How the Best Saxophones in the World are Made - Yanagisawa

[Music] I asked if I can get one of those shirts  because I think they're cool then I asked if I   could work in a factory and they just laughed can  I work in a Factory he thinks I'm joking you have   to work hard they're gonna think Americans have  what it takes especially Americans that live   in France [Music] ah look at this this one yeah  I'm ready to work in the factory everyone knows   they make a lot of amazing stuff in Japan some  of the world's best cars cameras and consumer   electronics are made here but did you know that  they also excel in making musical instruments   including my favorite one the saxophone I went  to Tokyo to find out how the Japanese managed   to make some of the finest saxophones and other  musical instruments in the world but when I got   there I learned some things I just did not expect  luckily I had a friend living in Tokyo who came   along with me to help translate this is Tomo  my friend from New York Queens College we went   and bought saxophones together great arranger  great saxophone player and a really great guy That's Hidemasa, the Yanagisawa factory manager  picking this up he's going to show us all around   for years I have played on the Japanese made  Yanigasawa saxophones and have always wanted to   visit their factory to see where the magic happens  so what does it say Yanagisawa Sax and flute with   the same logo today we're going to see exactly  what they do there that makes their saxophones   so special across the section in this section  of the factory skilled workers are preparing   saxophone body tubes bows and bells to be  assembled later on these body tubes were   cut from sheets of brass bronze and silver  and then bent into the cone shapes you see   here the bells and bows start out as two separate  halves that get soldered together watch our friend   here first attach this baritone saxophone  body tube together at a few spots [Music] later on these tubes will get  completely soldered together neatly One thing that is striking about  the Yanagisawa process is that so   much is done by hand without the  aid of high-tech machines [Music]   these bells need to get properly shaped  the process begins with a Sharpie marker   followed by this interesting technique talk about low-tech this simple device allows the  operator to be at the proper height for the job this machine is precisely trimming off  excess metal from these alto saxophone bows   time for another one I hope you're enjoying  learning about how saxophones are made so far   if so all I ask is that you click that like  button that you subscribe to the channel and   that you go visit bettersax.com to learn about  our fantastic saxophone courses to help you   become a better saxophone player as well as  our instruments mouthpieces and accessories   that we make specially for saxophonists designed  by saxophonists it's your support that allows us   to continue making great content like this on  YouTube before we can move on to the next step   the body tube bells and bows need to be smoothed  out to remove the soldered joints and any tool   markings today this worker is doing baritone  saxophone Bells while this one is doing Altos these are finished and ready for the next step bet  you've never seen so many bari sax bells [Music]   once the body tube is soldered together and  properly prepared it's time to make the tone   holes in order for them to be round we start  by cutting these oval shapes into the body   tube this soprano saxophone body is on a device  that has precisely shaped metal tools inside it   one end of this device screws into the threaded  tools and the other is used to pull them out the tone holes are drawn in sections  using these fitted metal guides   the result is perfectly round tone  holes each at a precise diameter   for some of the smaller tone holes the  process is done with hand tools [Music] the saxophone necks get heated up red hot to   soften the metal in order to  bend them into this odd shape they get their final form from a  high pressure hydraulic blast of oil pretty crazy right this very old Yanagisawa  saxophone on the wall serves as an example   of what a finished product should look like for  factory workers who may only be familiar with the   individual parts they work with the next step in  our saxophone building process is attaching the   posts and ribs to the body these are the parts  that hold the key mechanisms in place that metal   jig allows the worker to solder each part onto  the body in exactly the right spot every time   it's a delicate operation requiring just the  right amount of flux solder heat and timing this worker is soldering palm key  posts onto a baritone saxophone body   those burnt looking keys are  acting as placeholder guides   I found this amusing these soft Hello Kitty  bags are used to prevent the baritone saxophone   bodies from hitting each other so behind me  these Yanagisawa technicians are putting keys   on the bodies fitting the bells and the bows  together it's fascinating how fast they work   I'm also fascinated about how quiet it is in here  I'm whispering this worker is precisely fitting   keys to this particular alto saxophone if you've  ever owned a Yanagisawa you may have noticed how   perfectly their keys fit between the posts with  no excess movement so here we're putting together   sets of keys for saxophones some of these drawers  you see that's all G Sharp keys this is all side   B flat keys each Yanagisawa saxophone gets its  own set of keys assigned to it that once fitted   stay with the instrument throughout the rest  of the building process this brass bow is being   attached to this solid silver alto sax