Pro Level Yamaha Saxophones Compared! 

I've played a Yamaha 62 since 1980, and recently bought the Yamaha 62 iiiS! It serves my needs very well! I briefly played on a Yamaha Custom series (alto), and could tell that it was an exceptional instrument. Had I been playing more classical music at the time, I would have probably stayed with the Custom. But, the 62 fits me perfectly, and I'm very pleased!

The front F mechanism is much different between the Z and EX. On the EX, the front F key is incorporated into the upper stack.

Great video! I had an intermediate Yamaha Tenor and I upgraded the neck to a V1. It takes much more air, but, for me, it helped with tone and altissimo dramatically.

Nice to hear a player that can play the alto in tune. Some many reviewers cannot.

875Ex........best Sax ever!

Excellent video. I’ve been playing for 5 years and have upgraded to an 82z tenor (V1 neck). Does this mean I’m having more intonation issues than say with an E1 neck or intermediate Saxophone.

You sound awesome, Jim.

I have an 82Z II and I absolutely love it. I had an 875EX and I really liked that also but it was hard to get it to speak in the lowest notes. 82Z II is super easy to play.

I own a 62 Alto and a 82ZIII Tenor. Love the 62

Sounds to me like the EX was very smooth with a little more bottom end than the other two.

Did you guys prefer this yamaha custom z over the selmer reference you reviewed last time?

Very Good

Very good. A comparison between tenor models would be great too. Im curious too about the relation between difference of mass and the free blowing aspect.

Excellent review as always and really love your channel. I was wondering what you thought about the pmauriat horns especially the system 76 dark lacquer alto?

I now have a 62iii alto, which satisfies my needs. Most of the classical work that I do is on soprano. If I did more classical stuff, I'd probably go with the 875ex! The 62 is a great horn for me, and the pitch is right on it!

Hey guys. Could you possibly do more showcases and comparisons on classical mouthpiece setups? I’m a classical saxophonist who loves seeing you guys play these horns, but it’s difficult for me to form an opinion on the the horns simply because it’s not the sound that I would use if I were to play. Just an idea for any of the classical musicians who may be watching

The yamaha 62 was from the the 3 or 4 generation ?

Great video! Yamaha 62 is definitely the best value pro saxophone on the market.

Thanks lots of new info! The Z and EX have a little clearer nicer tone to me. Maybe the EX for ballads and the Z for bebop. -)

How does it compare with yanagisawa aw01

Was hoping to see a purple logo 62 in the comparison :) Thanks for making these kinds of videos - great comparison!

I have a Yamaha 82z with the G1 neck, I really love it but am interested in trying out the V1 neck

Thank you so much for doing this video I am in the market for a new tenor and where I live they don't sell anything over the yad 62 I currently own the 62 alto but wasn't very happy about the thinness of sound. I'm hoping the 82z will make a difference or ill look into other brands.

Have you folks ever thought about doing any classical demos on your videos? Sure Jim has some classical chops having started on oboe

In Yamaha’s specs for custom saxophones, they state the brass composition for custom instruments is different. They qualified it as ‘French brass’. If there are differences in sound signature among those models, different material would add to it.

Very helpful video. Could you make another version and compare the Tenor versions of these? I find the 62 is the middle of the road versatile saxophone and you can put your own sound on it as you have said. The 82z I find is for me a little too bright, but its not overly bright. It sound good for Jazz and commercial music over anything else due to the brightness and edge. I have a Yamaha YAS-280 with metal reflectors and I find it a little too bright with those. With the 875Ex I like its more tubby slightly warmer tone and I know it has been designed more as a classical saxophone, but you defiantly don't have to play it that way. The English saxophonist Simon Bates is the living embodiment of why that isn't so with his big jazz/Funk sound he gets on his 875 saxophones. I also have noticed the 875Ex uses ball joints for the right hand side keys over the normal fork joints. Do you know if that makes any difference?

Presume that you can replace the resonators with whatever type you like?

Love my 62. Better instrument than I'm a player so the odds of an upgrade are low.

I had a 62 tenor for 2 weeks. I took it up to New York on some gigs and the octave mechanism messed up. I don’t know what happened and I don’t know how I fixed it, but I got rid of it as soon as I got back home cause I really couldn’t risk it doing that to me again on a gig or tour. It was a good horn besides, but I couldn’t trust it

I am a fan of Yamaha Saxophones and enjoy these posts. But something is bothering me and seems to make no sense at all. How can saxophone necks that fit into the same mouthpiece at the start and same saxophone body at the end be said to have a bigger or smaller taper? As far as I understand a larger taper increases in size more than a smaller taper. So how can necks of different tapers have the same starting and ending diameters? What am I missing? Help! Can any one in an informed position ( instrument designer, etc) solve this conundrum for me? Does the metal get thinner to allow for an increase in diameter internally but the external diameters stays the same? Should we worry that large taper necks are then more prone to be damage as the material gets thinner towrds the instrument´s body? If this is the case then how can you know the taper makes a difference and not the thickness of the material? Does anyone know anything about this?

Tenors please?

The 875EX has a much sweeter sound. No contest.

The 82Z has a very fast/quick response. But the 875EX has a bit of resistance. The 62 is a little more resistant than the 82Z.

Usually the sound comes from the player!

Where's the YAS 23, 25, 31, and 32? Oldies but goodies. Only messing.

In the beginning they always waste time playing a little song no one asked for

So much talking, such little playing.