Mouthpieces brought a metal mouthpiece called sharkbite from ebay

[ash_driscoll]

I decided to take a gamble to buy it, I thought it sounded abit weird it being a metal mouthpiece for only £27, as I've seen them going for ALOT more.

I know I shouldn't of bought it being that I've only been playing for 2 months, but I was getting abit annoyed at the nasal sound that came from the Yamaha 4C when it went into the higher tones and I couldn't really play them without my ears hurting.

I must abit my gamble paid off so much, the tone quality is alot thorough on all the ranges and the wide of the mouthpiece is abit thinner. All in all it's giving my mouth a great workout!!

now time to play with my 2 reed instead of my 1 1/2!!

 

[jonf]

I've got a tenor one of those, and I think it's pretty good. I ended up sawing the end off so I could use it on a C Mel. Works very well. Good value at £27.

 

[AlanU]

I've just bought an alto 6 one which arrived by next day delivery today.

As you've said, only £27!
So, I was prepared to be a bit disappointed, but thought I'd take a gamble at that price.
This was not to be.

Straight out of the box I was astonished at what I heard and felt.
The response is immaculate particularly at the top where I can play F# alone. Bottom Bb is equally eager to speak on its own.
The upper notes do not thin out or become shrill, the bottom is not boomy, but thick and solid.
It has attack and edge when pushed but will also sound clean and sweet with less pressure.

It will not be everyones choice, I know, but it certainly works for me.
ps. Just for context, the mouthpieces I've been playing for the last twenty-odd years are an ebonite Meyer and a metal Otto Link.
pps. On E-bay they are £27 postage free. On their site www.dance.marketing.com they are £59 + £3 postage. Work that out!

 

[jthole]

Yes, I heard various messages about those Sharkbite mouthpieces, ranging from absolute crap to excellent. I guess quality control is very limited at these prices. OTOH, you can buy two, have one good and one bad, and still have a nice deal

 

[Rikki]

I bought a Huastar tenor mouthpiece which I believe is the same as the sharkbite, and was stunned by how good it was for the money. Only problem is the plating has worn away.

 

[Fraser Jarvis]

Big discusion on s.o.t.w. recently regarding metal mouthpieces of far-eastern origin, lots of scare stories about the base metal and also the plating containing poisonous compounds such as Cadmium, Lead, and various other nasties!

 

[jonf]

These sorts of scare stories tend to be invented as a direct result of bigotry towards the far East. I haven't seen any evidence to back up the stories.

 

[Pete Thomas]

These sorts of scare stories tend to be invented as a direct result of bigotry towards the far East. I haven't seen any evidence to back up the stories.

I think you have hit the (lead or cadmium) nail on the head there.

I had a Huastar silver plated mouthpiece for a while. It was anice mouthpiece for the money.

 

[TomMapfumo]

Similarly on trumpet forums which suggest that most Far Eastern trumpets should only be used as lamp stands.......:shocked:

Obama has his work cut out, and no mistake......;}

Always sad that such views, primarily with little or no evidence, can hold such sway. I have 3 Brazilian horns and 3 Taiwanese horns, all of which merit high regard (in musical circles), and are significantly cheaper than the more commonly bought items by Yamaha, Besson, Bach and others!

Kind regards
Tom

 

[dolbob]

I was happy with the 6 lay with a softer reed I got 25% increase in volume, same rubbish notes but a lot louder! now playing a 7* Bari mouthpiece with a 2 reed and still working at it

 

[jthole]

Similarly on trumpet forums which suggest that most Far Eastern trumpets should only be used as lamp stands.......:shocked:

Unfortunately that attitude makes resale value for Taiwanese and Chinese saxes a gamble, in my opinion. Buy a Selmer, and you know you can sell it again in ten years from now. With a Le Monde or LC, for instance, I am not so sure.

 

[milandro]

well , it really all comes down to credibility and reliability. Nowadays if you by a P. Mauriat, a Barone and a Bauhaus Walstein people actually know what they are about and even second hand they retain a certain value probably 50% of the new price. However even buying a Selmer doesn't protect your investment all that much. If you are buying a new Selmer and at any point you want to sell it you have to be prepared to take , at least a 30% hit if you resell it in good state, showing the signs of the time you will get 50% of the new price , certainly if it is an alto.

Going back to the OP I've bought a chinese baritone piece,it is not much of a muchness but it plays well

 

[jthole]

Going back to the OP I've bought a chinese baritone piece,it is not much of a muchness but it plays well

Could be a nice piece to experiment with (baffle / chamber).

Regarding the depreciation of horns ... 30% off a Selmer is a lot of course. That would buy you a Walstein, I guess.

 

[TomMapfumo]

Why would anyone want to sell either a Selmer or Bauhaus Walstein Sax.............beats me! I've never bought the idea of resale value. Can't personally understand why someone would buy something that they'd want to sell, especially as you can always get something decent to play on IMO, without breaking the bank. I recently bought an excellent Olds Cornet for £47 - better sound that many which cost over the £1000 mark.

Kind regards
Tom

 

[jthole]

Why would anyone want to sell either a Selmer or Bauhaus Walstein Sax.............beats me!

Because you might need to sell when you want something different?

 

[Fraser Jarvis]

I think you have hit the (lead or cadmium) nail on the head there.

I had a Huastar silver plated mouthpiece for a while. It was anice mouthpiece for the money.

At the risk of saying "dont shoot the messenger" i just related what i saw and read, of cource there probably i'sent a shread of evedence to suport the cadmium theory, but with decent mainstream pieces readily available second hand, why bother?