I once was in the market for a new 82Z alto. I played a lot of them in various finishes (not that finish matters, but some THINK it does). They were all different, unlike several Ref 54 altos I tried (that were all similar). I finally found one, bought new by a fellow SOTW member who wanted to trade for an alto I had. His 82Z had been well set-up by a local retailer and it played decently - the best that I'd played. After I got it, it just failed to motivate me. The seller wanted it back after a few weeks and I readily agreed.
I know some readers here may take offense to what I'm going to say and offer all sorts of defense, but I find Yamaha saxophones lacking in soul. And the 82Z I briefly owned (and played) was no different. Plain BLAND. For the money you'd spend on a new 82Z, you could get a new Yanagisawa A-WO1 (which I also own now and it is the best alto I've played). DAVE
lol I plan on getting a nice tenor this year I just need to work out vintage or new. Yamaha 82z I have never had the chance to play and any I have heard played never moved me in any way
Kenny: This was a while back. I don't recall if it was before or after Yamaha started with the necks. I didn't bother to check the necks I played. I had to visit many stores to sample the 82Z variations that were out there. I recall that the one I finally ended up with was purchased new at Anaheim Band, a well-regarded retailer in SoCal.
From my experience with THAT 82Z, it was clear to me that the seller did a proper set-up on the saxophone before it was sold. The other variations I played were in obvious need of some dealer-attention. But that was true with all the Ref54's I sampled before buying one. What was consistent among the Ref 54's was a similar tonal quality among all of them. That surprised me.
As far as Yamaha sopranos go, I still have a YSS62S in my family after I bought it new, then eventually handed it down to my daughter and her kids. It too is a decent player but after a while, another BLAND comes to mind. I've since sampled several Yamaha sopranos - not for me.
The other day I spent some time on youtube listening to various soprano tests. Yamahas, Rampones, and Selmers (II and III) were covered. Wow, what a sameness of tone. Oh yes, to the purists, I suppose there were some differences, but like I've posted many times, they all sounded pretty much the same to me. The differences were in the Nth-degree-range. Hardly worth getting in a knot over.
Yanagisawa for altos and soprano? Now you are talking, but my old '27 Conn is better than any of those I've owned or played. DAVE
The price is great as is... but adding custom duties and taxes (yes, we are hammered and ripped off by customs) it will reach 3300 euros,
not a big deal unfortunately...
Sorry to hear that. You would love the silver Mark VII alto I have listed on here but would run into the same issues.
Good luck with your search.
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