YAMAHAYSS-475II Intermediate Soprano Saxophone - Gold Lacquer

I bought this saxophone 14 months ago, and I have enjoyed using it. As expected for a Yamaha Saxophone it is well constructed and it has a rich tone. My saxophone came with a well designed carrying case and a Yamaha S4 mouthpiece. As this was already my favorite mouthpiece, I then had two of these excellent mouthpieces.

As a beginner I did much research on what would be a good instrument to start with. When people said, the soprano sax is the hardest to learn on, I knew that's what I wanted. I also read that a good intermediate sax would make learning to play somewhat easier. Like most things I purchase I wanted something brand new. Don't want any used instrument issues. Yamaha YSS 475 hit all the right buttons and had great reviews by some really good players. I've got a long way to go to be proficient, but with only about 6 hours on it I'm already playing some beginner songs on Tomplay. Can make it from low Bb to high C# without any squeaks. Working on tone using a tuner. Thank you Yamaha.

I've read some scary posts online about buying expensive instruments on Amazon, so was a bit worried. Fortunately, my personal experience with this particular seller turned out to be a success story - the package arrived on time, and I see no issues with the instrument itself. Thank you.

For $3,000 expected better quality. Yes, it does state intermediate level the instrument is more for a first horn or a very good beginner horn. Probably not fair that I am comparing it to my MarkVI soprano.

Soprano is of good build quality and made in Japan. Sounds great and was shipped in a very protected box with a free swab and mouthpiece pads.

I just purchased one in Feb and am absolutely in love with it.This is my first Soprano Saxophone (my first of 3 Sax within the month) - its relative freeblowing nature (good for beginners with limited puff), ease of response, good intonation and ease of control (just hold it steady) makes the 475II a natural choice for beginners. Relatively lightweight it is easy to manage. Reliable intonation that beats the better Selmer sops, bar perhaps the Yani S901 which appear to have gained quite a good rep for spot on intonation and slightly greater resistance.The Yamaha 4C stock mouthpiece is ideal to learn on.People have said that the Soprano Sax isn't the ideal first saxophone for anybody because of their notoriety in intonation. That the Alto should be anyone's first. Well not necessarily... and even if so, not for very long. Playing on other Sax does perhaps help strengthen your diaphragm and improve breathing control.My personal first impressions - I ran out of puff fairly quickly and seemed to have intonation issues when tired - BUT that was because I was new to the sax (2 mths ago and my arms tire easily, as such the sax was not held steady which led to embouchure position shifting now and then as a result of which intonation suffered) I have since learnt to hold the sop steady with proper use of the neck strap and built up a little puff strength. Just picked up the sop after 1.5mths in the box (played the alto) and it's a hUGE improvement - almost a breeze. I could truly say it gave me a freeblowing feel today (pariah word for some) which makes possible the enjoyment of the sop playing early low hanging fruits for those already with musical background and able to read all genre of music eg Koz, G etcThis horn deserves to be respected - it is of great quality build, reliable, durable and performs. ** For the majority of non professionals, this horn more than suffices as horn for life. ** I"ve heard great things about the Yanagisawa S901 and it's stock mpc but have yet to try one. For the hefty price difference, this more than suffices till my upgrade if ever.Caveat: Experienced saxophonists (esp guys) may prefer something with more resistance. Recommend for lady beginners and younger players.Made in Japan. Purchase with confidence.

I bought my own since 2011 and is still in top condition, Mouthpiece 4C is perfect, I bought a leather ligature and is better than the metal ligature. I play more better now.Antonio Daniels Sr.

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