Chris: Lot's posted about these two brands. I'd take ANY Yanagisawa over any Yamaha. DAVE

 

For tenor, I would take neither!

 

Yellow, is that REALLY helpful? :scratch:

Back to the topic at hand - If its not one of the new YTS-62II's, but is one of the older YTS-62s then its very solid and flexible horn. I've played MANY Yamaha tenors (61,62,875 and 875EX) and the (old) 62s are by far my favorite, with the most recent 875 EX tenor coming in a close second.

 

I also vote for the Yanagisawa, I prefer the tone quality but that's very personal, so your choice (if you could play them) might not be the same.
With regard to durability, built quality, resale value they should be about equivalent.

 

I know that sound is subjective and completely depends on the player, but could you possibly elaborate more on why you would take the Yanagisawa instead of the Yamaha saxophone?

Chris: Lot's posted about these two brands. I'd take ANY Yanagisawa over any Yamaha. DAVE

Sorry about that.. It's just that I couldn't find much information on the 880 Yanagisawa model.

For tenor, I would take neither!

:shock:

Thanks again

 

I would have to recommend the yani, I've never played a yamaha that felt right.

 

I've owned a YTS 61 twice, and the newer YTS 62 II once in the last few years. The YTS 61s were bought and then sold fairly quickly. Tone was nice but too small, I lasted about a year on the YTS 62II , then I preferred a darker tone and went to the P Mauriet and now I own a Mk 6 so you can see what I've gravitated toward. To answer your question I'd ask what kind of music do intend to play?? The YTS 62 II was a good choice for me for Rock/Pop and jazz at the volume levels our band plays. I bought a Yani 880 from someone local, got it home and it did have a dark, complex tone but I realized that I'd never hear myself. So, unless I wanted to play in my bedroom all my life I'd have to get for me a "bigger" sounding tone. (I think at the time I was either playing a berg or Ponzol M2 so the piece was loud all the time)? If I was doing a classical gig or just going to play for myself the Yani might be a choice but I knew that ever with my sound bouncer I'd never hear myself so whats the point? . The older YTS 62s are brigher, louder, and less complex. Just my take. Frankly, my P (not for sale, backup horn for a year) is the best of both horns. Big sound (fat low end) and much darker tone than the YTS 62 II. I had my P for one day and the YTS was on ebay the next. It was that obvious. K

 

RouteC.: I'm not trying to be a wise___. I think you should read more around this site . . . I really do. It is FULL of opinions, some supported by experience and others not well supported. Some offered by teenagers who come off as seasoned players, others by old guys like me with over 50 years of playing experience.

I made my response brief to encourage you to read around. It has been said time and time again - by me and others (and subsequent posts tended to corroborate my reply) about Yanagisawa vs. Yamaha.

I'll make this brief . . . I've played a lot of Yamahas, even bought two. I no longer own them. I have played many Yanagisawas and bought several. I still own three - and play them a lot.

My oldest grandson now plays my Yanagisawa 880 alto - and loves it.

The Yanagisawa display at NAMM this year, as small as it was, had better playing saxophones than anything I saw and played at the huge Yamaha exhibit.

Yamaha has its lovers, too. Some folks sound really good on Yamaha instruments. Not me. Like I said, I'd take any Yanagisawa over any Yamaha, but realize that somewhere out there may be one Yamaha that I'd like . . . but I'm not looking for it. DAVE

 

The Yani 880 is my favorite Yani

Also, the purple logo Yamaha 62s (and some of the early 'after' purple logos) are my favorite yamahas

If I had two in the same condition, and same price. that would be a hard choice. Can you play them up against each other ?

FWIW sight-unseen and no play test ... i would probably slightly favor the 880 .. though that opinion could change an hour from now

The 880s seem to have a Selmer tonal quality that I really like. keywork may be better (smoother, a little higher quality?) too - though I haven't had those models in my hands in a long time so i'm trying to remember ....

