Yanagisawa Tenor T901

Just bought one of these. I was downgrading from a Ref54 and was looking at a Yamaha 62, muriats, buffet 400 and a series 2. I have to say the Yani was in a league of its own. It may be that the yanis come better setup... but it was by far the best horn. Very easy to play, effortless at the bottom end of the range, very centred tone, lovely ergos. My only concern is the sound seems a bit less sophisticated and light compared to the ref54... but in every other respect its a better sax. As for the others, the 62 is no better than the 23. Both yamahas are well made but sound a bit industrial. The buffet sounded big, but wasn't easy to play or hold. And the series 2 was very similar in sound to the ref 54 but not as enjoyable to play.

I was expecting a sax that had similar qualities to a Yamaha 62, entry level pro. I have been really impressed with the Yanigasawa's uniqueness. I prefer it to the Selmer Reference that I had a couple of years ago. Unlike the Reference it seems to play "your sound" whereas the Reference has a very distinctive tone of its own.

This coupled with a great feel, good intonation and response makes for a great play.

I have been playing for just over a year so the Yani tenor was the next big step for me from my first learner sax. It was instantly obvious that it was a great choice - very easy to get a great sound when playing' ' I felt and heard an instant improvement which was very encouraging.

The tone is big, clear and lively; I chose brass finish but understand that choice of lacquer finish can alter the tone, e.g. bronze giving a more vintage tone.

The keys have airtight waterproof pads for longer life, the keys themselves are shell lined and the sax has steel needle springs which help towards faster action.

The sax came with a good ebonite mouthpiece. I've since used others to get different sounds (I play in a rock n roll band so a mouthpiece with a spoiler helps me to cut through the rest of the band) but I often come back to the stock mouthpiece.

Overall, the Yanigasawa T901 is a beautifully made sax from a company renowned for craftsmanship and quality. I paid around £1,400 at the time (2007) - money well spent. I'm currently saving for the Yani baritone!