The Accessible Digital Saxophone
The Yamaha YDS-120 is an excellent place to start if you’ve always wanted to try your hand at saxophone. It’s affordable and very accessible. You can play the YDS-120 anywhere, at any time. Late-night sessions without disturbing others? No problem! With 15-step volume adjustment and high-quality samples of 73 instruments, including 56 soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxes, you’re in command — and you’ll always sound great. While not a replacement for acoustic saxophones, the Yamaha YDS-120 is designed to go where no traditional horn can. It runs on USB power or four AAA batteries, so you can connect with software or go busking in the park. This innovative instrument blurs the line between organic and synthetic, providing the best of both worlds by delivering Yamaha’s advanced digital sound with the tactile playing feel of familiar sax fingering. Ready for a fresh, new woodwind experience? Check out the Yamaha YDS-120 from Sweetwater!
Note: A USB power source or batteries are not included with your purchase of the YDS-120. Please contact your Sweetwater Sales Engineer with any questions.
Related Videos: YDS-120 Digital Saxophone
An easy way to slide into saxophone
The YDS-120 doesn’t require reeds or embouchure technique (that’s how saxophonists shape their throat, mouth, and lips to vary their tone and add expression to their sound). If you haven’t played a woodwind instrument, the YDS-120 will, however, help you to develop your breath control. You’ll become familiar with the feel of its genuine Yamaha mouthpiece. Without a reed, it’s more akin to blowing into a recorder. With your breath and the instrument’s breath sensor and analog controller, the YDS-120 gives you unfettered freedom of expression. You’ll also learn sax fingering. The YDS-120 has an authentic saxophone key layout with high F# and Front F keys, plus the low A key you’ll find on baritone saxes. This will make it easier to transition to an acoustic sax later. One of the advantages of the YDS-120 over acoustic saxes is having access to the full range of the saxophone family from bari to soprano — plus 17 other great-sounding instruments to boot! For composing, you can use the micro USB port for connecting to music software on your computer or smartphone. It also includes a headphone terminal and an Aux in jack for playing along with your favorite tunes.
Great for learning and having fun!
While the YDS-120 is no substitute for an actual saxophone, it does provide an easy entry point for the sax-curious musician who is not ready or willing to take the plunge into the endless complexities of embouchure, mouthpieces, reeds, and ligatures. Yamaha, in its wisdom, gave the YDS-120 a standard saxophone key layout. That gives it a major advantage over other digital wind instruments with seemingly arbitrary proprietary key layouts. Based on Yamaha’s own world-class saxophones, the YDS-120 key layout is great for learning sax fingering. Once you master it, you can transfer your fingering skills to any saxophone, and already knowing the fingering will free you to concentrate on developing your embouchure. The YDS-120 is also perfect for just having fun. For the musically inclined, gatherings with family and friends are always more fun when creative musical interaction is involved. With its built-in speaker and 56 voices for soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones, the YDS-120 is the life of the party when you’re jamming with friends!
Yamaha YDS-120 Features:
- 15-step volume adjustment
- Headphone terminal, Aux in jack
- 73 voices, including 56 for saxophone
- Same key layout as an acoustic saxophone
- Specially designed mouthpiece
- Breath sensor that detects your breath pressure
- Analog controller for added expression
- Compatible with Yamaha’s dedicated YDS Controller app
- Power source: USB (micro USB type-B) or batteries (4 AAA batteries)