 

Hey Chris,
Dave Dolson brought up a great point, their are many options for the money you are about to spend. Between the two, I think the 880 is a much better horn. I think the 880 is the best yanagisawa, though I have never played the silversonic, I believe its called the 9937? For the $1400.00-1800.00 range you are in, I would look seriously into a Buffet super-dynaction or a Buffet S-1. I like my S-1 over any Selmer mark vi that I have ever played. I owned a yanagisawa T-991b and hated it. I owned a 901b and loved it, but it was stolen. If possible, play the horn before you buy or make sure you can have a one week trial or something. If you buy a horn in your locality, have a qualified tech check the horn out for you. I will end up with an 880 for a back-up to my Buffet someday. I play a yani sc-901 curved soprano, so I do know how well made the yani's are. The early yamahas are really good players if they are solid as far as pad condition. The Yamaha pads all go at once. Make darned sure that the yamaha pads have been changed, or you will end up spending a ton of money on a CMR (complete mechanical restoration) . Good luck in your search for your first pro tenor. Bill

 

The YTS-62 that I had in the 80's was as superb horn. I wish I still had it. I played one of the later 62s at Mars Music years ago, and it was a decent horn, just not as robust sounding as my older one. I've tried two of the YTS-62II horns, and I don't care for them at all.

 

RouteC.: I'm not trying to be a wise___. I think you should read more around this site . . . I really do. It is FULL of opinions, some supported by experience and others not well supported. Some offered by teenagers who come off as seasoned players, others by old guys like me with over 50 years of playing experience.

Dave ... you don't play tenor .

Do you ?

To the original poster :

I just sold an 880 tenor that was one of the best horns I've owned.
Why did I sell it ?

I had to cover an unforseen expense .

I still have a Yani 902 which is their Bronze model, so I am a recent fan of
Yanagisawa.

I haven't played a Yamaha tenor in a looong time so I can't offer a comparison
of the two, I'm afraid- sorry.

 

Personally, I prefer the older 62's to the newer 62's. The 880's are very nice horns and if I had to choose between them I would probably go with the Yani. I find that they're just a bit more interesting in terms of tone to me.

 

I own a tenor and play it sometimes . . . not my favorite horn. DAVE

 

I've owned a Yani T990 and currently play an older YTS-62. Between the two I much prefer the Yamaha due the the additional power and flexibility. The Yani was nice but just too small sounding. The Yamaha is certainly centered but has ability to cover a wide range of music including R&B/Funk that I typically play.

 

Hey Chris,
Dave Dolson brought up a great point, their are many options for the money you are about to spend. Between the two, I think the 880 is a much better horn. I think the 880 is the best yanagisawa, though I have never played the silversonic, I believe its called the 9937? For the $1400.00-1800.00 range you are in, I would look seriously into a Buffet super-dynaction or a Buffet S-1. I like my S-1 over any Selmer mark vi that I have ever played. I owned a yanagisawa T-991b and hated it. I owned a 901b and loved it, but it was stolen. If possible, play the horn before you buy or make sure you can have a one week trial or something. If you buy a horn in your locality, have a qualified tech check the horn out for you. I will end up with an 880 for a back-up to my Buffet someday. I play a yani sc-901 curved soprano, so I do know how well made the yani's are. The early yamahas are really good players if they are solid as far as pad condition. The Yamaha pads all go at once. Make darned sure that the yamaha pads have been changed, or you will end up spending a ton of money on a CMR (complete mechanical restoration) . Good luck in your search for your first pro tenor. Bill

I've been playing my 62 alto for 20 years and have never had a re-pad. Just replace a pad here and there as they wore out but never experienced the every pad goes at same time thing you are talking about.

 

I have been playing an 880 for about 15 years now and absolutely love it. In fact, I traded in a Mark VI for it. Over the past year or so I have compared to a Keilwerth, a Cannonball and a P. Mauriat and found it better than all of them. I even put it up against a Yamaha Z and thought it totally blew it away. I would go with the 880, no question.

 

The Yani 880 is an excellent tenor and I enjoyed mine quite a bit. Excellent intonation, smooth mechanics and excellent reliability. Fit and finish is great as well.

One thing I didn't like that eventually was the reason I let it go was the setup angle of the left hand. It was a bit awkward for my hand/wrist setup and after time, I was cramping up, which isn't cool. Yamaha's, on the other hand fit me perfectly (even though I play a B&S - the Yami fits best).

If you get the opportunity, play 'em both to a get a feel for the future. Either way, they're both very good horns.

 

880 should have more cache, but you'd have to judge the specific horns tobe absolutely sure. I've played some Yamaha that have a nice zing to them and some Yanagisawas that have a gutteral tone. Depends on what you want.

 

I have both and I think I'm gonna keep em. The 880 has better ergo's and is darker. The 62's ergo's are less comfy and it has a brighter,more contemporary, more powerful tone. If I absolutely had to sell one it would be a real tough decision but I'd probably keep the 880 and let the 62 go. I'm glad I don't have to though.