The Difference a (Good) Saxophone Mouthpiece Makes!
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- Опубліковано 8 лип 2024
- George and Michael highlight the HUGE difference a good mouthpiece can make to the overall tone of your saxophone.
Want to upgrade? Browse our saxophone mouthpieces here - sax.co.uk/collections/saxopho...
Read more right here -
sax.co.uk/blogs/news/the-diff...
⏰Timestamps ⏰
0:00 Quick Comparison
0:22 Intro
4:24 Basic Stock Mouthpiece
5:42 D'Adario Select Jazz
7:03 Vandoren Jumbo Java
8:14 Summary
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Great video - but why the background music? Not fair to the speakers OR the musicians
Appreciate the feedback! Trust me though if you heard my voice background music free you'd be begging for some tunes! (This is Michael by the way, George sounds entirely normal!)
Props to you for one of the best described and most concise ways of saying this. Would love more of these gear "difference" videos.
We really appreciate this and will certainly be making more like this!
When I switched to tenor, I get Yamaha 5C with it. But I wanted really deep sound, so I bought Otto Link Tone Edge 7*. After few months I realized that this is not my sound, because I always liked the bright sound of 80ties pop. My teacher then sold me Christopher Elliott Florida, handmade piece, which was much better, but not what I wanted. Then, he offered me Theo Wanne custom model, name I forget, and Dukoff D9 Florida Super power chamber. Theo was difficult to blow, but Dukoff was love on first tone! From beginning very very difficult to control, but after almost 2 years with Legere, I switched back to cane reed and the sound is amazing!
Glad the guys are back and I bet Jim is glad he gets a break from filming.
International fees/taxes are too much expensive to my country, some day I'll be there ! Thanks for your nice videos 🙏🏻
Great advice and demonstration. I started playing in June 2018 on alto. My first mouthpiece was a Yamaha 4C but quickly switched to a Selmer S80 C** then 6 months later tried a Meyer 6M and I found it a bit loud and maybe the tip was too open. I then tried a JodyJazz 7M which was way to open for me then so I got a 6M and still a little bit to wide, so went back to playing on the Selmer S80 C**. I tried Vandoren A5, V16 A5M, JodyJazz HR* 5M, Selmer Concept, Selmer Soloist E and S80 E and a few other mouthpieces and I now currently use a Selmer Claude Delangle.
The issue I have always had was that with thinner tip mouthpieces, I'd either sound over buzzy with one reed strength or found it a bit resistant with the next reed strength up and I tried lots of different reeds and mouthpiece setups and none gave me the sound you're supposed to get from the mouthpiece, which isn't over buzzy. I have a slight overbite as my bottom jaw is slightly shorter so maybe that is the reason for it.
I play on a Selmer Claude Delangle currently as Selmer mouthpieces are the only mouthpieces that didn't give me an over buzzy sound and I could play without real issues and I like the sound I get, more so than S80 or Concpet. Maybe its because Selmer mouthpiece tips are slightly thicker than many other mouthpieces. I liked the wider tip openings of the Soloist but found them a bit too resistant when playing low notes. I do wish Selmer hadn't stopped making the Super Session for alto as I played a Super Session E on soprano sax and liked it a lot.
Mouthpieces can be a tricky thing indeed! If you are looking for something that will give you that Selmer kind of response it's worth checking out the Aizen SO - handmade Japanese mouthpieces that play like a dream!
sax.co.uk/products/aizen-so-mouthpiece-alto-saxophone
A metal Otto-link is a "must have" for your 1st metal mouthpiece. You'll love/hate it. more hate than love. but it is a fair price for a "kick in the butt, told you to stick to the 4C longer" mouthpiece.
It's certainly a trial by fire! Would generally recommend people to go onto a hard rubber/ebonite piece as their first upgrade but hey! You gotta do what you wanna do!
Great video guys! Explained it very concise and easy to understand. It's indeed good to know what sound direction you have in mind before buying a mouthpiece, but this is what makes it hard with beginners/young students. Even when after a couple of years they have the basics down on the stockmouthpiece and you want them to evolve through an upgraded mouthpeice, they are usually still to much beginner to have a clear soundconcept in mind. Here is where I personally would guide them to mouthpieces that have quite some flexibility in sound left, like Meyers or the Theo Wanne NY Bros2 etc, instead of high baffle mouthpieces or hard rubber super dark mouthpieces that need some work, like JodyJazz HR custom Dark. Would you make that distinction?
By the way, it's funny, I had the exact same experience a Michael, moving from a stock Selmer C* to a metal Otto Link when I was 15, which in hindsight really didn't work well for me, BUT, it had that different edge so I didn't really think about it too much. At least I didn't sound so "stock" anymore, which was a win 😂
I actually like the mellow sound of the stock mouthpiece.
It's certainly mellow! However, we found that it lacks colour in the tone, and is slightly one-dimensional. That mellowness can be replicated in large chamber pieces like the Otto Links!
sax.co.uk/collections/otto-link-mouthpieces/products/otto-link-ebonite-tenor-saxophone-mouthpiece
It sounds like the tip opening was rather small reed was closing up. It would sound better with a harder reed.
New player, late starter. young 50s. I have a Yamaha YTS62iii and I'm still mainly using the 4C. I'm only just starting to notice the limitations you guys talk about. Getting your ear in takes time. I have a recently purchased a Vandoren V16, T6. Which has me exhausted in about 5 minutes. Love it though.
