Yamaha YSL-6430ii and others of that era?

[Pb83]

I’m looking for a smaller straight horn, and hoping to find a good deal. I see some of these older yamaha horns from Japanese sellers that look nice, but have very little info online. The 6430ii has a .525 bore which I’d like, but that’s really all I can find. Any idea on how this horn or others of that era play?

[BGuttman]

Watch out. On some early Yamaha trombones the chrome plating on the inner slide tends to blister and flake off. You can't fix this. The edges after a blister breaks are very sharp and will wear at the inside of the outer slide.

That said, I'd look for something a little later, like a YSL 645, 683, or 630.

If you want something a little smaller, the 65x line (0.500 or 0.508 bore) are also good instruments.

[Pb83]

Adding 6510ii, if anyone has any info!

[Aznguyy]

The 6430ii is indeed a .525 bore but the bell section is 8.5inchs so I'm not sure if that fits your description of a smaller straight horn.

I can't seem to find any info on the 6510ii but you can try looking here:
https://www.yamahacollector.com/trombone

[MaxPirone]

Anyone never played a 6510ii

[Doldom]

I have 6510 and as I know only the counterweight is different from 6510ii . And as I know of 6510(Japan only version of 651), material is different from 651. Outer slide and neckpipe is gold brass rather than nickel silver. Although I never tried the 651, so I cannot compare them, but the 6510 is very nice instrument. easy to blow, nice sound.

[JohntheTheologian]

Yes, some early Yamaha trombones had slide issues, but not all of them.

I bought a used 643II about a year ago and the slide is great, a very nice horn. I think you have to take the horns individually from Yamaha from the early era. I bought mine locally which allowed me to inspect it before I purchased it.

[atopper333]

I briefly had a YSL-648…should be from the same era I think. I found the build quality great. Mine was also in almost pristine shape with no issues with the chrome plating, but I also could tell it hadn’t been played much. Putting it away dry and wiped down after playing would probably prolong the life of the slide dramatically…

I found the horn very easy to play. The slide was great, and the partials were predictable. I let it go in favor of other vintage horns. I felt the sound a little less interesting…but that is a personal thing I think. Other better and more experienced players could probably make it speak with the depth of sound I wanted. Either way…the bones of the horn were quite good in my opinion.

I know, we hear that complaint about Yamahas a lot, just want to temper that with I don’t believe the Yamaha sound to be uninteresting or sterile…just for me and that horn it was…the YBL-321 I picked up is quite the opposite and may be one of the best if not the best horn I’ve played…so definitely not a ‘Yamaha’ as a brand issue…

[Doldom]

Strangely enough, the 643 is different to the 6430 or 6430ii which the original post is saying. 643 is Conn88-ish large bore tenor, but the 6430 is straight medium bore(0.525") with 8.5inch bell.
There are many good deals at Japanese auction sites, and I actually have 6430ii too, but it needed some repair so it's at repair shop now.

[DCIsky]

Not my personal experience, but: my friends have purchased Yamaha JDM models through some of those eBay dealers. The pictured instrument in the ad is often not the exact instrument that you get; they find an instrument of that model once you make the purchase. My friend bought one sight unseen and was not prepared for the amount of inner slide chrome plating flaking. The slide is usable, but it’s scratchy and will likely need tubes replaced at some point.