Another lightbulb, and curious...

I have had the low D and C problems with bari and followed suggestions concerning playing more mouthpiece, but...yes, going from alto to bari I took a little more mouthpiece but the flatness continued. So then the light came on and I took the mouthpiece until my upper lip was over the top of the patch and voila! A great big sound, low C instead of upper C. Don't be timid. I do feel like I am playing with my tonsils, if I had any, but it works.

Now, curious. I have four alto mouthpieces that I fiddled with on the chinese horn, but my recent addition of the ancient Buescher alto only favors a Yamaha. I have Yamaha 4C and 5C, Brilhart Special, Rico Royal A7, and one unmarked mpc. They all blow hard except the Yamahas. Guess I should stay with the brand, maybe go to 6C? Just curious as to whether certain horns prefer certain mpc's.
 
Yes. Set up is very personal. After some sucess with one on tenor I recently acquired a vintage Lelandais for my chinese alto. The increase in effortless volume amazed me as well as the need for less input for accurate intonation. I'm still exploring tonal colours but I have to be careful to still sound like me.

My old Weltklang LowA Bari likes the Selmer S80 with a Vandoren classic blue reed. Or should I say I like it with that set up. It lets me play and sound the way I feel it should. I think it's all a matter of what you imagine your sound to be and balancing that with ease of play.

What works on one saxophone will work on another but something a little different may work a little better.

There's so much choice you can get overwhelmed and forget to be you.
 
Thanks, Colin, I am finding it is very personal. And the Syndrome To Keep Buying More Stuff intensifies until I can see more mpc's in my future. And interchanging: I tried using the Chinese alto neck on the Buescher but it is too thick.

Nick, I guess if sounding like myself is inevitable, then I'm stuck with it.

And thanks for the facing chart, jbt. I am now officially salivating.
 
there's a lot of mouthpiece information at the mouthpiece museum:

http://mouthpiecemuseum.com/MouthpieceMuseum/Home.html

It seems to be undergoing a rebuild, so some of the older pages aren't there.

But beware - lots of graphics in the pages, and so they can load very slowly.
 
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Ach du lieber! Just waiting for my wife to go to town, then I'll dig out the Paypal card and...steady, lad. Where do I start? Bari or alto? Both? I'd better go and work in the garden awhile. Supposed to be in the 90's today...mad dogs, Englishmen, crazy senile New Mexican saxophone players. When is Pete going to bring forth the last ALTO mpc I'll ever need? Decisions!
 
Altissimo, I understand completely. So I am presently waiting for a response from an Ebay seller to see if he accepts my 2nd counter-offer for a mouthpiece; also, while I was in the Ebay neighborhood I bought another vintage Buescher alto. That's just today. If my wife stays in town much longer I don't know what the hell else I might connect with. I have been out in the sun too long, so I had better refresh myself and get in some practice. I wonder if there is a saxophone-anonymous program? Or maybe buyers-anonymous?
 
I'm just trying to warn ya - slippery slope ahead!!! I've got about 30 mouthpieces as a result of trawling ebay for bargains. I thought I'd stopped, but 3 more have crept into the house in recent months... every time I think about selling some of them, I try a few out and think 'actually, I quite like this, maybe I should keep it...'
my girlfriend says I'm the Imelda Marcos of sax mouthpieces.
No ebay after 9pm or when you've been drinking is a good way of keeping your bank balance level
 
God almighty(sorry for bringing religion into it.) I have found a site grounded in reality, I find myself in like-minded humans, well, sort of. And HAHAHA to your girlfriend for the Imelda remark; I do hope she is referring to sax assortments and not high-heels. I have not yet told my wife about the latest acquisitions. Actually I have my eye on another Buescher bari, but perhaps I should wait. This lady has been with me through many storms. But she actually only frowns a little; I keep the mortgage up to date, the utilities paid, the wolf from the door(by keeping the bills paid or my Glock at the ready) and I can fritter away my Social Security however I wish) I looked for many years before I found her. And she doesn't wince when I practice. However my sax sounds...I am a lucky man.
 
Then wife before mouthpieces. I've got a drawerful already, but I only use four. Except when I dig a few out to compare. I think most of us are the same - always getting another, but staying with the one that works. I justify it for the forum good, the more I try out, the more I can help.:thumb:
 

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