body in  preparation for key fitting you may have noticed   that the engraving has already been done on these  bells I'll show you that process in a minute   this technician is aligning the Bell to the body  you'll notice that the saxophone has not yet been   buffed or lacquered he needs to get everything  fitting perfectly before those steps are done   in this section of the factory they are  making the key posts by hand most saxophone   manufacturers they're going to just order these  posts pre-made somewhere else Yanagisawa needs   to make sure that every one is up to their level  of quality so they do it in house now look every   one of these drawers has a different type of  custom made in house key posts that then get   sent down to the other room for the assembly  and there's like a million different things   there are vending machines everywhere in Tokyo  like everywhere you look there's vending machines   here we have to put on slippers not sure where  we're going but I'm getting my slippers on part   of this feels like a factory part of it  also feels like I'm in somebody's house here it's the engraving section oh this is my  favorite part okay so I'm in the engraving room   again you gotta whisper because this place is  really quiet first the design is drawn on with   this crayon today they're working on sopranos  then the engraving is done entirely by hand this is the master engraver who did  the custom engraving of my TWO33 tenor   saxophone he's in charge of all the elite  solid silver models that Yanagisawa makes   this Factory is spread out across a few  different buildings in a residential   neighborhood in Tokyo we're now  headed to the buffing section after the engraving all the bodies and keys  need to be cleaned up smoothed and prepared   for lacquering it's a noisy and dirty job  each of those trays of keys have been marked   with the serial number of the saxophone body  they have already been precisely fitted to next step is lacquering we couldn't go in  that room without the proper protection of   course but you can see these bronze Alto necks  getting a clear coat of lacquer sprayed on these sets of keys have been lacquered and are now  getting wiped down and inspected for any blemishes   now we are in the pre-assembly section before the  saxophones get put together the keys are prepped   this is like cutting the vegetables before  you begin cooking this worker is putting a   carefully measured quantity of shellac into each  pad cup and installing its pad remember these keys   have been dry fit to their matched saxophone  body this process is part of why Yanagisawas   come so well set up from the factory and stay  well set up for years with minimal maintenance these workers are installing pre-cut corks on  the keys Yanagisawa uses a mixture of natural   cork synthetic Cork and felt because different  Keys require different amounts and densities   of cushion this worker is installing the  octave key on a soprano saxophone neck   first she puts some grease in both ends of the  hinge tubing then she installs the hinge rod   wipes off the excess and finally she  uses a gauge to align the key perfectly now our saxophones are ready for the most  important section of the factory the final   assembly saxophones have so many moving parts  that if the mechanisms aren't properly set up to   exacting standards the instrument just won't play  well and it won't stay in adjustment for very long   it's the work done in this room that really sets  Yanagisawa apart from other brands each station is   responsible for one task and each saxophone is  assembled in the same order this saxophone has   the right hand keys installed this one has the  right and left hand keys installed this one has   those plus the side keys this one has the palm  keys as well this one has the octave key on it   this one has had the bell attached and this  one has the low E flat and C Keys installed now it's time for the final check these finished saxophones get carried two  at a time down the street to the warehouse   for packing at this point in our visit I realized  there was something missing this whole time we're   in this incredibly quiet factory and I haven't  once heard the sound of a saxophone playing so   I asked where is the saxophone testing section  and Hidemasa answered me somewhat embarrassed   we don't play test the saxophones of course  my head explodes it's big mess I have to put   everything back together Yanagisawa produces  what are widely considered the most consistent   and well set up saxophones anywhere in the world  they are so confident in their process and system   that they don't need to test them before  sending them out to the customers that   right there says everything you need to know  about Yanagisawa as a company and culture I   realized that this video may come across as  some kind of advertisement for Yanagisawa   but it's not I paid for the whole trip to  Japan myself Yanagisawa just picked me up   at the hotel and they bought me lunch  which was nice and if you love learning   about how other saxophone stuff is made you're  really going to enjoy this video watch it next [Music]

Channel: Better Sax

Views: 186,733

Keywords: bettersax, better sax, jay metcalf, saxophone, sax, sax lessons, learn saxophone, how to play sax, alto sax, tenor sax, sax player, sax teacher, saxophone tutorial, saxophone lesson, yanagisawa, yanagisawa factory, yanagisawa factory tour, how saxophones are made, making saxophones, instrument making, how to make a saxophone, yamaha, selmer, best saxophone in the world, japanese saxophone, made in japan, how it's made

Id: wZvN4fA9h7M

Length: 13min 53sec (833 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 13 2023