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Yanagisawa Tenors

53K views 66 replies 38 participants last post by  CharlesRobinson 
#1 ·
Can someone with knowledge and experience characterize the Yanagisawa tenors? It seems all their other (soprano, alto, bari) horns come highly regarded, but not so much the tenors? Are they really worthy competition to contemporary offerings from Yamaha, Selmer, Keilwerth?

I am particularly interested in your assessment of the T880s and newer (900, 990, 991) tenors.
 
#2 ·
I tried a Yanagisawa T-992 at PM woodwind. I thought it had a brilliant and warm sound.
I am sorry that I cant give a in depth analysis like other people on here can.
I just remember how it played and recorded myself.
 
#3 ·
p.s. I wish there were more reviews of the Yanagisawa tenors as well. I also wish I could find more videos or sound clips of pros playing on yanagisawas 99X models.
 
#7 ·
I also wish I could find more videos or sound clips of pros playing on yanagisawas 99X models.
Here's one, looks like a T99x, sample at 2:36



... another at 1:40



fwiw, I play an '80 T880.
Excellent, don't care much for the deep dished pearls though.
Play a Keilwerth SX neck on it sometimes, or the underslung.
 
#4 ·
I've played a handful of Yani tenors, with mixed feelings. A 991 and a 992 that I tried were just OK, a 901 that I tried had a great sparkly sound, but I didn't like the ergos.... However in the last couple of months I tried two 990 tenors that were very very similar to each other (one was regular lacquer one was black) and both were just fantastic - felt just like my MkVI in my hands, maybe a bit better action even, and the sound was excellent (didn't have the "selmer core" or the vintage sound, but a nice thing of their own). Most of the newer horns I've played (many taiwanese) play very well, but are so heavy they just get uncomfortable playing for long periods.

I ended up buying one of the 990s, and I got to tell you, they are a bargain.... in great shape for $1600! I sold the Cannonball Vintage tenor that I liked very much (but was heavy) in order to fund the purchase, and I haven't had a single pang of regret. The 990 is just a joy to play, and I can get a good enough sound on it (albeit I haven't dialed it in as well as either my MkVI or my Buescher TH&C sound-wise). For someone looking for a solid, day-in-day-out workhorse, these are a steal, IMO.

I suppose that they don't get as much attention as they just arent as common, and they don't have a ton of their own "personality"... you kind of get out of them what you put into them, which is OK by me.

Pete
 
#5 ·
I've owned some fine horns over the years, VI's, BA's, Silver Z's, 62's and recently an incredible 901 tenor, yes, the 901, not the 991. This horn was so close in sound to a fine MK VI and was so much fun to play. Perhaps not quite the tonal depth of my VI or Ref. tenor, but an incredible sound and effortless to play. Yani's are incredible period. For the money, nothing comes close.
 
#37 ·
...the 901... This horn was so close in sound to a fine MK VI and was so much fun to play.
My tenor experience includes a Yani T992, as well as a Yamaha YTS62, a mark VII, and two Mark Vis, a 1964 and a 1958. I think the Yani T992 has a very luxurious feel, great intonation and fantastic ergos. Tonewise, it is more similar to the Mark VI than the Yamaha (and more than the Mk7, I think). Still I find I prefer the 1958 mk6 by a small margin. However, the Yanagisawa has a certain buzz of its own that the Selmers don't have, a very sweet and appealing sound. It depends on what you like, if you are after the vintage mark VI sound, probably the real thing might beat it, but, certainly the T992 comes very close, and has some additional unique buzz in its own character. You can't go wrong with that horn.
 
#10 ·
I compared a T901, 902, 991 and 992, and also play tested against a Mauriat 76, Yam YTS62, Trevor James Sig Custom, Selmer Series 2 and a Keilwerth SX something. I bought the T992, because it was simply the best of all of them. My views on the Yanagisawas. Firstly, they were all excellent, with outstanding ergonomics and a superb finish, better than all the others.

T901 - Bright, fizzy horn, sort of lively character. Felt quite light in my hands.
T902 - Very similar, a bit more richnes to the tone. Felt exactly the same in the hands as the 901
T991 - Great sax. Bright put powerful. Solid, slightly heavier feel
T992 - Fantastic. Not so bright, more complex tone, powerful and capable of going very loud. Very rich and characterful tone. Easy to play smooth or raunchy. Flattered my playing. Felt the same in my hands as the T991. Anyone who thinks Japanese horns have no character should try one of these.

