[Consolas]

Hello everyone

I'm on the market for a YTS-62.

I know until 2003 (I think?) this model had a purple logo and a few changes regarding the newer models.

I don't know many of these changes - from what I've been reading here it can be a matter of preference but it is general consensus that the purple logo had a more raw sound.

I don't mind and even like to get a used sax - history of the sax itself. I find it enriching.

Moving along, if the price was similar, would you go for a most recent 62 (with like a few years) or go for a purple label with the usual tear of of the lacquer and the ocasional ding?

Thanks everyone!

 

[Airflyte]

I would go for the best playing sax (if you can compare them).

Beyond that, I would pursue the tonal patina of a purple logo horn. YMMV.

 

[lydian]

I personally don't buy into the purple logo myth. I've played them all since the late 70s and found no difference in the sound until you get into much later models like the 875 and 82z, etc. I wouldn't even know what "raw" sounds like. Of course, I could have been subconsciously compensating for any differences as I do on all horns.

I don't know my world flags very well, so I have no idea where you are. But if your options are limited, any decent Yamaha you can find will be fine. For me, the horn doesn't make nearly as much difference in the sound as the mouthpiece and the player does. My MKVI can sound like crap in the wrong hands or beautiful in the right hands.

 

[Consolas]

Thanks for valuable contribution. Definitely may be looking too much into the purple or not purple version, special with my yet limited skill.

Thanks!

 

[milandro]

for some strange reason people apply the idea that an older instrument is better made than a newer one, never understood the purple logo thing.

Consolas is from Portugal. We have several members for there

 

[JayeLID]

I personally don't buy into the purple logo myth. I've played them all since the late 70s and found no difference in the sound until you get into much later models like the 875 and 82z, etc.

I would concur with this actually. I haven't done MANY 6X model horns, but enough that I am skeptical that there were significant specification changes which effected/created performance differences of the eras.
Perhaps if I do another half dozen I might revise that impression, but for now if one twisted my arm I would say it is more a "marketing hook" which sellers of Purples use....

 

[ptung]

Hello everyone

I'm on the market for a YTS-62.

I know until 2003 (I think?) this model had a purple logo and a few changes regarding the newer models.

I don't know many of these changes - from what I've been reading here it can be a matter of preference but it is general consensus that the purple logo had a more raw sound.

I don't mind and even like to get a used sax - history of the sax itself. I find it enriching.

Moving along, if the price was similar, would you go for a most recent 62 (with like a few years) or go for a purple label with the usual tear of of the lacquer and the ocasional ding?

Thanks everyone!

Occasionally, there are purple logo tenors with VERY good, unusual for Yamaha, necks. The problem is, you can't know whether the horn in front of you is one of them unless it's in playing condition for the qualities of the neck to show, or you're able to play the neck in a proper situation on another horn for it to reveal itself when played.

I have a silverplated Yamaha neck that I've been holding onto for years (thank you, Mark R ) because it is very unusual and very special. I haven't ever played a contemporary 62 or 875 tenor that I liked as well, with the necks on the horns, as this silverplated 61 or 62 neck on quite a few. I have played some 875s that I thought were just horrible.

Detailed way of saying: the more able you are to play first, in good playing condition, the better your question is able to be answered in a better way. By mail is a different question that becomes more about whom you're buying from than what you're buying.

 

[Consolas]

So that is another thing - as far as I can see, all the horns I've been checking out (62) have a "normal" as in original neck - at least there is no special mention regarding the neck in the description.

To be honest, I wasn't even paying attention to that. I should?

 

[ptung]

So that is another thing - as far as I can see, all the horns I've been checking out (62) have a "normal" as in original neck - at least there is no special mention regarding the neck in the description.

To be honest, I wasn't even paying attention to that. I should?

It's just an inherent part of the saxophone's personality, response, timbre, all of it. You can't know if you have a good one or not without playing, and without the horn being in a condition for it (and its neck) to reveal their possibility to you.

 

[Consolas]

That is the thing - I'm getting one online, no chance. Here the prices are way inflated - gotta have to risk it, I guess:/

 

[ptung]

There are some ways to get indications, but they vary according to make/model, and there are no hard or fast generalities that hold across different makes/models in dependable ways.

