The Power of Alchemy: Yanagisawa’s Dazzling Silver Sonic Alto
Every once in a while, a saxophone comes along that blows you away. The Yanagisawa A-WO37 Silver Sonic Elite professional alto saxophone is such an instrument. While gorgeous visuals, flawless playability, and rich tone are to be expected in a Yanagisawa horn, the A-WO37 takes it all to the next level. Yanagisawa is known for leveraging the unique sonic qualities of different metals in its saxophone designs. Many Yanagisawa players have graduated from brass to the mellower sound of bronze. Fewer, however, have experienced playing one of the company’s top-of-the-line horns made of solid silver. With its sterling silver neck, body, bow, and bell, the A-WO37 delivers a lush, expansive sound with a room-filling breadth and a zesty high-end zing accentuated by the horn’s metal resonators. Handmade to order by Yanagisawa artisans, the A-WO37 is a masterpiece of form, function, and sound. If you’re ready for a truly exquisite professional alto saxophone, your Yanagisawa A-WO37 Silver Sonic awaits.
Advanced design and innovation
Resplendent in gleaming sterling silver and gold, the Yanagisawa A-WO37 Silver Sonic Elite alto sax exhibits the felicitous blend of advanced design and proprietary innovations that sets Yanagisawa’s saxophones apart from the pack. As with all Yanagisawa horns, outstanding build quality is baked in, with precision keywork, immediate responsiveness, and consistent intonation across all registers. This scrupulous attention to detail produces an exceptional instrument that faithfully conveys every nuance of expression in your performances, whether you’re finessing an adagio passage or chasin’ the Trane.
Ergonomic and sonic perfection
Professional saxophones should emphasize the individuality of the player, enhancing the myriad of playing techniques, from embouchure to fingering, that collectively produce your inimitable sound and define who you are as an artist. Yanagisawa WO37 series instruments represent the apotheosis of modern saxophone design. As accessible as it is exceptional, the Yanagisawa A-WO37 Silver Sonic is an ideal professional alto saxophone. In your hands, you will find the A-WO37 feels just right. Whether you’re finessing an adagio line or firing off a volley of notes, you’ll appreciate the fluid, synergistic response of this superb horn as your fingertips savor the luxurious feel of its elegant genuine mother-of-pearl key touches. Sonically, you’ll be rewarded with a commanding tone and strong projection, making this horn ideal for jazz, classical, and any other genre.
The benefits of ribbed body construction
Yanagisawa’s Elite models feature fully ribbed construction. Integrating the multiple key posts into a single plate — as opposed to soldering them directly to the body of the saxophone — ribbed construction gives the tube higher mass (and hence, more rigidity and durability), requiring somewhat more effort from the player. While added mass implies a slightly heavier instrument, it pays back dividends in the form of increased tonal depth and richness. Ribbed construction makes the horn blow with moderate resistance while delivering a solid fundamental with rich tonal color. For experienced intermediate and pro saxophonists with a more developed embouchure and sound concept, it’s a definite advantage. Although ribbed construction typically presents a slightly increased initial resistance, it effectively gives you another level of resonance — an extra “gear,” if you will — to blow through for additional dynamic range and expression. Simply put, you can push your Yanagisawa A-WO37 further, and it will go exactly where you want it to go.
Well-designed mechanisms working together harmoniously
With a complex instrument like a saxophone, many mechanisms have to work together harmoniously to deliver superior tone, ergonomics, and versatility. To that end, the A-WO37 incorporates exclusive Yanagisawa innovations such as a fluororesin-sleeved octave rocker, which eliminates extraneous motion with rounded rocker ends and a fluororesin coating on the receiving sleeves they contact. This high-tech, non-stick coating delivers reliable action without the excessive stickiness buildup that can plague standard octave key mechanisms. As soon as your fingers alight on the keys, another thing you’ll notice is the innovative seesaw linkage between the C# and Bb table keys, which incorporates a proprietary slider mechanism to enable faster, smoother fingering technique.
Enhanced performance, precision, and reliability
Even under the hood, the A-WO37 Silver Sonic Elite alto is packed with Yanagisawa innovations that enhance performance and long-term durability. A hidden advantage of the A-WO37 is its pointed pivot screws, which increase precision and reliability by ensuring an accurate fit for the center arms and hinge rods. The A-WO37’s sealed, waterproof pads provide a leak-free, airtight fit while facilitating balanced action and extended service life. Metal resonators (“tone boosters”) are fitted for a big, bright, and assertive tone that brings your notes to life. For faster action and better control over challenging passages, Yanagisawa uses blue-steel needle springs — the professional standard for durable, perfectly tensioned keywork. This punctilious attention to detail results in a masterful instrument that will go the distance in your career and advance your ongoing development as an artist.
A design as beautiful as it is masterful
Aside from its delicately hand-engraved bell, other readily apparent high-end features of the Yanagisawa A-WO37 Silver Sonic Elite alto include its key touches, which are concavely shaped for a more natural finger fit. They’re surfaced with genuine mother-of-pearl, which looks amazing and wicks away moisture more effectively than commonly used plastic — something you’ll definitely appreciate toward the end of a long set under hot stage lights. More utilitarian, but nevertheless performance critical, are the metal thumb hook and the brass thumb rest, which are designed to make minimal point contact with the body to enhance resonance while allowing for smoother response and optimized tonal balance.
Handcrafted in Japan
Based in Tokyo, the Yanagisawa Wind Instrument Company is a boutique shop specializing in one product: handmade professional saxophones designed to exceed the expectations of the most demanding players. Combining old-world craftsmanship with cutting-edge design and performance features, Yanagisawa instruments are among the highest-quality professional saxophones available today, and Sweetwater is proud to offer you their distinguished line of fine musical instruments. If you’re a saxophonist looking to upgrade to a world-class professional instrument, you can feel confident in your step up to Yanagisawa quality.
Yanagisawa A-WO37 Silver Sonic Elite Professional Alto Saxophone Features:
- Sterling silver neck, body, bow, and bell
- Upper and lower rib-mounted stack posts
- Ergonomically optimized keywork
- High F# key
- Contoured independent palm keys
- Metal thumb hook and brass thumb rest
- Fluororesin-sleeved octave rocker
- Seesaw C#–Bb table key linkages with proprietary slider mechanism
- F auxiliary and low C# mechanism
- Adjustable vibration-damping bar
- Blue-steel needle springs
- Pointed pivot screws
- Sealed, waterproof pads with metal tone boosters
- Indented mother-of-pearl key touches
- Dual-arm low B and C prevent larger key cups from flexing
- Tri-point bell-bow brace
- Elegant hand engraving
- Ebonite mouthpiece, cap, ligature, and case included
- Handcrafted in Japan
