Vital Stats
Introduced: late 1994.
Discontinued: late 1997.
Available Pitches: Eb alto, Bb tenor.
Available Finishes: Silver plate, lacquer, black lacquer.
Available sterling silver necks. Available gold-plated necks.
Brief Model Notes
The μ (pronounced “Mu” and sometimes rendered as “u”) was Yanagisawa’s attempt to move and resize toneholes to create a better sax. Whatever Yani learned from this project was rolled into the 901 and 991.
As far as I’ve been able to determine, the μ was only available in alto and tenor. If you have a different pitch and it has “901μ” or “990μ” stamped near the serial number, please drop me a line. I’d love to see pictures.
Serial Number Information
For the majority of horns, you’ll see a serial number starting with “00” that does not have an embedded date. Check out my thread on the Woodwind Forum for these serial numbers and some odd ones that I’ve found.
Additional Pictures
My Galleries
A-990μ black lacquer from kwtucker @ flickr
A-990μ lacquer, sn 00197281 from kendukendu @ photobucket
A-990μ lacquer, sn unk from John Geers’s (saintsday) @ photobucket
