Yamaha YTS-82 Z 03 Tenor Sax

I play in a local jazz band and occasionally at festivals but most of the time, especially lately I croon away at home. I own a very old 50s sax (a King Zephyr) that has its foibles but sounds fantastic and an old Trevor James Classic, reliable but slightly clunky and not without its idiosyncrasies. Having had experience with other Yamaha instruments in terms of reliability, ease of playing (I have small hands) and excellent tuning I decided to buy my definitive working sax. I was blown away by how easy this sax is to play! On my horns so far I have always had some difficulty with the sub-tones especially in the low C sharp (when I could actually play one without the key sticking that is) b and b flat. On this instrument I can get a variety of subtle and quiet colours out of it without having to struggle, brace myself and greatly adjust my embouchure beforehand -and in all registers. Altissimo also pops out really easily athough up to now I have not been a great fan of practising in this region and the tuning is impeccable. Also having done the typical mouthpiece shopping up and down that saxophonists tend to be prone to over the years I found that the 5CM mouthpiece that came with it is fantastic be it with a 2.5 Leger or 3 Hemke or Rico Royal. The case is rather large and bulky but protects the instrument and the catches are decent. I recommend this horn even though a little pricey it will probably last me a very long time.