{"id":1004,"date":"2015-01-18T00:24:12","date_gmt":"2015-01-18T00:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesax.info\/makesandmodelslist\/?p=1004"},"modified":"2020-01-26T15:33:23","modified_gmt":"2020-01-26T15:33:23","slug":"yanagisawa-500-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bassic-sax.info\/Pete\/makesandmodelslist\/yanagisawa-500-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Yanagisawa 500 Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

Vital Stats<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Introduced:<\/strong> Between 1978 and 1980.
\nDiscontinued:<\/strong> appx. 1990\/92.
\nAvailable Pitches:<\/strong> Eb alto, Bb tenor.
\nAvailable Finishes:<\/strong> Lacquer, silver plate.<\/p>\n

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Brief Model Notes<\/h2>\n

Ed Svoboda\u2019s original article calls the 500 series, \u201cYani\u2019s attempt to make a beginner\/intermediate horn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yanagisawa\u2019s official blurb<\/a> was: \u201cThis model has been developed as an ideal instrument for the beginner as well as the advanced player. The key positions are designed so that young players can play easily.\u201d All that\u2019s well and good, but a 1989 Howarth (a UK dealer) catalog<\/a> lists the prices as 772 Pounds Sterling for the alto and 805 Pounds Sterling for the tenor. That\u2019s about 1676 and 1747 Pounds Sterling in today\u2019s money.<\/a> Running it through the exchange calculator,<\/a> that\u2019s $2863 US and $2985 US, respectively. That\u2019s not a \u201cbeginner\/intermediate\u201d price, even if you include all the bazillions of taxes in the UK.<\/p>\n

Doing a bit better reading of this article<\/a> \u2014 hey, I can\u2019t read Japanese, so I have to go by Google Translate \u2014 it looks like the A-50 and T-50 were cheaper in Japan. If I\u2019m reading it right, the A-50 was \u00a5149,000 vs. \u00a5235,000 for the A-80. Going through the same conversions as in the previous paragraph, that\u2019s a shade under $1900 and a shade under $3000, respectively. I still think $1900 is a bit high for a student\/beginner model, but the article goes on to say that you\u2019d get (translated and transliterated):<\/p>\n

While the horn is a beginner\/intermediate model, it had features beyond the Yamaha beginner\/intermediate models, such as an adjustable thumbrest (ed. thanks to kymarto for explaining \u201cSam\u201d), adjustable bell-to-body brace so you could adjust your tone, etc.; a much more durable amino alkyd lacquer (ed. looks like that\u2019s a baked-on lacquer<\/a>, vs. Yamaha\u2019s sprayed-on lacquer), and many more minor improvements.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The article I generally use for Yani history<\/a> says that these horns were introduced in 1980 and I\u2019ve seen the above mentioned price-list was from 1989, so I\u2019d say the horns were around from 1980 to at least 1989, but probably until the introduction of the 900 Series in 1992. However, I can accept an introduction year as early as 1978, as all the articles agree that Yani started \u201cproudly\u201d engraving their name on the bell in 1978. I think it\u2019d be a bit logical for the 500 to be introduced at the same time.<\/p>\n

The typical way of telling a 500 from an 800 or 880 is to look for the stainless steel springs used on the horn rather than the blued springs used on the higher end models of this time period. (Source: Ed Svoboda\u2019s original Yanagisawa article.) Of course, a lot of 800s and 880s have \u201c800\u201d or \u201c880\u201d stamped on the body near the serial number. I also seriously doubt that there was a 500 Series Elimona model, so if you have the little \u201ccoin\u201d on the bell above the Yanagisawa name<\/a>, you don\u2019t have a 500.<\/p>\n

Also note that the A-500 and T-500 are NOT the same as the Dorado 500s. Those are 4 Series horns. It\u2019s confusing. Also, the keywork of the 500 did change a bit over the life of the series, so your A-500 might not look exactly<\/em> like someone else\u2019s. What also makes your life difficult is the fact that Yani decided not to mark the model name on these horns.<\/p>\n

New on Jan. 21, 2020:
\nI have gotten an awful lot of e-mails from folks trying to find out if they have a 6-Series, 500, or 800.  That’s a really, really difficult question to answer when the horn has a serial number that puts the horn from about 1977 to 1982.  Here are some notes:<\/p>\n