Celebrating 10 Years of Yamaha’s Iconic Custom Z Saxes

The Custom Z series of saxophones encompasses years of painstaking dedication to developing instruments that give players the expressive qualities and reliability that modern sax players need. Developed by Yamaha’s dedicated team of saxophone designers, these craftsmen know the instrument inside out and have used this knowledge, along with Yamaha’s unrivalled global network of artist Ateliers, to bring the Custom Z sax series to the forefront.

In the last few years, we have seen the Custom Z series change and the YSS-82Z Custom Z soprano sax was the catalyst for this re-development and is also the newest addition to our soprano range.

With its one-piece neck-through-bell design, this soprano sax has a direct and powerful sound and is famous for its outstanding response, tonal flexibility and evenness throughout the registers. Favoured by many of the world’s top professional saxophoninsts, this really is a soprano that gives players great musical expression and is becoming a legend in its own right.

2013 has seen the re-development of the Custom Z series go further. Refined in almost every aspect, the newest additions are the alto (YAS-82Z) and tenor (YTS-82Z).  These instruments have been looked at in detail and the changes that have been made have made a huge impact on the way the instrument plays and feels.

A saxophone that gives players the maximum freedom of expression, the new 82Z alto and tenors have a one piece hand hammered bell that gives flexibility throughout the range. Now supplied with a V1 neck which gives an open more expressive sound, the low B-C# connection has also been improved and the new lighter thumb hook and rest gives the instrument better response and a more cohesive tone.

Also featured on the new alto and tenor saxes is a complete re-design of the engraving. Yamaha made a major departure in terms of engraving and the engraving on these instruments is themed on flowers, from around the world.

We asked a weaver and dyer who also played the saxophone to create a design. What we got back was a design with motifs of lilies, night-blooming cacti, trumpet vine, and anemone. The engraver cut the pattern into the body, picking motifs while looking at actual examples.

After settling on the design, we began an iterative process of engraving and improving, engraving and improving, making minute changes to aspects such as the angles of a flower’s petals or the shape of its stalk. The result features a more detailed artistry than ever before, with the engraving expressing a sophisticated informality.

This attention to detail is something that epitomizes the Custom Z sax range during its 10 year history. When launched in 2003, it made huge waves in the sax playing world and set new standards in playability and quality. During its 10 year history, the series has been coveted by professional and amateur sax players alike.

Incepted with the intention of building on Yamaha’s already highly regarded 62 series and the original 875, the Custom Z surpassed everyone’s expectations for playability, quality and expressiveness and with the new range, this has taken the reputation of Yamaha saxophones to the next level.

These are truly remarkable saxophones. To see, hear and feel how special these instruments are, speak to your local sax specialist and test the complete line up of Custom Z saxes today!