Yanagisawa Alto Sax Neck – Brass Tube

Yanagisawa Alto Sax Neck
Brass Tube Models – WO1 & WO10

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.

Yanagisawa Alto Sax Neck
These models are the replacement necks for the new WO Series models. They are compatible with both the A9 and A8 series horns. The new WO Series brass necks are heavier than the A9 models that they replaced offering an extra tonal warmth to the horn. Available in 2 models, the WO1 and WO10 design, either model can go on to either horn.

• WO1 Model Neck (replaces A901 neck)
  Standard top mounted octave key work. Compared to the 901 neck, the WO1 neck uses the newer supply of brass (picked for its tonal performance) as well as the addition of an emblem plate on the back of the neck tube that adds additional mass to the neck compared to the 901 model. Both upgrades help the WO1 neck to produce a richer tone.
• WO10 Model Neck (replaces A991 neck)
  The WO10 models use a thicker brass than the 9 Series and the WO1 model. It also offers the underslung mechanism which is a quicker mechanism with a shorter throw. This also allows for the addition of the extra bracing on the top and lower side of the tubing. This makes the WO10 neck heavier than the 991, 901 and WO1 necks thus giving the horn a thicker tone.

Finish
The necks on this page are the standard finish meaning that they have a lacquer coat over top of the brass. However, Yanagisawa does also offer the WO10 model in Gold Plate with Engraving. 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 WO10 neck and the 991 neck will cosmetically look the same, though they will play different. The WO1 neck is easier to distinguish from the 901 neck due to the back plate on the neck with the Yanagisawa logo on it which is present on the WO1 neck and not the 901 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.