Mouthpieces Bari Esprit Tenor MP - Quality issues?

[DavidUK]

I was talking to Peter at Windblowers the other day (off there Thursday to have a look at Tenors) and asked him about good student mouthpieces, particularly the Bari Esprit.

He said the Bari Esprit Tenors MPs were a little hit and miss quality wise, so he had stopped stocking them although the Altos were fine.

Has anyone any comment on this? Should I give the Tenor Bari MP a miss?

 

[Kingsleyhk]

I have one for alto and one for tenor - no quality problems. Both seem the same.

 

[Chris]

David if you have a look on 'Windblowers' website they have quite a few 2nd hand mouthpieces I stock. One or two of which would be fine for a beginner..

 

[MLoosemore]

All the best for Thursday.... I'm betting you won't be going home empty handed 😉

 

[DavidUK]

All the best for Thursday.... I'm betting you won't be going home empty handed 😉

Going to try a BW tenor, although they only stock the "original" models not Deluxe. Will take the Beaugnier Alto for p/ex although Peter didn't recognise the name when I spoke to him last week. Not sure what p/ex value he'll give me on that? Also taking a YAS-275 to p/ex. I suspect the p/ex offer on the latter won't be in the £400 region they seem to sell for.

Otherwise, there's a mint used BW TS-P for sale elsewhere at £400 delivered. But that requires me to sell the Yamaha or Beaugnier first, AND, most importantly, get the proceeds in past the wife and out again!

Sensibly, I'd go to Windblowers, try out the BW demo, then "go and think about it". Is that likely? we'll see!

 

[DavidUK]

David if you have a look on 'Windblowers' website they have quite a few 2nd hand mouthpieces I stock. One or two of which would be fine for a beginner..

Thanks Chris. I'll see if they will "throw one in" to the deal that I'm going to try to resist!

 

[TomMapfumo]

I was talking to Peter at Windblowers the other day (off there Thursday to have a look at Tenors) and asked him about good student mouthpieces, particularly the Bari Esprit.

He said the Bari Esprit Tenors MPs were a little hit and miss quality wise, so he had stopped stocking them although the Altos were fine.

Has anyone any comment on this? Should I give the Tenor Bari MP a miss?

Mine is fine, as is my Esprit Soprano. The Windcraft Etude Tenor is even better!

 

[DavidUK]

Mine is fine, as is my Esprit Soprano. The Windcraft Etude Tenor is even better!

He was saying that some are good and some are bad.

 

[TomMapfumo]

He was saying that some are good and some are bad.

I do read what people write - you said hit and miss, and that mine is therefore a hit!
Have a good evening!

Kind regards
Tom

You can have mine if you'd like it - as a gift, obviously!

 

[Colin the Bear]

I haven't tried the esprit II for alto but the original esprit for tenor was fine. Nothing special but very playable.

I wouldn't be spending a fortune on a mouthpiece till you develop some chops. The esprit is a good starting point.

 

[DavidUK]

The esprit is a good starting point.

But is the Windcraft Etude better? For a new starter on Tenor?

 

[TomMapfumo]

But is the Windcraft Etude better? For a new starter on Tenor?

Yes! Give it a try on trial from Dawkes - will only cost you £3. I'll send you the Bari Esprit so you can compare the two!
Simples!

 

[aldevis]

Thanks to Tom's recommendations, I included the Bari Esprit among the possible (alto) mouthpieces for my students.
I noticed though that some of them have a square chamber, some a round one.

Any insight?

 

[drrob7]

I ordered an Esprit tenor m/p online and must admit I was disappointed with it. I ended up subsequently buying an Otto Link because I could test them out first at the local shop.

 

[DavidUK]

Yes! Give it a try on trial from Dawkes - will only cost you £3. I'll send you the Bari Esprit so you can compare the two!
Simples!

Thanks for the offer Tom. I'll see what Windblowers suggest and what they have for me to try tomorrow and get back to you.

At long last I tried a TENOR reed on the St Pete's Tenor last night (Rico 3 orange) and it was a vast improvement but I had problems getting below bottom E, with it preferring the next octave up. This is bound to be my DIY on the sax. I'm taking the YAS-275 to the tech tomorrow (Paul Carrington this time, per Fraser's recommendation on dent removal) to get a couple of dinks out of the bell so I'll ask him to have a look at the Russian Tenor to see if it's worth saving. Otherwise I'll see what Windblowers would give me for it in p/ex. They're most likely to want the YAS-275 in p/ex rather than the Beaugnier, as the former is easily re-saleable, so I think I'll leave the Yamaha in the car and take the Beaugnier and St Pete in first off. They'll likely offer me £300 for the Yamaha when it should sell for £400+, but there again if it has to go on ebay £400 becomes £340 net.

I wonder what p/ex they'll offer for the French and Russian horns against a BW? They have TS-Y and TS-P at £600 and £700 respectively. Not heard a lot about the lacquered gold model, with all reviews tending to focus on the phosphor bronze one. I'll try them both I guess.

 

[ProfJames]

Hi DavidUK

I made a bid on a Beaugnier Vito last week - 300 Euros in mint condition on eBay.fr. The owner offered it to me for 340 Euros but I declined as I had set my limit at 300. Lovely sax when set up well. Good luck with the p/x but I think you're right in going in WITHOUT the Yam first!!!

 

[DavidUK]

Hi DavidUK

I made a bid on a Beaugnier Vito last week - 300 Euros in mint condition on eBay.fr. The owner offered it to me for 340 Euros but I declined as I had set my limit at 300. Lovely sax when set up well. Good luck with the p/x but I think you're right in going in WITHOUT the Yam first!!!

Maybe we could do a deal? I'm sure you must have loads of Tenors knocking about the place for a swap!?

 

[TomMapfumo]

Had a look at the Windblowers Tenor mouthpiece selection. I think I'd personally struggle to choose one, apart from the Berg Larsen 95/1 ebonite (which I have in metal anyway) but good luck. I'm still a Windcraft man!

 

[MLoosemore]

Following on from Tom's comment. If you do decide to get a tenor tomorrow and Pete includes a Yam 4C.... hold off on another mpc and get the Windcraft Etude from Dawkes online or stick with the Yam if it works for you.

 

[DavidUK]

Following on from Tom's comment. If you do decide to get a tenor tomorrow and Pete includes a Yam 4C.... hold off on another mpc and get the Windcraft Etude from Dawkes online or stick with the Yam if it works for you.

I've heard the 5C is a better Tenor beginner's choice? I have a Yam 4C on the Buffet Alto and bought a Runyon 22 at Tom's suggestion which I keep trying, with a Java 2 reed and others, but I'm not getting a satisfactory sound yet.

As Tom says, there isn't a great choice of MP at Windblowers. I'll see what they have tucked away maybe?

I'm still thinking about the Jericho J6 Tenor, having found the Alto very good, and it's half the price of the BW.
Trouble is, there are no reviews of the J6 so far. That's the only other "cheap" tenor that appeals. It would be good to find someone who had played both J6 and BW and who could say why the BW is worth double?