The Yamaha YDS-150 digital saxophone is a unique, state-of-the-art wind synth that combines an acoustic sax playing experience with the endless possibilities of a powerful Yamaha sound engine. It all starts with a specially designed mouthpiece that will feel comfortable for sax players while remaining accessible to every musician, as it requires no embouchure technique. On the other end is a brass bell with an inset speaker that works in tandem with one in the neck to generate resonance and project a surprisingly natural sound. In between, Yamaha has paid meticulous attention to the keywork, which features a standard saxophone layout complete with a single octave key and front F, high F#, and low A keys. The robust soundset includes soprano, alto, tenor, and bari saxes, plus a selection of premium synth sounds. Voices are easily selected right on the instrument, and you can edit sounds and effects, change transposition, assign custom altissimo fingerings; set volume, pitch bend and other MIDI parameters, save presets, and more with a dedicated app running on your smart device, which pairs with the YDS-150 via Bluetooth.Yamaha is one of the premier makers of both saxophones and synthesizers, so it comes as no surprise that the YDS-150 not only plays like a sax — it also sounds like one. Onboard are full-scale samples of real soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxes painstakingly recorded in whole tones played by professional saxophonists, as well as cutting-edge synth sounds. The four sax categories are further broken up into subcategories that allow you to select sounds optimized for any and all genres, with full tonality, range, and timbre control. In all, there are 73 Voices onboard, including 56 saxes. Changing from, say, a soprano to an alto is effortless, as the key range is set appropriately for Bb and Eb instruments. And as you’ll probably prefer your synth sounds in concert pitch, the key of C will also sync automatically with those voices when selected. Octave assignments are automatic as well. Play a Bb on soprano, switch to baritone, and that same Bb will voice an octave lower.

FEATURES

• Key: Eb, Bb, C (automatic sync with selected voice)
• Custom mouthpiece with synthetic reed for authentic saxophone feel
• Brass bell, made of the same material used on Yamaha acoustic saxes
• Integrated Bell Acoustic System for natural sax resonance
• Standard saxophone key layout
• Front F, high F#, low A keys; octave key
• 73 Voices, including 56 saxes and 17 synths
• Sax Voices (soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone)
• Sax variations cover all genres, with full tonality, range, and timbre control
• Dedicated app for editing, saving sounds, and more
• Headphone jack (stereo mini)
• Aux input (stereo mini; functional only when using headphones)
• Micro USB-to-Host port
• Operates on 4 AAA batteries or via USB
• Sturdy strap connector
• Included mouthpiece, synthetic reed, ligature, mouthpiece cap, soft case, and strap