Example: the Ref 54 used to come with, in general, two types of necks, one of which had a neckpipe tip opening in the .504" range, and the other being more in a .498-.500" range. People who like a freeblowing, "smoky" thing could safely be predicted to prefer the .504 range necks, and people who prefer a punchier, denser, less spread core with more "back pressure" would have tended to prefer the .498 range necks. I don't know if this still holds or how. This is something I discovered around 2002 by playing 54s and measuring the necks on all of the ones that came through and that I could get my hands on -- there were a fair number around at that time, and I had a good number of clients that had them. But this may or may not apply now, I don't know.

I think your main thing is to shop for your source carefully, and then not be shy about asking the pertinent questions. At the right place, if you communicate your needs clearly, the seller can playtest for you. In my exp that usually yields a good result. I would worry less about the vintage or new vs old than working with someone who can understand what you want, and then reply with their best answers. I will add that you also have to listen. I'm finding that in this time period, a lot of calls I get don't go well because of the amount of stress so many of us are under, including me. People under stress talk-over and don't listen. I wouldn't mention it if it wasn't so consistently an issue.

 

[ptung]

Good luck! New horn stoke is awesome.

 

[Consolas]

Thanks! Let's see if I can get one!

 

[notes_norton]

I'm a little late to the party - sorry.

All other things being equal, I'd take the new sax.

Notes

 

[Consolas]

I'm a little late to the party - sorry.

All other things being equal, I'd take the new sax.

Notes

Never late! Thanks for the info and opinion!

 

[sandster]

Sorry to butt in, but...my YAS21 has a RED label. Does this have any...for want of a better word, consequence?

 

[Consolas]

I think the old versions had purple (reddish?) logos so you can easily know the age of the horn.

For some, they sound better. For others, it's irrelevant.

 

[JayeLID]

Quite honestly.....IMHO...I think if one starts rattling the notion of " I hope I can land one with the GOOD neck" about in their head....

it's gonna be a waste of time and energy.

(I am not saying that no distinction exists, BTW).

I am saying - look, Yamaha makes and has made consistent-quality horns for a long time. There isn't a whole lot of variance in 'em (same models, different years) when they are in equal, good playing shape.

Rather than start to micromanage the aspects of the one you wanna search for...just spend your time/energy inquiring with the seller - and confirming that the one they are selling IS in fact in good, solid playing and structural shape...and ask them if they will stand behind that by offering a refund/return if it arrives to you and is not.

It is THAT distinction which is the more important one as opposed to purple, neck, lacquer wear, etc....

 

[JayeLID]

Sorry to butt in, but...my YAS21 has a RED label. Does this have any...for want of a better word, consequence?

Believe it or not, it makes the horn worth a tad more on the market than one without the red/purple inked label...again this based upon the somewhat apocryphal but widely-circulated notion that the color logo ones were 'better'....

 

[nigeld]

Here is what I have heard about Yamaha YTS-62 models.

There are two generations of the "Mark 1" YTS-62. Let us call them Mark1a and Mark1b (though Yamaha did not call them "Mark1", and did not distinguish between them).
Mark1a - stencilled logo on the side of the bell ("Purple Logo"), non-tilting table, reddish logo on the neck (I think).
Mark1b - stamped logo on the side of the bell, tilting table, black logo on the neck (I think).
As far as I know, apart from the logo and the tilting table, they are the same, and the necks are the same. So if you want a Mk1 YTS-62 then as far as I know the Mark1b is the same as the purple logo model in terms of ergonomics and sound. And it may be cheaper. But it doesn't have the "Purple Logo" cachet. I have a Mark1b, and it's a lovely sax, so I'm biased.

Yamaha made the Mark1 instruments from about 1980 until after 2000. They may have made several small changes during this time. I don't know.

Yamaha changed the neck design and made other small design changes for later models, starting with what they called the YTS-62II. Some people think these changes were for the worse, but I haven't compared them. There is a common belief in the Saxophone world that older is better.

Some of the visible differences between the Mark1 and later models are:

• The later models have YTS-62II or YTS-62III inscribed on them
• The Mark1 has stainless-steel springs, later models have blue-steel springs
• The later models have a chunky neck brace with "Yamaha" inscribed on the front
• The later models have plastic key touches instead of mother-of-pearl
• The necks are different
• The later models have a gold logo on the neck