Saxophones Dark mouthpiece suggestions

View on Social Feed
Why don't you just use your existing tenor mouthpiece?

If you don't already have a tenor piece, and you are just beginning with tenor, I'd suggest a standard mouthpiece - something like Yamaha 5C or so, until you've got the basics of blowing the tenor down.

Mouthpieces that blow "dark" for one person will blow "medium" or even "bright" for another. You need to have a baseline, for example "I've been playing this Meyer for six months now and would like more edge" - would push you toward something with a baffle" vs. "I've been playing this Meyer for six months now and would like a less edgy richer sound" would push you toward something more Link-like.
 
I'd echo above, you only have to watch a few video reviews on YouTube to see that the whole dark / bright thing is incredibly subjective.

Change one thing at a time, get used to the sax first and then change the mouthpiece to suit. Hopefully you'll be able to visit a shop with your new saxophone and try some different mouthpieces.
 
Can you give an example also of a player/tune with a 'dark sound' that you have in mind? and a player / tune that you are closer to?
That would also help but I think it's hard to compare anything against against a Yam 5C.
If you were already on a lawton 6*BB it would be easy to suggest many inherently darker pieces but thats not the whole story.
I once moved from a 5C on alto to a Java A45 and it was more versatile and colourful and full in every way. So when my daughter was ready to move from a 5C it was my natural suggestion but it completely failed to do the same thing for her.
 
It won't make much difference what saxophone you're using, especially if you're comparing one Chinese Selmer copy to another. Tell me you're coming from a Buescher True Tone to a Chinese Selmer copy, or vice versa, and it'll make some difference.

Ben Webster played an Otto Link , open tip, with a hard reed. Other than the open tip and hard reed, it's a standard type of mouthpiece.

Webster's sound is all about subtoning and vibrato (and chops like iron, developed by playing 250 nights a year for years on end), not about mouthpiece choice.
 
Try a Vandoren Java, not the Jumbo. I bought one by mistake and find it plenty dark. It’s easy to play and cheap. Plenty of scope to play around with reeds to get closer to what you want. It does take a lot of time and playing to sound like Ben though and you can’t buy it.
 
I just sent two excellent Saxscape "Dark" pieces (expertly refaced by Brian Powell) off for consignment sale. They lived up to their name, but essentially modeled on a Link. Ponzol II-V-I (metal) is another mouthpiece that I owned for a while and had a great dark tone, but is not made anymore. You need to look for something without much baffle and with a medium to large chamber. Of course, as mentioned above, a "real" Link is another option, but a bit of hit and miss out of the box. Vandoren makes a 40s metal mouthpiece that ought to fit the mold you are looking for. I have to say that I have wasted a ton of money on tenor mouthpieces looking for something that more practice no doubt would have achieved faster.
 
I know somebody, pro player, who likes dark who is very happy with a standard ebonite link, straight off the shelf and he loves it, but it’s fairly easy to try out a bunch as everywhere has them. He sounds better to me on one he had refaced and has some edge but he won’t have it. It’s another reasonably cheap place to start, and then you just have to put in the work.
 
My closest efforts to capture Ben Webster came from concentrating on my airstream and appropriately hard reed and strong but loose embouchure with a low baffle. For me a hard reed would have been around a 3.5
A large chamber on top of that combo would have just killed me off!
But watching Ben in videos gives you more than a hint into his technique to get from the centre of his tone all the way to the fluffy airy vibrato.
And despite all the pitfalls of recommending mouthpieces especially given that there will be a huge list you could try, I'd recommend trying out a standard 6 star Otto Link STM and concentrating on a strong embouchure and airstream with as harder reed as you can control and watching him play.

A metal mouthpiece should not put you off but equally I'm sure there are modern rubber pieces that may work equally well.
 
This thread is a perfect example of what is wrong with this forum. Elsewhere, the topic of tenor mouthpieces would already have elicited numerous highly divergent toxic replies with virtual flying daggers, voodoo dolls that were more penetrated by needles than Swiss cheese by holes, and moderators pulling out more hair than they had in the first place. It is truly a sad state of affairs in the cafe.
 
Pssst...pah...pssst...pah I am your father link. Beware the dark side.
Snl GIF by Saturday Night Live
 
Hi

JodyJazz mouthpieces are worth a look. The HR* Custom Dark is their darkest hard rubber mouthpiece, and the DV NY is their darkest metal model:

Tone Comparison Chart - JodyJazz

jodyjazz.com jodyjazz.com

I have the DV NY in a 7* tip opening, and can confirm that for me it is dark but free blowing, and I like the playing sensation that it provides. It takes harder reeds than other 7* mouthpieces.

Also consider the Morgan Fry Vintage or Andy Shepherd, or Navarro Bebop Special, although you might need to go to the used market for these. They're not as free blowing as the JodyJazz but are nevertheless on the dark side.

I have also seen the Vandoren V16 Hard Rubber large chamber recommended: http://www.saxnoir.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Jazz-versus-Classical-Mouthpieces2.pdf

Good luck!
 

Similar threads... or are they? Maybe not but they could be worth reading anyway 😀

Join us in the Cafe!

Social

New! Social Feeds

Look out for the navigation icon:

Follow CafeSaxophone

Latest Song of the Month

Member Blogs (currently active)

Trending

Popular Discussions

Forum statistics

Topics
32,045
Messages
577,835
Members
8,111
Latest member
Simonob
Back
Top Bottom