Yanagisawa Bronze Alto Sax Necks Yanagisawa makes the highest quality professional saxophones on the market today! They are a specialty manufacture meaning that they ONLY make professional handmade saxophones. They are a small factory blending old world craftsmanship with modern design and performance. The Yanagisawa Bronze Alto Sax Neck is now available in either the WO Series design or the previous 9 Series design. Yanagisawa Bronze Alto Sax Neck Bronze gives a very unique tone as it is a heavier alloy compared to brass. Standard brass is an alloy comprised of Copper & Zinc, with about 70% of that alloy being copper. Bronze is an alloy that consists of Copper & Tin but with around 88-90% of it being copper. The copper is the primary focus here as it adds more mass to the alloy. The use of a bronze neck helps give the horn a richer, lusher tone compared to the brass equivalent neck. The bronze can be a hair more resistant though, which can be a negative thing, especially for the classical player. The Yanagisawa bronze alto sax neck is ideal for the player who tends to over-power their horn and needs to thicken up their sound. Players with the lighter weight Yanagisawa models like the A901 or the A-WO1 will find that adding the Yanagisawa bronze tenor sax neck is an easy way to add additional tonal complexity to their horn at an affordable price! Available Models The Yanagisawa bronze alto sax neck is available in 2 models: WO20 Bronze Neck – Underslung octave mechanism WO2 Bronze Neck – Top Mount octave mechanism Finish The necks on this page are the standard finish meaning that they have a lacquer coat over top of the bronze. However, Yanagisawa does also offer the WO20 model in both Gold Plate and Pink Gold Plate finishes over the bronze. Those models, as well as all materials of neck with gold plating options, can be found by clicking here. Identifying a WO Neck from a 9 Series The easiest way to identify whether your Yanagisawa alto sax neck is a WO Series neck is by looking for the “YANY” stamp on the collar of the tenon. This stamp is seen on all WO Series necks and does not exist on the 9 Series necks. This is important because otherwise, the WO20 neck and the 992 neck will cosmetically look the same, though they will play different. The WO2 neck is easier to distinguish from the 902 neck due to the back plate on the neck with the Yanagisawa logo on it which is present on the WO2 neck and not the 902 neck. What does the YANY stamp mean? Yanagisawa saxophones are commonly referred to as a “Yany” (pronounced “YAH-nee”) by players. While there has never been an official spelling of this printed anywhere, Yanagisawa decided that the shortened term should be spelled YANY and not YANI as the word “yani” in Japan has another meaning associated with tobacco resin. So they have officially declared that “YANY” is the proper spelling! This is also the easiest way to determine whether a neck is a WO Series design or not as all WO Series necks will feature this stamp on the side of the collar at the neck tenon. Additional Information Yanagisawa Neck Fit Trial / Return Policy Will it fit?? The Yanagisawa bronze alto sax neck will fit all modern Yanagisawa models from A8xx series all the way through the WO Series horns. This neck is specifically made from the A9 series instruments, but the neck design on the A9 & WO Series models did not change in design. Kessler & Sons Music offers a 3 day trial / return policy on the Yanagisawa Bronze Alto Sax Neck. There are no cleaning fees or restocking fees (assuming that the neck is returned in proper condition). Please read our terms & conditions (link at the bottom of the page) for full details on this policy.
