Yamaha YAS-875 Custom Alto Saxophone Silver

Description

The Yamaha Custom series is Yamaha’s top of the line model of saxophone. The original 875 was hand made and is my favorite of all the Custom series horns. This is not the later EX model. The EX is too bright in my view, and almost nasal on alto (though the soprano EX is nice). The original 875 is darker and much more complex. It actually has a great tone for both classical and jazz. The dark core is great with a jazz mouthpiece for giving you a full-bodied tone with a bright edge. The roundness and clarity of tone works great for classical as well (though with a different mouthpiece, of course). Intonation is of course excellent, as are the ergonomics of the horn.

This sax was owned by a tech and it has been very well cared-for. It has new musicmedic precision pads and flat metal resonators. The padwork feels very good, as you would expect, and the horn is absolutely ready to go and like new mechanically throughout. You may notice that there is a white kangaroo-leather pad on the G# so that there will be no sticking. The sax has aftermarket plating – silver on the keys and bell, and gold on the body tube. This work was done professionally and is very nice. I see no evidence of past repairs, and there are no dents on the horn at all. It has the M1 neck, which is the best for a dark, complex tone, and which has the best intonation on this horn.