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YTS 62 II vs T901 vs T991 -time sensitive question

8K views 17 replies 7 participants last post by  RobCS 
#1 ·
As I've posted on a couple other forum pages on SOTW, I am currently looking for my first tenor sax. I have been primarily focusing on Yanagisawas and some Taiwanese brands, as the Yamaha 62 II alto that I play-tested against the Cannonball Raven (I ended up with) didn't really have much character.

I have not been able to get my hands on a Yani T901 or T991 locally, as no one stocks them, but I had the chance to play-test a Yamaha YTS 62 II yesterday, along with a Cannonball Stone Series Raven tenor. I was surprised at how good the 62 sounded, compared to the Raven. (I was using a Yamaha 4C mouthpiece on both). There were some pluses and minuses to both horns, with the CBall being a little bit heavier, and the keywork requiring a little more effort, and the 62 not jumping into the upper range quite as cleanly, but having a much easier time with altissimo notes.

Anyway, the long and the short. There are Memorial Day holiday sales online that bring the 62 II down to about $100 more than the Yani T901 and about $500 less than the T991, with no tax, no shipping and a 45 day satisfaction guarantee. I've read a ton of posts of opinions on these saxes here, but owing to the short fuse for this sale I don't have the luxury of continued research, or enough time to get my hands on a Yani before the end of the day tomorrow. Any reason not to take the plunge on the 62 II?
 
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Discussion starter · #7 ·
Thanks to all for the comments, and especially to Alex for going out of his way to let me see and hear a T901 on such short notice. Sax players show time and again their love for their instruments and their desire to help a fellow sax player out.

Anyway, I decided to go ahead with ordering the YTS 62 II. It turns out that the online store's 15% holiday discount excluded all Yamaha items, but the manager agreed to a "store deal" discount around 14%, and I couldn't beat that. Between the store discount and the $100 rebate that Yamaha is offering on saxes through tomorrow it comes out to over $500 in savings. With the 45 day satisfaction guarantee, it was hard to turn down. I know I'll be needing a better mouthpiece than the 4C that's included, but that's for a different time and different forum.

Thanks again to all who responded.
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
@Muriatboy, if cash were no object I wouldn't have even posted here. I would have jumped in a car, or on a plane, and gone to somewhere where I could try out every Selmer, Keilwerth, Yamaha, Yani, etc that I could put my hands on, paid for the best sounding one, and be done with it. But reality prevails, and, as a hobbyist I have to weigh all factors. $700 more for the Z is a big chunk of change, if you're not making your living from it. I'll give the 62 II a try, and see where it goes from there.
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
Thanks hgiles, soybean, et al. I guess when you get up to a certain level of horn they're all "good". Too often we all try so hard not to make a bad decision, or worry about making the "best" decision, that we get things out of perspective. Make a good decision, based on solid information, and then, just play!
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
Well, the YTS 62 II arrived on Monday, and seemed to weather the shipping pretty well. After "uncorking" it, and inspecting it further, I gave it a try. Since it's my first tenor, the feel is so different from my alto, so it will take awhile to get used to that. The stock Rico 2 1/2 reed, and the 4C mouthpiece are serviceable, but I definitely need to find the right reeds, and a better mouthpiece, if I want to get the smooth jazz sound out of it that I'm looking for.

I did notice that the low B and B flat, are a little harder to hit than on my Cannonball alto. On the YTS 62 II I have to adjust my emboucher a bit to hit them, whereas on the Cannonall, they just sound. In fact, I've noticed that whenever I compare a Yamaha to a comparable Cannonball model, the lowest notes are more responsive on the Cannonballs. I don't know if a good mouthpiece might help that out.

With the 45 day satisfaction guarantee I do have some time to make sure that the sax is right for me. But here's a follow up question. Does it make sense to invest money in a better mouthpiece during the sax's "trial" period, to get a better representation of the sax's potential, or work with the stock setup to just focus on the horn/ergos, etc., instead of the sound?
 
Discussion starter · #16 ·
I am planning on taking it to my sax tech today, though I'm not sure when he will have time to take a look at it, since it's the end of the school year here and he's probably knee-deep in school horn repairs.
 
Discussion starter · #17 ·
I took the sax to my tech. He said that if I want to keep it for a long time, and retain it's value as an investment, that I should return the lacquer one and get a silver plated one. He said that the finish would show noticeable wear in the next 5-10 years with the lacquer (once it's scratched, the "scratch" will just grow), while the silver plated one can be cleaned up to a great finish many years from now. Seems like a valid point. And, he did imply there might be some sound advantages, though he didn't dwell on that.
 
Discussion starter · #18 ·
I am returning the lacquer one to the dealer, and getting the silver plated one. After some discussion with a manager, they will be only charging me $100 to make the switch, which seems fair. We'll see how it goes.
 
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