Great piece! It will leave you a bit tired at first but trust us you'll be singing on it in no time!
Interesting. I just got my second sax, a Tenor this time. When trying it at the shop, I wanted to try the Vandoren Jumbo similar to the one that worked well for my Alto. But the Tenor isn't Gold Plated but Silver Lacquer, and whoa, the sound was too bright with the Silver Tenor, which would work for a pop track against a warm soft jazz sound. So the guy at the shop said it's different between Alto and Tenor, the MP might not work the same way. He advised me to keep getting used to the Yahama 4C on my new sax, and to come back in a month or so and try other MP's to understand the difference before spending money on a Vandoren Jumbo, which I'm yet to do. And yes, I'm getting used with the 4C MP for now, I would have hated the whole Tenor if I had purchased the Jumbo that day. I think it will be a combination of a MP flowing better than the 4C, but that gives a warmer tone to a silver lacquer finish sax. So I'll need to try different ones when back into the shop.
I currently use a Jody Jazz Hr5* as a first upgrade from my yamaha 4c mouthpiece and I'm very happy with it. Although I am running into problems with the reed closing up on a 2.75 legere. Should I just upgrade to a 3 Legere or increase the size of my mouthpiece?
It's certainly worth trying a harder reed - but if the issue persists it might be time to try something a bit more open (maybe a 6* or even a 7 depending on how brave you're feeling!)
what would you recommend for an intermediate high school student in school band
it baffles me how can You have such a big sound, while taking so little mouthpiece in.
George constantly baffles me too! Ha, baffle - like a mouthpiece!
But seriously we're very lucky to have a talent like George!
I'm in the exact same situation as Michael was in: About a year ago, I bought an Otto Link STM 7* (early babbitt florida) for my tenor. Only till about 4 months ago did I realize that the mouthpiece wasn't for me whatsoever. I rarely need that projection except for marching band. The tip opening is too much for me, I don't feel like I have much control with it. The brightness is also too much, especially when I'm mostly only a classical sax player. And I'm not a fan of the feeling of the metal on my mouth.
From the research I've done over the past 4 months,the perfect mouthpiece for me is either a JodyJazz HR* C*, or a Vandoren Optimum TL3/4. But should I sell the Link? I'm really tempted to.
It sounds like you have steered yourself in the right direction mouthpiece-wise! I personally think it's worth keeping hold of the Link. Playing the sax is a lifelong journey; maybe you'll want that brighter tone at some point. However, selling the piece might allow you to buy this absolute beast!
sax.co.uk/collections/tenor-mouthpieces/products/chedeville-rc-tenor-sax-mouthpiece
I would love to come see you but I’m from Switzerland 😕
Switzerland is beautiful! But hopefully, you will be able to visit us in London in the future - we're not going anywhere!!
I'm a clarinetist and I've recently just started on Soprano (Yanagisawa SWO1), is the yani stock mouthpiece any good?
I don’t know of any stock mouthpiece that is any great. But it is good to start on a stock, just make sure to upgrade later on
Actually, of all the stock mouthpieces out there the Yanagisawa ones are pretty good (so good that we sell them separately!) With these pieces it'll be less about "is it good?" and more about whether it is giving you the response and tone you want.
What is the difference between a plastic mouthpiece and a metal mouthpiece if they were the same other than the material? What’s is the difference in tone?
We will make a new video on this in the future - essentially, metal resonates more so you should get a zippier overall tone! Plus the mouthpiece profile will be generally narrower and will feel more metallic in the mouth.
Is it possible to have a stock mouthpiece modified/refaced/customized to sound good?
Surely, but I wonder how the cost and time of doing so would compare to buying a good mouthpiece.
With most of them, unfortunately not. Most stock mouthpieces are plastic and haven't got the material flexibility like ebonite - the best bet is to save the heartache and grab yourself a new piece!
Tremendous thanks for such a clarifying video!
If you can offer any suggestions, my primary Tenor Sax is a Yamaha YTS-26 paired with a Vandoren Optimum TL3 mouthpiece and #3 Vandoren ZZ Jazz reed. To date this combination produces the best tone overall for me. However the sound you hear her playing on the link attached [ ua-cam.com/video/QpT4qIeCfpM/v-deo.html] entitled "Micheo Music DEMOS with Janice Maisonet. . ." is WHAT I AM WANTING TO REPLICATE as best I can. Her subtle, clear, smooth sound amidst the other instruments is breathtaking! I want to keep the same or close to the TL3 opening of 176.
As an old bloke just learning to play and growing up in the 150,s and 60,s I prefer the 2 nd mouthpiece- still don,t like the harsh altissimo sound that is so prevalent today but realise that music must move on .
The stock soloist mouthpiece that came with my selmer Paris sucks? Hmmm
Hey, look, if you're spending £5,000+ on a Saxophone you would expect the mouthpiece to be good!
Under 2k each.
Mouthpieces don't suck, players blow. Anytime a student is discouraged and utters "I suck," just assure them that they do not suck, they blow.
You've got a point...
Everybody's second mouthpiece should be a Meyer 6M. I wish hadn't wasted all that time and money trying to find a $30 plastic mouthpiece that sounded good.
An outstanding choice for an alto! Many Meyer copies out in the wild now that are worth looking at too, my personal favourite being the Aizen NY:
sax.co.uk/products/aizen-ny-mouthpiece-alto-saxophone
Background music is not for musicians. We are needed silence