After seeing this thread and another dealing with the previously unknown to me plant in Grand Rapids, MI, I was astonished to think my daughter's YAS 52 "purple logo" (on semi-permanent loan until I die) was "made" in the US. An "A" suffix a bit to the right of the serial number seemed to denote "America". A call to the number I saw on SOTW, for the American Yamaha guys in Anneheim, 714-522-9011, works if you select a non-listed option of "0" as the long menu curiously doesn't have a Band and Orchestra prompt.
Getting to a nice, helpful Linda, I gave her the serial number, but turning the horn in poor light I stopped short of the A. She worked on it for a bit, then put me on hold for a long bit, then came back and very unconvincingly told me our horn was made in Japan. When I pressed a little she said I should talk to Jonathan, (ext 9445 btw) where I had to leave a message. Later I left another than I had found the A. No call back for a week.
Tried again yesterday, and got "Jon" as he answers. Very nice, enthusiastic, and free with his time. He says that the "A" is simply part of the serial number, and DOES NOT denote made in American or anything!! Any letters as a prefix might denote country of origin, especially on modern horns, but not so on the A suffix. There can be, however, an A suffix to the model number (i.e. YTS 23A) but this would only appear on the box, for warehouse purposes, not on the horn. Thus older horns could go out before those made in a now new location.
He said our horn would be marked "made in Japan" on the body tube below the serial number, as surely any 52 with this low of a number (004902A) would have been made in Japan, and, at the very least the body tube would have been. Of course, ours has no such designation. He told me again where to look, I told him directly below the serial number is the bow seam!!
Between these two calls I was referred, on a parts matter, to Mark, a higher up in their service organization. When I asked as an aside, about the darned silly "A", he quickly replied that designated assembled in the American plant. When I told Jon that he stated that he would straighten Mark out on that matter! We have seen on this forum that information, true or not, gets woven into our internet fabric of knowledge. I think some (especially younger) employees of these instrument companies may possibly be influenced by this "knowledge"!
Anyhoooo.... Jon was sure by the serial number that our horn was made before 1989-1990 where, as we have heard before, Yamaha's records devolve into shadows and speculation. His guess was early 80s, my daughter and I deduced that we bought it in about 1988. And, "made in Japan, assembled in Japan, as only student and intermediate models were assembled in Michigan!" " Well, isn't the 52 an intermediate??!!" "Well, way back then the 52 was equivalent to almost all other maker's pro horn at the time, and, we don't field very many questions about the 52". OK---I'm retired and have endless time to spend on geeky details (inquiring minds want to know) but am becoming convinced that NO ONE.......Really......Knows. To invoke my favorite saying developed during thirty year of used car selling--"It is what it is!" You want head spinning, go research sixties Gibson guitars!! Jay
