YAMAHA YAS-280 Student Alto Saxophones, C Key

I bought the cheapest one available on Amazon at $850 list but after taxes, shipping, and excise fees it was closer to $1100. Still the cheapest option for this sax on Amazon at the time and probably not available anymore at that price. I think it came all the way from a vendor in England! When I first ordered it was out of stock and I to wait a few weeks for it to be restocked, so I guess this is recently manufactured and not old stock that was sitting around. The box arrived in Yamaha packaging (not Amazon boxing!) That was a little disconcerting because they left it at my front door with pretty pictures of a sax on the box! I’m lucky it wasn’t stolen! Anyway, the box was right side up, unblemished and free of dents. A good sign!

Unboxing required removal of many small pieces of cork from the key mechanisms. Some of them were hard to spot and hard to remove. I used wooden chopsticks to avoid scratching the finish which was quite shiny and unblemished. But I did miss a few corks at first which prevented some keys from working. So it’s easy to understand why some reviewers might have thought their horn was defective.

Once all the keys were freed the horn plays quite nicely through all registers with smooth easy non-clacky action and easy sounding of all notes top to bottom. I did notice while using an online tuner that it was difficult to push the mouthpiece in far enough to get it perfectly in tune. The online tuner said it was 6 cents flat. I’m not too concerned because with a brand new mouthpiece and cork the fit is quite tight and should loosen up a bit with continued use. Or it might just be my embouchure needs tightening.

Compared to my 1970’s vintage YAS-23 the horn seems a little lighter and the metal seems a bit thinner. The sound seems a little thinner too. But this horn has a high F# key which the YAS-23 lacks. And the action is less clacky.

Overall I am quite pleased/relieved that this horn is perfectly acceptable for my needs. It should satisfy any amateur for many years.

(By the way, mine DID include a neckstrap. Also included cork grease, polishing cloth, neck cap, mouthpiece, and a 2.5 strength Rico reed. I think most beginners would do better with a 2.0 or even a 1.5 but that’s nitpicking. Most glaring omission is the lack of a spit swab on a weighted string. Every player needs one of those!)

UPDATE ALMOST FIVE YEARS LATER:

I still love this sax. I’ve had it servced twice in the past five years. The service shop says I should actually get it serviced at least once a year if not more. Kind of like going to the dentist for a cleaning. It’s had no major problems. The neck cork did start to chip away and that was easily replaced. I had a couple of pads replaced but most of them are original. The thing is that when you let it go without service it gradually develops slight leaks that you may not even notice until you get it back from service and it sounds so much tighter and better. My tech guy says the pros get their horns serviced every six months or even every four months!

Aside from service issues, I think the only fault I might find with the horn is that the high register keys, when you get up into the E, F and F#, they are a little awkward. Like coming down from F# to F, E, Eb (using the side keys not the fron F), those are a little cramped and clunky. Or maybe I’m just a klutz. But hey, even Bird didn’t play above high D that often.

Everyone tells me my tone is great. Its just a nice clear sounding horn. I’ve compared it to the higher priced Yahamas and they do sound a little richer, I think they have more brass. But for my purposes i still love this horn.

I do recommend upgrading the mouthpiece when you’re ready. Maybe get an Otto Link instead of the included Yamaha 4C which is a pretty bland sounding mouthpiece.

中古サックスをフリマサイトで購入して、使い物になりませんでしたので直ぐにコレを購入しました。
同じ目に合わないようにコチラをおススメします。

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I absolutely love this instrument so much, and the quality is incredible. I will be buying other instruments from Yamaha in the future.

　友人たちのジャズの生演奏を聴いていて「いつかサックスを吹いてみたい」と心の中で温めていたのですが、自分はまったくの初心者ということもあり、いきなりサックスというのは「敷居が高い」と思い、まずはJ-Saxというおもちゃのような楽器を購入しました。それから２ヵ月ほど経って、１オクターブ半ほどの音域しか演奏できないJ-Saxでは満足できなくなり、YouTubeのレビュー動画などをいくつか参照したうえで、思い切って購入したのがこのYamaha YAS-280でした。
　すでにJ-Saxでリード楽器の吹き方はわかっていたし、基本的に運指も同じなので、すぐにYAS-280を吹いて音を出すことができました。ちなみに僕の場合、自宅で趣味としてサックスを演奏しているので、近所の迷惑にならぬよう、e-Saxという防音シールドを被せて練習するようにしています。
　初心者なので他のサックス機種との比較についてはわかりませんが、少なくともこのYAS-280は比較的重量も軽いようですし、初心者でも扱いやすく、吹いていて愛着が湧いてくる楽器だと思います。タンポもトーンホールも作りがしっかりしており、サムフックは演奏者の手に合わせて若干高さを調整できるようになっています。
　現在、YAS-280を吹いて自分の好きな曲を練習しながら、リードの種類を変えてみたり、異なるマウスピースを試してみたりして、自分の理想の音を模索しているところです。

Super saxophone.