Thoughts (/experience?) regarding questionable eBay listings...

[davewerden]

... I think even back then, the salesman was misinformed…

Yeah, a little, but there were quite a few in use in colleges then. And at that time there weren't as many pieces that required the 4th valve register (and would therefor almost require a compensating horn...or at least where a compensating horn would make life much easier).

[John Morgan]

Another jazzer who uses the 321 is David Bandman. He is an absolute monster on euphonium, jazz or classical.

[highpitch]

Before Covid shut down our band, I set next to an old boy with a 621s.

Never seen such to date.

I never even heard it, even tho he was just 4' away...

Maybe him, maybe the horn.

[hyperbolica]

About the original eBay listing, you have to watch the listings directly from Japan. Some of them have outrageously expensive prices, and some don't. I bought a trombone, Yamaha ysl455 for about $500 including shipping. It was a model they don't sell here in the US, and it only had a couple of very minor scratches on it. The shipping was crazy fast, too, coming from Japan. It was as fast as if it were only a couple states away. Shipping would be $100 here in the US, can't imagine what it should be coming air-mail.

Anyway, just keep an eye on those Japanese ads. Some of them are crazy good deals.

[aroberts781]

Yeah, a little, but there were quite a few in use in colleges then. And at that time there weren't as many pieces that required the 4th valve register (and would therefor almost require a compensating horn...or at least where a compensating horn would make life much easier).

Whenever the topic of 321s come up I always think of an episode of the Brass Junkies podcast when Demondrae Thurman was the guest. He mentions that he played on a Yamaha 321 until his junior year in college and won two competitions playing on the 321. That is not to say that there aren't benefits in a larger bore fully compensated 4-valve instrument, but it does highlight a couple things for me. That was the mid 90s, so I find it interesting that an elite college euphonium player in the 90s wasn't necessarily playing a compensated horn. I also can't help but imagine how much better Demondrae sounded on his 321 than I will ever sound on anything!

Joe Dollard is another jazz player who plays a Yamaha 321, and who also had a very interesting episode of the Brass Junkies.

Sorry this is all a little bit off topic, but maybe this type of discussion on the 321/621 would be helpful for someone interested in that eBay auction.

[tokuno]

The YEP-621 has the same bore as the 321: .570". That makes is smaller than even the old Bessons. If it is a professional horn (as in "professional euphoniumist") it would be smaller than any other model by a good margin. I consider it an upgrade to the 321 rather than a starter 641.

Yep, I agree with the 321 vs 641 distinction. The nimble, small-bore 621 and 321 have the same personality but slight cosmetic differences, and they're both very different from the 641/642 in physical, playing experience, and sound characteristics.
Someone expecting a 621 to voice like a 641/642 is going to be very disappointed.
But I had a 2-decade, no-time, post-college period, and I could pick up a 321 for a gig with very little preparation. My 967 was in storage because it required too much face-time for me to stay competent on it.

The bore difference between the 321 & 621 is in the 4th valve loop - .661 vs .610, I think - and maybe it was a placebo effect, but it felt to me like the 4th valve spoke better/easier on the 621 than the 321.

Also, the 621's default large-shank receiver makes a big difference too, but the 321 can be re-fitted to the same effect (I compared my large-shank 321 head-to-head with a small-shank 321; significant, worthwhile upgrade, imo).

In short: I think one can get most of the 621's benefit at a lower cost by buying a used 321 and installing a large-shank receiver on it.

[Ariakim Taiyo]

From my experience with both instruments, the 621 to me is nowhere near the tonal character of a 321. I have found the 621 to be much more mellow, and more suited for lyrical passages. It is certainly able to play flashier stuff, but it’s likely not going to be seen in jazz or anything where it would need to stick out. It is actually more in tune than the 321 in the lower register as well. If used correctly, you can certainly get a sound comparable to a professional level horn. I have heard one instance where it was almost indistinguishable, but it was a recording of an amazing player in an acoustic space.