[pknight]

On July 5 Yanagisawa announced a new product called the “Yany BooStar.” This is a replacement screw for the neck receiver, for which Yanagisawa claims all sorts of benefits. You can see the announcement at Yanagisawa.co.jp.

I have little to no faith in these sorts of claims, and am somewhat disappointed that Yanagisawa is making them. OTOH, they know a bit about saxophones. Any chance that this product is anything other than snake oil that I think I am smelling?

 

[CharlesRobinson]

The Yany BooStar is smooth blowing, making moderate resistance and voluminous sound throughout the register.

In addition to the basic "Screw A", adding a "Screw B" or "Screw C", which are different weights allow for 3 kinds of customization.

Customizing the Yany BooStar will make different timbre and feeling. You can choose the best combination to meet your playing style or music scene.
The Yany BooStar is available for all saxophones soprano to baritone.

http://www.yanagisawasax.co.jp/en/yanyboostar.html

I see it for sell on amazons Japanese site for ￥7,020. That's about $65.00

 

[chilehed]

Snake oil.

 

[Lambros]

This thread has Klangbogen potential...

 

[milandro]

As they say, monkey see, monkey do.

A classic

 

[1saxman]

I have utmost respect for Yanagisawa and do not believe they would get behind something like this if it were not factual.

 

[whaler]

Shark jumped.

 

[datsaxman]

Wow. Sort of stunning news. I am with 1saxman on this one. I have a room full of Yanagisawa saxes, SATB, the result of well over 20 years of playing their horns and trying as many examples and models as possible.

If they say so, there must be a good reason.

Right??

 

[sopsax]

If somebody gifted me one I'd use it, 'coz knurled screws are kind to the hand. Would it alter tone? Don't see how it could. It has nothing to do with the air column.

 

[Lambros]

I understand the disquieting feeling and, as a person who also has admired, played/owned/owns Yanagisawa saxes and mouthpieces for quite some time, I can't help but be skeptical but then again this isn't their first venture into expensive aftermarket accessories.

I have utmost respect for Yanagisawa and do not believe they would get behind something like this if it were not factual.

 

[milandro]

and the most important thing is that this is announced but no beef ( where are the studies) is shown in support

 

[Taragot]

Michael Franks' song should be the most valuable thing in this thread

 

[andre251]

I saw this the day it was first advertised. I thought of posting about it on the forum but didn’t need to begin the next 20+ page discussion.
Yamaha is selling a high mass screw, too.
All of these major brands with decades of R&D suddenly deciding to sell snake oil is surprising.

 

[chilehed]

and the most important thing is that this is announced but no beef ( where are the studies) is shown in support

^this. Show me the data.

I doubt that you could find one Mechanical Engineer in a hundred who thinks it's likely to work as advertised, and that one won't be someone who ever did work in accoustics.

 

[Hipparion]

I can see 5 different reasons for a big name company to start to sell these items. For the very modest price of $5 per each of these reasons ($25 for the whole package), and a NDA I will give them to you... First to ask will get a 20% discount !

 

[Lambros]

Yeah, let's see if this actually becomes a thing. For some reason, the look of these remind me of hardware used for flat brackets fitted into wall channels.

and the most important thing is that this is announced but no beef ( where are the studies) is shown in support

 

[Alain Gen]

I saw this the day it was first advertised. I thought of posting about it on the forum but didn't need to begin the next 20+ page discussion.
Yamaha is selling a high mass screw, too.
All of these major brands with decades of R&D suddenly deciding to sell snake oil is surprising.

André,

-The R&D department of the saxophone manufacturers is probably not as big as we imagine. When Yamaha produced its first models, it had a big R&D effort to do (it's probably also the case of Selmer with... the Mark VII and of the small brand Eppelsheim). When you do radical changes, you need the help of scientific reasoning. However, for evolutions of an existing design (even very successful evolutions, like the recent ?WO line of Yanagisawa), what you need is a team of sensitive players who can tell wether the new prototype is an evolution in the right direction. The results of this trial and errors can be very good, but it's not what I would call a scientific inquiry. Our SOTW member Kymarto (who knows a thing or two about acoustics) told us some time ago that Yamaha has dramatically downsized its R&D department in recent years.

-Even for the brands which have a permanent R&D department, it's dubious that the changes in the composition of brass, or the Yany "BooStar" are due to the R&D department. The logistics department (for the sheet of brass used in the manufacturing process) and, of course, the marketing department, have probably a much bigger influence.

 

[milandro]

Yanagisawa hasn’t done anything that it hasn’t been done by others, before, cryogenic has been adopted by Yamaha (which as a serious research department) and pushed by many players although there aren’t any studies supporting it on woodwinds.

Marketing strategy #1 is to follow the money. If the people are buying, who are we to tell them not to ( Mr. Yanagisawa must have thought) ?

 

[fudidudi]

Exactly. Any company’s purpose is to earn money for its owners. If Yanagisawa and others can get away with offering talismans to a willing market without unduly hurting their public image, that makes perfect sense. To a cynic anyway.

Personally, I think their saxophones are highly desirable. So much so that I’m probably willing to forget some hyperbole in their accessories marketing. However, I do know that I still cringe a little every time I use my Reed Geek, because it makes me think of the Klangbogen.

 

[LostConn]

I have utmost respect for Yanagisawa and do not believe they would get behind something like this if it were not factual.

I respect Yanagisawa's saxophones (I have three of them), but the company itself certainly has a long history of making aggressive claims about the sonic contributions of instrument alloys, instrument finishes, body ribbing, neck badges, and even thumb hooks and thumb rests. On the other hand, the company's history of publishing data to support these claims is very, very short.

"They wouldn't say it if it weren't true" is something I would not assert about ANY profit-making venture.