonable cost.

**Honkytone had an 800 alto that he put a neck from a 991 on and it sounded
very similar to a 991 that he had at the time, or so he told me.

(** forum member)

 

[EZ]

I have a Selmer Serie III neck that is almost like new that is available for $195 shipped and it is already fitted to a Yani alto, in fact.

 

[Jonathan C.]

I don't know I will see how it plays. I may play around with a few Necks I have here. I have a quick question about Necks.
Does changing a neck give a horn change the tone?

 

[EZ]

I notice a difference if the inlet bore is greater/smaller. Also, I have noticed a difference when using a different base material on the same design. I do not notice a difference for different lacquer or lacquer vs plating for the same design.

I play both my Yani 990 alto and 991 tenor with JK copper necks if I want a bigger jazz sound with a little more brightness.

 

[Jonathan C.]

Well what I am wondering is since, I have not been able to sell or trade my Martin as of yet. I was wondering if changing the neck on the Vito would give it the Jazz sound that I like about my Martin.

 

[EZ]

My experience with Martins is limited, but I recollect them being of a smaller bore - relatively centered. A good Yani is Selmer-like - I think the only reason to not like it would be you have a more German spread sound concept. and I've never played a bad Yani - all the way back to the A4. They got better and better at making them and sorting out the ergonomics, but they've always been good sounding horns.

I think I dig the JK necks on the Yanis because I'm coming from JK horns and still want the bigness sometimes. Having said that, I like being able to have a more centered sound on hand with the stock necks.

FWIW, I found the 800 a little more centered than the 990, but a Martin/Yani stencil I (and about 10 other SOTW-ers) played for a while was really vibrant and fantastic.