Brief Model Notes
I’ve heard some folks say that these horns are “exactly the same” as the 901/902/991/992/993x. Well, not quite. There are five changes for both the Professional and Elite models, which are detailed on Dave Kessler’s blog:
- Bore of the bell and bow.
- Brass and bronze composition.
- Front (altissimo) F key has a slight redesign.
- The right hand palm keys now have stops or “feet.”
- The Eb/C keys are slightly repositioned.
There are a couple more changes for the Professional models:
- Left hand palm keys are now plate construction, rather than post-on-body.
- Change to the neck construction to make it a bit heavier and more robust.
There’s also a new case for both models and the engraving is different.
Dave Kessler also makes a couple remarks about how some of the design changes are kind of “throwbacks” to the 800/880 series horns. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’d like some other companies to go back and use features they had on their older products.
Note that there are only straight soprano, alto, and tenor WO Series horns currently available as I update this page this (October 8, 2017). It also appears that several finish choices have made it onto several Yanagisawa websites, but they are either not yet available or they’re only custom order. Some of the websites I looked at had wait times of a few months for some models and finishes. Heck, Conn-Selmer doesn’t even have any WO Series horns listed on their website, yet.
I’ve also noted that the WO37 seems to always be pictured with over-the-top octave keys on the neck. I don’t know if this indicates anything. Hey, you might get both necks when you get a WO37.
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
