Mouthpieces Old berg larsen not going far enough on my horn.

[just saxes]

I'm with you. I hate the idea of window shopping online for a mouthpiece to be honest - but trying to narrow it down so I can identify some models so I can find somewhere to get my hands on them is useful nevertheless.

I guess to me super bright = paint peeler. (Though this isn't quite what I'm seeking.)

Thanks for taking your time to offer advice on modifying the neck. I've come to the conclusion that while i really like the mouthpiece I'm not quite willing to be chopping/ buying necks or unsoldering bits off them - perhaps my love isn't strong enough, perhaps it's just committment issues!

You're most welcome. Thanks for letting me know it was of use. \m/ \m/ <-- surf shakas, brah (lol)

And yes. At least to me bright = more upper middle and upper high partials across the registers, but especially from around E1 or F1 and up. To me, when you get below E1 and F1 and into the notes vented by low C and the bell keys, that's sort of a different area of the horn that can vary a lot on horns that are richer in higher or lower partials from those notes up.

But I think a lot of the time when people say "bright" or "dark" they really mean "corny" vs "soulful," or "undesirable" vs "desirable," which are of course opposite things to opposite people.

The handiest shorthands often come from the best players, in my experience. For example, one long time client talks about response in terms of "thin crust pizza" vs "deep dish pizza." In the US, that's a lot less confusing than "light" vs "dark." :eyeroll:

Even "smoky" has limited usefulness. Some people hear or read "smoky" and think...Kenny G. Not even kidding.

 

[saxyjt]

Even "smoky" has limited usefulness. Some people hear or read "smoky" and think...Kenny G. Not even kidding.

When I hear or read 'smoky' I think whisky, salmon or heel...

So it's kind of hard to link that to sound!

Hmm, tea time, I wonder if I still have some Lapsang Souchong around?

 

[thomsax]

The mouthpiece is a part of you sax!!!! Did the manufactors back in the roaring decade , the 20's, design/built thier saxes to fit a 1860 A. Sax tenor or a 1945 tenor aiming for the music that we heard on the radio or from the jukeboxes? I think Conn, Buescher, King, Martin, Selmer, Buffet. Kohlert ...... made saxes including mouthpieces to give the buyer/player the best possible saxophone.

I think you should look at the mouthpiece that came along with the sax when it was new, when you are going to buy a new or change mouthpiece. Modern mouthpiece can be used/played on old horns. And You can solder on a piece on the neck, new neck cork, a "new" set-up (open keys, add a key/tone hole .... ). As player you can adjust the pitch/sound with reeds and ligatures and of course with your embouchure.

I often read that old saxes should have a " big straight chamber mouthpiece" ( no baffle ...... )" to work on an old sax. I think a Dukoff D chamber soprano mouthpice is bigger than the std Buescher mpc that came along with my Beuscher soprano sax. I play A Dukoff D chamber on a Conn NW 1924 18-M soprano. And the sax is not factory set up and have modern pads with resonators. I have also cut off a very small piece of the shank to fit better.

On Martin HC Imperial 1934 the is an extra key/tone hole under the D key/ tone hole. Some guys says it is an key to make the sax to sing better in the lower register. Some guys says it's a trill key????? When Imperial became Martin HC Standard that had the vent/trill key and later they the dropped the key. Was the vent/trill key just a result to make the sax to work better and to cover a bad design?

Dark, bright. loud, closed. focused, spread, warm ..... are subjective words that players use.

https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:991016/FULLTEXT01.pdf

 

[thomsax]

Just a stupid question from me: Is it an alto mouthpiece?

If I sand down my Martin alto neck I can also have a tenor mpc to go down in the chamber.
Tenor mpc on alto neck.

Alto mpc on alto neck

 

[scotsman]

PM sent

 

[Rojaros]

Without reading all contributions: I had the experience with at least two metal Berg Larsens that the shanks were too tight for the necks of my horns. A friend of mine who loved his BL tenor MP even cut the neck shorter to be able to use it...