An enhanced saxophone design for today's professional.

The Yamaha YAS-875EX, popularly known as the Custom EX, the YAS-875EX has a sweet and focused timbre with easy intonation that is perfect for sectional blending. Its stress-free keywork and low-register playability make it an outstanding horn for jazz soloing, and a solid feel with quick and nimble action make it a great horn for any working musician. At home with all kinds of music, the YAS-875EX is a perfect canvas for painting your own tonal colors. It has a wide dynamic range, excellent projection and an authoritative sound with a well-defined core.

Design and construction elements

The 875EX is constructed of imported French brass, a lighter alloy than the annealed yellow brass used in the YAS-62III. It features fully ribbed construction, with wider ribs than either of its sister horns, making for deeper vibrations and a darker tonal profile. It has a hand-hammered body, bell and neck, and its new engraving design is likewise done by hand, instilling an enchanting unrepeatability into each instrument.

Relative to the original Yamaha Custom alto, the size and shape of the Custom EX yellow brass key buttons have been changed to what for many is a better feel. The key buttons themselves are best-quality mother of pearl, which adds to the instrument’s striking appearance and satisfying action. The new Yamaha TE1 neck design enhances the horn’s tonal resonance and offers a quicker, more comfortable response. The neck’s core tone is compact with great projection.

Free-blowing feel, fully adjustable

The Yamaha YAS-875EX has an even bore, which contributes to its free-blowing feel, and its two-point bell brace makes for better efficiency. Hard steel springs offer a fast, sensitive key response. Many players are delighted at how accessible challenging passages suddenly become with the Custom EX alto saxophone.

Multiple key posts are integrated into a single plate, which lends the horn moderate resistance while at the same time delivering a solid core with deep tone color. It has an adjustable Front F key along with a high F# key and an adjustable thumb rest. The adjustable Front F gives the player freedom to find the optimal level of resistance in the altissimo range. Yamaha’s design and manufacturing experience and expertise reflect the best in modern musical instrument manufacturing, and all of it is present in the YAS-875EX.

Extras with the YAS-875EX

The YAS-875EX comes in a slim, lightweight case with backpack straps and a shoulder strap, and includes a hard rubber Yamaha mouthpiece. It also comes with a quality ligature and care products.