None of the other saxes I played were anything like as good as the T992. I was particularly disappointed in the Selmer and Yamaha. I had high expecations of the Selmer which weren't met, and fond memories on an older YTS62 I played years ago. The new Yam just wasn't as interesting. The Mauriat was nice to play but the standard of the finish was unacceptable on a sax costing half what the Mauriat did. The Keilwerth just didn't play well. So, I splashed out a load of my own money on the T992. Three years on I'm still delighted with it. It hasn't needed any adjustment at all in that time.

Jon
 
#12 ·
there is way too much happening to really tell how the sax sounded. The guy played really loud and raunchy the whole time. It sounded good for that style, but that is not the best situation to tell how the sax sounds. The guy was growling the whole time and the band is loud.

I wish there was a "sax alone" sound clip example or a jazz quartet without the sax in the sound system too much example.
 
#13 ·
I think they are great tenors! Great ergos and sound, intonation and power. I've had my T991 for 5 years now. Haven't touched my Mark VI tenor since I got it! I use a 992 bronze neck with mine.
 
#16 ·
that is a nice clip. That sounds really nice.
This is good. Now, hopefully without being too annoying, the best scenario would be a non youtube recording because they compress the audio. That is something I would think yanagisawa would look into. But then again, they probably sell instruments fine without it!
 
#19 ·
OK I'm going to chime in here. At one time I owned and played the set of Yanagasawa's S<A<T<B. I now only have the sop. The tenor I had for nigh on 8 years and usually used a Link STM or T.E. The horn was a 992 which I silver plated. Yanni's are to be compared with Lexus cars, fast, smooth, reliable, and luxurious-- in a nutshell --quality. When my son was at university, studying industrial design a group of students spent some time at Jaguar cars when the XK8 coupe was being developed, a fabulous sports car intended to match the legendry E Type of the early 1960's. As a model, Jaguar bought in a Lexus from Japan and instructed the apprentices to strip it down to the last speck of paint to discover why it was so good! the brief then was to build the XK8 to a similar standard--but to be MORE EXCITING !
Are you getting the picture now? Yanagasawa's are a little too conservative When I sold my 992 I bought a Selmer serie3 which I still use along with my beloved Conns. Compared with the Yanni's these horns can be capricious and have 'bad hair' days but they are more 'exciting' or should I say excitable?
Incidently the alto I had was an 880 Elimona which was seriously good -I parted reluctantly with that after buying a Serie3 alto for 'a song' from a friend who had given up alto after many years in the business. A pupil of mine still has that horn. The Baritone was 901 but I have given up playing Bari these days.
These horns were in daily use plus gigs.
I would never be afraid to recomend them--they do everything it 'says on the box' but if a guy wants a tenor for Rock&Roll or Jazz I usually steer them onto another brand either vintage or modern.
 
#24 ·
Hi hgiles
(TENOR)

I have played Nr all model Yan Tenors inc the old ones. The old tenors had lots of character but were not always so constant. For me the T880 has to be the one .
I would always recommend a Yan tenor to any student ...as much if not more than other top brands. I do think the new type (later than the T990) are a bit too over engineered and lacking character. I am a player that believes that the metal a sax is made from makes a difference, not only to it's feedback but also to its response and I find the T992 a tadd numb.
Just to add a note to that... Last year I had a go with T992, with a Poroschas neck and was shocked at how much better it was. I would recommend trying that neck to anyone with a Modern Yani Tenor.
ManEast
 
#25 ·
I've been playing a 900u tenor for a few months now, ergonomics seem good to me but I don't have the skills to really take advantage of good vs. bad. Anyway, I tried my yani against an 82Z and a high model Keilwerth, with my vandoren v16 t9 in a small room - the other two definitely had more edge than the yani (but maybe roughly the same core?), and in my mind the others sounded a little better than the yani as a result.

However, I tried a JodyJazz metal mouthpiece, 7 (not sure if it was a dv or a dv ny), and it was (a) a lot bigger sound than the v16 on all saxes, and I thought the Yani was actually the best of the three with that mouthpiece, the others actually sounding too harsh/brassy? with it.

