The consistent popularity and high quality of Yamaha wind instruments can be largely attributed to a design policy based on three main points.

The Yamaha “top-down” approach. No effort or expense is spared in producing the finest professional instruments possible. The know-how gained through years of experience is applied to high-quality, affordable intermediate and student model instruments.

Appropriate application of high-tech manufacturing and traditional craftsmanship. State-of-the-art manufacturing techniques are indispensable in many areas, but time-tested handcrafting methods are still unmatched when it comes to making truly “musical” instruments. Yamaha combines the best of both worlds to produce some of the finest instruments available.

Constant artist feedback. Yamaha maintains “Ateliers” in many of the world’s foremost cultural centers in order to keep the information flowing between Yamaha technicians and some of the greatest artists from a wide range of musical genres. Mutual cooperation of this kind makes it possible to produce instruments that satisfy even the most demanding players and artists.

Yamaha Flutes

Some Things Stand Apart from all Else

Yamaha flutes have developed over decades of cooperation between some of the world’s top flutists and Yamaha’s team of designers and artisans. Yamaha set out to create instruments with qualities capable of pleasing these great and demanding artists. Even the most inexpensive Yamaha flute can ultimately trace its origin back to the experiences and insights taken from some of the finest players of this century.

Yamaha Clarinets, A Voice of Nature

A fine clarinet has a voice rich with the beauty of nature: deep, full, round, resonant and alive. To make a fine clarinet like the world renowned V-series, it takes skill, patience, and wondrous wood. The wood Yamaha uses to produce its clarinets is dense, heavy grenadilla found in its highest purity in only two remote regions of Africa – and only in trees between 150 and 300 years old. To preserve a perfect balance of moisture in the grenadilla, it is aged through a rigorously controlled seasoning process. Only then is the wood given to Yamaha artisans to sculpt, refine, craft tone holes, and finally, to fit keys.

Yamaha Saxophones

Inspiring Instruments for Every Player

From baritone to soprano, from serious student to top-ranking artist, the Yamaha saxophone family offers a wide range of models that will do more than simply match the musical needs of a student or artist. Years of research go into every design, and some of the world’s finest players provide vital feedback leading to important innovations. By the time a Yamaha instrument is ready for market it has been imbued with stunning tone, impeccable intonation, dazzling response, and effortless playability. New in 2003 is the Z and EX series of professional saxophones. Improved versions of the proven classic Custom 875, the EX saxes are the result of decades of painstaking research and trials involving some of the world’s greatest saxophonists. They feature a smooth response and a deep, refined sound full of rich colors. Based on the scale of the classic ‘62’ models, the new Custom Z saxes have bodies that are made of a special brass alloy for lighter weight, a great playing ‘feel,’ and the kind of tonal flexibility you’ve always dreamed of.

Yamaha French Horns

Attention to Detail

Yamaha French horns are the product of an exacting process designed to create perfection. Driven by close contact with celebrated players, the process is characterized by rigorous testing, innovative craftsmanship, and complete refusal to compromise. The newest generation of YHR-668 series horns is a perfect example of this process and has become a favorite among professional players and their students. It’s the close contact with today’s top teacher and performers that contribute to why Yamaha French horns feel so right, play so well, and sound so good. And that’s why Yamaha French horns are found in so many of the world’s great orchestras.

What Makes a Trumpet Great

The best players. The best designers. The best craftsmen. We put them together and harness their energies to make our trumpets. Yamaha trumpets begin as dreams in the minds of some of the world’s greatest players. Our designers work with the players for years to turn those dreams into instruments. From the very top level Xeno series to the standard models, each instrument shares the common qualities of what makes a great trumpet. Because of this commitment to the artists that play the instrument, Yamaha is able to create the entire spectrum of trumpets from the custom piccolo models through cornets and flugelhorns. Players across the world say that Yamaha trumpets are the best. Having come from the hearts of the biggest talents, and from the heads of the finest designers, through the hands of the finest craftsmen, what else could they be.

Yamaha Trombones, The Choice of Professionals
and Students Worldwide

Yamaha trombones represent years and years of refinements in design, material, treatment, and in the method of manufacture. Most of the refinements are small in scope, but taken together they are vast in effect. Yamaha trombones offer an agile yet comfortable response with meticulous intonation. Yamaha trombones play evenly and are easy to control throughout their entire range. The YSL-697Z is a new model designed for the lead trombone player. The small bell and bore size contribute to a sound that cuts yet sings. Yamaha trombones provide players with a sound found nowhere else – a sound of almost mythical power.

All Yamaha Tubas and Euphoniums are made with the Finest Materials

Great materials alone won’t make a great instrument. A great instrument demands the touch of expert craftsmen, guided by the experience and intuition of great players — artists who work alongside the Yamaha design team, guiding them toward perfection. Over the years, innumerable players and teachers have helped develop a complete line of tubas and euphoniums suitable for every kind of player from beginning band students to the very top professionals in the world.