Yanagisawa AKZ2 Bronze Alto Saxophone Neck

Boost your Yanagisawa's tone with this AKZ Bronze neck

It's great to see a new product from Yanagisawa as their brand really is at the forefront of saxophone players' minds worldwide and you can bet that anything new they bring out will be worthy of their name.  These necks are compatible with all Yanagisawa saxophones, whether it's the original 900 series or the current WO series.

New from Yanagisawa, AKz necks are optional alto sax neck pipes that feature two newly designed front-mounted plates to deliver a powerful sound and quick response.  Available in three finishes - brass (AKz1), bronze (AKz2), and solid silver (AKz3), players can expect an exciting and free-flowing playing sensation with additional controllability

Staff review

I was immediately curious to try these out as I have an A901 that's nearly 2 decades old and I figured that it could be an interesting upgrade from the standard brass neck that comes with the instrument.  I found that the difference between the KZ brass neck and my original was minimal, but still there.  A touch more compactness in the sound and perhaps some extra weight tonally.  With the KZ bronze, the sound took on a few more tonal nuances - definitely more projection and a stronger core.  When it came to the pricey one in solid silver, the sound became richer with more of a full spectrum of overtones from the low frequencies to the high.  When I pushed it there was more scope for increasing the volume and with that came an emphasis on the higher frequencies.  Also, when trying to handle the quieter stuff I found that the solid silver neck stood out as the one that allowed me to cleanly articulate with ease.  All three necks slotted perfectly into the receiver in my Yani and tightened just to the right degree - brilliant!  If you want to make the upgrade you can do so without any fuss at all!

Jim Cheek