Hope that gives a little more to add to the picture.

Cheers,

Dave
 
#26 ·
I played a Yani 9930 for 6 years or so. I loved it. The sound, the intonation, the feel. Great horn. (I recorded my CD "Case in Point" on it for those who want to hear what it sounds like non "youtube - you can hear samples at amazon, Cd baby, itunes, etc. And if you like it I've got PLENTY of copies left!!!) I got rid of it because I played the Mauriat I'm playing now just has more character (a little free-er blowing and warmer and richer tone) - which seems to be the consensus here - lack of character. Still a great horn, and I'd recommend Yani tenors to anyone.
 
#27 ·
I have one each of the Big 4 tenors, including a T901. When I was going through comparative tests of these four tenors several months ago, I came to the concluscion that the T901 was the one that was closest in sound and feel to my 126xxx Mk 6. I think this is however, to be expected since it is known that Yana came up as Selmer cloner. Furthermore, my two other tenors are a Keilwerth and a 82Z which are defnitely quite different in design from the Mk 6. As the T901 was my most recent purchase, I actually haven't spent that much time playing it, but in the couple of hours in comparison with the other tenors, the T901 held its own as a quality horn that was strongly reminiscent of the Mk 6 that I have.

Again, none question the quality and reliability of the Yana horns, but similar to the Yamahas, there is always a question whether they tend to sound 'bland' in comparison to European and vintage horns. I myself have not reached a concluscion on this.
 
#28 ·
Differently from Matty here, I've ditched 2 Mauriats (a 76 and a 66rul) for a 9930 yani. The 9930 sounds great, has great intonation and a solid feel. Powerful pro horn, period. Mauriats... the 76 is killer, but has no character either. The 66rul is funny, but a Conn Chu Berry is hilarious. A Chu, THAT is a horn with character. Everything else is pretty much the same.

To be (even more) honest: this talk about character is pure BS. The character is YOU. Or at least should be!
 
#29 ·
I have a bunch of very nice tenors, but my "go to" horn is an old T880 that I overhauled about 3 years ago. Shortly after I sold the last of my Selmers. I also have a T992 which is amazingly smooth and easy to play with a more modern sound (think Boney James). Between the two (and the keywork is similar enough that it is a seamless switch) it covers the gamut. I jokingly refer to the T880 as "the best Mark VI that I have ever played". If you close your eyes, the only thing that seems wrong is that it is too easy to play flexibly but with good intonation. Both of these get a lot more play time than my other two tenors (YTS82ZS and Borgani Jubilee), both of which are amazing but both a little too much 'in your face' for my taste. At the caliber of these four horns, it comes down to your taste and style of playing...none of them is better than the other, and a good setup vs. a 'factory' horn makes differentiating distinction.
 
#30 ·
No Yanagisawa or any other horn will sound like a Mark VI, but I have a T5 that comes pretty close in the feel of the key layout. The only thing they missed was the placement of the neck strap ring.
I guess I've always felt the altos and sopranos are so-so. It seems the smaller the horn, the more pronounced the short comings in tone.
 
#31 ·
I blew a mates T992 Bronze unlacqured horn about 9 years ago,he got the alto version also by special order.I think he was the 1st in the UK to get his.I tested his with my 1962 saturn silver MK6 tenor,it was a very close call.The 6 won but just,since then i owned a cracking 991 tenor that was well used and very mk6ish indeed.Blew a few more 991's and was not that keen,kept hitting a wall when pushed hard but the bronze and my 991 were fantastic.If you find a good 1 then your sorted but for me i love a horn you can push hard and my silver Z just rips it up.
 
#34 ·
I sold my T992 (here on SOTW) a while back, and damn do I miss that horn. So, I have decided to take the plunge and get a new one. What I am going over in my head is if I should really go nuts and get the T9932J. The reason, is that my favorite notes on the tenor are the low notes. I am not the player who is looking for a horn that will scrape the ceiling with altissimo. What I really like is the lower register on the tenor, and I want a tenor that will really spread out down there. So, the options are: T992, T992 with a silver neck, T9932J. Help me out here.
 
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