A new chapter begins in Yamaha’s Neo story

Launched at Musikmesse 2014, the hugely anticipated Neo baritone (YBH-831) completes Yamaha’s Neo range and is the result of a close collaboration with world renowned baritone player, Katrina Marzella. Completely redesigned, the Neo baritone benefits from a newly designed ‘slim’ valve casing that gives players a natural posture and comfortable hand position.

The improved body taper design gives a rich and full sound perfect for both solo and band performances and the new lead-pipe design gives the instrument a well-balanced resistance allowing for unrivalled expressive capabilities.

Katrina said of the new instrument:

‘The Neo baritone horn is set to revolutionise the preconceptions and expectations of baritone players across the world. Never before has the instrument been heard and felt with such presence. It is simply a joy to play: the sound has warmth, breadth and projected power in equal measure; the intonation is remarkably consistent; the efficient playing experience is second to none; and the production quality is exceptional.  It has been my pleasure to be involved in this journey.
Thanks to Yamaha, the baritone horn has now found its voice.’

Neo, the new standard in brass band instruments

Over the past few years, Yamaha has made some significant additions to its brass band line-up. Firstly, the company introduced the Neo Tenor Horn (YAH-803), which was developed with Sheona White followed by the Neo BBb, developed with Simon Gresswell, the Neo EEb bass, the Neo Euphonium and last year, the Neo cornet, which was developed with Russell Gray, Philip McCann and David King.

The partnerships that Yamaha have built with brass band musicians over the last decade have enabled the company to create a fantastic range of instruments that represents excellence in both performance and manufacturing.

In an ensemble, the Neo range of instruments blend perfectly together bringing the heart-warming sound of the brass band to life. For soloists, Neo instruments give players the possibility to get more ‘personality’ from their instrument and to take their performances to new levels.

It has been this philosophy that has been the driving force behind the Neo range and one of our key partners who shared this philosophy was David King.

Over the last decade, David King has been working closely with Yamaha as an Advisory Consultant. We have developed a very close relationship and as Yamaha move forward to an exciting new chapter in the Neo story, David has decided that now is the time to focus on his conducting and educational commitments. We are sure that the work that Yamaha has accomplished in partnership with David King will be recognised for many years to come, and we believe that this is something that we can both be very proud of as we move on.
We would therefore like to thank David King and wish him the best of luck with all his future projects.