YAMAHA YAS-280 Saxophones Student Alto saxophones, C key, gold

Our daughter is in the high school band. She had a middle-priced sax for years, but parts kept breaking. So we purchased this one. What an upgrade! She loves the sound, ease of use, every note on point. Yamaha doesn't disappoint. Wish we would have purchased it long time ago.

Excellent build quality, great intonation and a joy to play. A great horn for beginners or experienced players. Yamaha is a world leader in saxophones - I am very happy with this excellent alto saxophone. Highly recommend it, it is worth the price.

I bought the cheapest one available on Amazon at $850 list but after taxes, shipping, and excise fees it was closer to $1100. Still the cheapest option for this sax on Amazon at the time and probably not available anymore at that price. I think it came all the way from a vendor in England! When I first ordered it was out of stock and I to wait a few weeks for it to be restocked, so I guess this is recently manufactured and not old stock that was sitting around. The box arrived in Yamaha packaging (not Amazon boxing!) That was a little disconcerting because they left it at my front door with pretty pictures of a sax on the box! I'm lucky it wasn't stolen! Anyway, the box was right side up, unblemished and free of dents. A good sign!Unboxing required removal of many small pieces of cork from the key mechanisms. Some of them were hard to spot and hard to remove. I used wooden chopsticks to avoid scratching the finish which was quite shiny and unblemished. But I did miss a few corks at first which prevented some keys from working. So it's easy to understand why some reviewers might have thought their horn was defective.Once all the keys were freed the horn plays quite nicely through all registers with smooth easy non-clacky action and easy sounding of all notes top to bottom. I did notice while using an online tuner that it was difficult to push the mouthpiece in far enough to get it perfectly in tune. The online tuner said it was 6 cents flat. I'm not too concerned because with a brand new mouthpiece and cork the fit is quite tight and should loosen up a bit with continued use. Or it might just be my embouchure needs tightening.Compared to my 1970's vintage YAS-23 the horn seems a little lighter and the metal seems a bit thinner. The sound seems a little thinner too. But this horn has a high F# key which the YAS-23 lacks. And the action is less clacky.Overall I am quite pleased/relieved that this horn is perfectly acceptable for my needs. It should satisfy any amateur for many years.(By the way, mine DID include a neckstrap. Also included cork grease, polishing cloth, neck cap, mouthpiece, and a 2.5 strength Rico reed. I think most beginners would do better with a 2.0 or even a 1.5 but that's nitpicking. Most glaring omission is the lack of a spit swab on a weighted string. Every player needs one of those!)UPDATE ALMOST FIVE YEARS LATER:I still love this sax. I've had it servced twice in the past five years. The service shop says I should actually get it serviced at least once a year if not more. Kind of like going to the dentist for a cleaning. It's had no major problems. The neck cork did start to chip away and that was easily replaced. I had a couple of pads replaced but most of them are original. The thing is that when you let it go without service it gradually develops slight leaks that you may not even notice until you get it back from service and it sounds so much tighter and better. My tech guy says the pros get their horns serviced every six months or even every four months!Aside from service issues, I think the only fault I might find with the horn is that the high register keys, when you get up into the E, F and F#, they are a little awkward. Like coming down from F# to F, E, Eb (using the side keys not the fron F), those are a little cramped and clunky. Or maybe I'm just a klutz. But hey, even Bird didn't play above high D that often.Everyone tells me my tone is great. Its just a nice clear sounding horn. I've compared it to the higher priced Yahamas and they do sound a little richer, I think they have more brass. But for my purposes i still love this horn.I do recommend upgrading the mouthpiece when you're ready. Maybe get an Otto Link instead of the included Yamaha 4C which is a pretty bland sounding mouthpiece.

very nice piece. good packing.

great! My son loves too much!

BUYER BEWARE!!These are not certified Yamaha sellers. If you have ANY issues with your saxophone, you will not get help through Yamaha or through the sellers here. Sadly, I had issues with my YAS-280 Saxophone and I’m stuck with it. If you are serious about learning the instrument and don’t want to waste your time and money, buy somewhere else and buy insurance for your instrument.

I was waiting to review this item after a couple of months in high school marching band. We only made it 1 month!.Let me start by saying the 280 plays beautifully. I did a lot of research and visited several music store to see this instrument and others in person. He was able to hold them and played them. I landed on the 280 as his upgrade sax.Of course I came to Amazon to purchase as it was upwards of $1000 cheaper than music stores locally. However, they offered free repairs especially if you financed so it was a trade off. I was prepared to pay for any repairs down the line. However, I did not think it would be so many so soon.2 weeks in the octave key was off the hole and had to be adjusted. Only $10. Now 2 lower keys are sticking. But the real reason for lowered rating is the mouthpiece. I've attached pics and I'm just floored. When he called from practice I expected a chip. But this is a giant chunk. Absolutely worthless!. Have contacted seller for a replacement. Temporarily using mouthpiece from beginner sax which cost only $285.00 and came with a complete beginners' kit. He's had it 3 years!!Depending on contact with seller I will finalize review.UPDATE:Contact with seller was easy peasy and they sent a replacement mouthpiece ASAP. I really appreciate the no hassle replacement and expediency. My son loves the new instrument. Upgrading to 4 stars. I can't give 5 stars because others come with a complete starter kit. I've had to buy better cork grease and cleaning items.