Yanagisawa Custom “Smile” Alto Sax Ligature

Yanagisawa Custom “Smile” Alto Sax Ligature
for Hard Rubber Alto Sax Mouthpieces

Yanagisawa is known among the saxophone community as one of, if not the finest saxophone maker there is. Their dedication to craftsmanship is paramount in everything that they make. That dedication is evident in the new Yanagisawa Custom “Smile” Alto Sax Ligature for hard rubber alto sax mouthpieces.

The new design reintroduces a special brass alloy that was first introduced in the “Yanagisawa Special” ligatures in 1997. This allow gives great strength to the ligature and is now combined with a higher performance design than ever before. The new design features 4 elliptical reed contact points to minimize the impact of the ligature on the reed, allowing for improved vibration and response. Additionally, the new ligature has been designed at the top of the mouthpiece specially to not scratch your mouthpiece!  To finish it off, Yanagisawa has created a beautifully elegant design with a side profile designed to emulate a ship’s sail representing the air flow & speed occurring when you play.

Made in Japan – Gold Plated

Why is called “Smile”?
In integrating a version of the letter Y in the center of the ligature (which is a throwback to the previous Yanagisawa Special ligatures) and the top 2 contact points, you can clearly see the smiley face in the ligature! Plus, when you actually test play the ligature, we’re pretty sure you’re going to smile as well!

Mouthpiece Cap Options
Yanagisawa does not include a cap with the new ligature. They do offer a custom made white cap that can be added on or purchased as an accessory.

YANY
Yanagisawa marks these new ligatures with a new “YANY” stamp. Many customers ask us what this stands for, so we asked Yanagisawa directly. For decades, customers would shorten the name Yanagisawa and pronounce it “yah-NEE” but spell it “Yani”. However, in Japan, the phrase “Yani” is associated with Tobacco. So Yanagisawa has officially declared “Yany” (with the Y at the end) as the official spelling for the shortened phrase of it’s brand name.