Mouthpieces A Chip Off the Old Mouthpiece

photoman

Daydream Believer
I Managed to drop my, very recently bought, Yamaha 4C tenor mpc onto a hard tile floor today. It's now sporting a chip on the underside of the lip on the left side, about 4mm long. But, the outside edge of the mpc is intact.

I had assumed that any chip would mean the mpc should be binned, but, at least to my untrained ear, it doesn't sound any worse on the recently bought pre-loved BW TS-Y.

Would you expect any chip to ruin the mpc, or does it depend on where and how big it is, to make difference?
 
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If it's tip or rails you might be in trouble but the proof of the pudding is if it plays. You're lucky to get the experience of this out of the way with a relatively cheap and easily replacable mouthpiece. It will make you more careful and may influence your choice of material for your next piece. A metal piece may have bounced un harmed. Imagine the heartbreak when this happens to an irreplacable, vintage, cherished piece.
 
Well the Yammy 4C hit the floor again this evening. A springy wooden one this time (I like to vary the scenes of my clumsiness and ineptitude, to prevent boredom setting in) and it didn't bounce. There's now a sizeable chunk missing from the front left corner, and I won't bother trying it out, it's definitely not going to play.

Before I called the doc to get a check up for my "Dropsy" (who here is old enough to know that is a genuine, but old, medical condition?), I tried the mpc that came with the tenor (a pre-loved BW TS-Y).

I had not tried it previously because I read so many comments, online, about them not really being worth putting on the instrument; and that a replacement was vital immediately. I was even told something similar when I bought my new BW AI alto.

But, with a Vandoren ZZ 2 it is playing fine. Now, of course, as we know from other posts, I'm really new to playing the Sax and I probably couldn't tell a good mpc from a duck caller, but it doesn't sound shocking or worse than I sounded already.

I will buy another one though - any suggestions??

I'm a beginner and it's a used BW TS-Y, but I might as well go for something to bring out the best in it. And I'll have the safety mats installed while it's in the post.
 
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I dropped my Aizen Jazzmaster - a month old and £250 - on the carpet two days ago. I can only think it bounced on a cupboard door on the way down as a piece of the tip broke off. I was equally as shattered as the mpc.....

It was due to the cap on my vandoren M/O lig being a loose fit. I try not to pick things up by the cap, but in this case I was not careful enough. An expensive lesson. I have ordered another one, I love it. I am going to send the broken one to Morgan Fry to see if he can do anything. He seemed reaonably optimistic. It's the first time, and I hope the last, that I drop a mpc.
 
I know the feeling - dropped my Java only had it around 6 months or so, luckily the chip was miniscule and didn't affect playability - I don't feel the same about it now though 🙁 The only mouthpieces I've had that don't break when I've dropped them (I'm a butterfingers!) are Rico Graftonites and metalites, tough as old boots and cheap as chips! :thumb:
 
...I tried the mpc that came with the tenor (a pre-loved BW TS-Y).

I had not tried it previously because I read so many comments, online, about them not really being worth putting on the instrument; and that a replacement was vital immediately. I was even told something similar when I bought my new BW AI alto.

But, with a Vandoren ZZ 2 it is playing fine.

So why change? Just because a certain mouthpiece doesn't work for others, doesn't mean that it won't work for you (otherwise everyone would use the same two or three mouthpieces, depending on budget). If you can't hear or feel a difference, why spend more money? I'd keep the mouthpiece you have and just keep playing - you've only just started, so the mouthpiece really is not going to make much of a difference, provided you can play it. You'll get far more improvement from playing regularly and getting time on the instrument, than equipment changes will bring.
 
So why change? Just because a certain mouthpiece doesn't work for others, doesn't mean that it won't work for you (otherwise everyone would use the same two or three mouthpieces, depending on budget). If you can't hear or feel a difference, why spend more money? I'd keep the mouthpiece you have and just keep playing - you've only just started, so the mouthpiece really is not going to make much of a difference, provided you can play it. You'll get far more improvement from playing regularly and getting time on the instrument, than equipment changes will bring.

Obviously you are making very valid points, and I'm not in such a rush to change it now, to be honest. But my original post was more to expression some confusion, as I got the general impression that the BW shipped mpc, was not really worth considering at all. I sem to have gleaned that from forums and also, as mentioned, from a BW dealer.

Although it is a small number of instances, I was beginning to think that it was astandard (and widely held) view that the first thing to do with a BW shipped (plastic) mouthpiece was to change it. Maybe that's not thecase - but I suspect others here will support this view.
 

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

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