Yanagisawa Soprano Saxophones

The Soprano Saxophone can produce a range of sounds from a rough jazz sound of the 20's Charleston era to a haunting and captivating sound approaching a classical oboe. Yanagisawa Soprano Saxophones can give the player an incredible latitude in the sound and for this reason demands an intense amount of control. It should not be tackled by a beginner, unless the demands made by this instrument are first explained and realised by the new student.

The Soprano Saxophone has a very special place in both the classical and jazz world and the choice of musical expression is absolutely up to the performer. The Yanagisawa soprano saxophone is built with perfection of tuning and temper. The sound produced can be determined in some way by the choice of mouthpiece. For advice on this subject, please contact us

Intermediate Soprano Saxophone

The Yanagisawa Intermediate Soprano is a one piece saxophone presented in a Yanagisawa custom carry case and has an available hands free case cover. The Yanagisawa Intermediate Soprano Saxophone is for the player who will not tolerate a saxophone which plays out of tune. The ribbed structure of the key support mechanism, forms a basis for the mechanically perfect sealing of this fine instrument.

Some saxophones I have seen, can have the sealing of the pads destroyed by excessive finger pressure on the left hand little finger spatula table. Others have come in for repair with bits of paper, cardboard, bandaid, and other special tuning adjustment features. Not so Yanagisawa. The instrument plays in tune!

The Yanagisawa Intermediate Soprano ia one of the most difficult of saxophones to play and certainly among the hardest to design and manufacture. This instrument is the starting point in the range of sopranos.

Specifications
Key	Bb
Range	Low Bb to High F#
Neck	Lacquered Brass
Body	Lacquered Brass
Bell	Lacquered Brass

Elite Soprano Saxophone

Very few soprano saxophones have a facility to play a high G! This is one of the few. Whilst the note is not often required, it is there for the professional who requires it.

An interesting little observation on the Yanagisawa soprano sax is the long rod operating the speaker key from the G spatula. No it is not unlacquered, it is in fact made of the very strong and expensive metal - nickel silver. There is no silver in nickel silver. It is an alloy of brass using a percentage of nickel to make it strong.

This strong rod is just another evidence of the perfection of the Yanagisawa engineering approach in designing for the requirements of the players. Without this strength the saxophone would not speak as well as it does across the range. You will see this when you compare the Yanagisawa Elite Soprano Saxophone with other brands.

Specifications
Key	Bb
Range	Low Bb to High G
Neck	Interchangeable (Straight and curved necks provided.)
Body	Lacquered Brass, hand engraved

Professional Soprano Saxophone

This Yanagisawa Professional Soprano Saxophone is the soprano which I would describe as the half way house. It has all the attributes of the Elite Saxophone, however is not so expensive. It is built with two necks, one straight and one curved, as with the Elite and Silver saxophones.

The Yanagisawa Professional Soprano is only built to play to high F#, however, how many of us ever want or in fact need to use the extreme range of a soprano saxophone. If you need to play higher you always have the option of buying and performing on the Yanagisawa Sopranino, Elite or Silver.

The metal in the body, as with the Elite model, is better annealed and provides the player with a uniform response across the range down to low Bb.

Specifications
Key	Bb
Range	Low Bb to High F#
Neck	Interchangeable (Straight and curved necks provided.)
Body	Lacquered Brass

Silver Soprano Saxophone

Listening to the Yanagisawa Silver Soprano Saxophone will leave you breathless. I could not say more than that. The sound which can be produced from it can be modulated to provide the player with every possible tonal shade you could imagine.

I have heard this instument sound like an oboe, and on the other hand play the largest of jazz sounds.

It is the choice of the most discerning Soprano player and an instrument which commands the leading role in the large range of Yanagisawa Soprano Saxophone.

Yanagisawa also have Bronze Saxophone range, for details, please contact Eltham Woodwind and Brass directly.

Specifications
Key	Bb
Range	Low Bb to High G
Neck	Stirling Silver
Body	Stirling Silver, hand engraved

Curved Soprano Saxophone

The small saxophone shaped curved soprano is one of the most difficult engineering feats which any saxophone manufacturer has to address. In the early days of saxophone manufacture, many factories produced a curved soprano, however of those early manufacturers only a couple remain.

Yanagisawa are one of those masters. Continuous work on the Yanagisawa curved soprano has taken the early edition instrument into the realm of perfection in terms of the tuning and sound. The special shape of the Yanagisawa Curved Soprano Saxophone provides a slightly different sound, not the least of which is feedback for the performer who is 'closer' to the output of sound from the bell. The Curved Soprano Saxophone is a true performance instrument and is the unquestioned choice of the stage performer and gig player alike.

Unlike the straight soprano this instrument is not available with optional necks (bocals).

The (bocal) neck, is detachable as with the alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones. It is accompanied by a custom case, however the hands free zippered case cover is not available with this curved model.

Despite information to the contrary, elsewhere in the Web, there are no 'more curved' neck available for this model :) This model comes with the detachable neck as shown in the picture ONLY. Please pass this information those who indicate otherwise.

Specifications
Key	Bb
Range	Low Bb to High F#
Neck	Lacquered Brass
Body	Lacquered Brass
Bell	Lacquered Brass, hand engraved.