Mouthpieces Cheap sax with a good mouthpiece

[tommy_ng]

I have a cheap Prelude. Will it make a difference if i play it with a good mouthpiece such as a selmer or yani?


:S

 

[TomMapfumo]

Yes. I have a virtually unused Yani 6 Ebonite for sale at ?45.00 inc P&P if you are interested. (plus ?5 to Pete's fund). Its a good quality MPC. PM if you are interested - I simply play wider facing mouthpieces.

BTW how is the sax playing coming on - you've had i several weeks by now?

Kind regards
Tom 8)

 

[tommy_ng]

My progress is very slow. Not much time to practise really.......

A bit struggle to get low notes. The best i could get is a low D, without breaking.....

I am using a Yamaha 4C and Vandoren traditional #2 reed....

 

[TomMapfumo]

Hi Tommy!

Both Selmer and Yani produce high quality mouthpieces and both have received plenty of positives. The Selmer Soloist has a very good reputation as does the Super Sessions that I use, particularly on Alto. Both the Yani Ebonite and Metal have a solid reputation also, and you may also want to consider Vandoren Java or V5, which are excellent. Providing you choose the right size facing I cannot see how you would lose out on playing a better quality piece. If I remember correctly you have a good BG ligature so things should work well, and a Vandoren traditional 2 reed. Have you experimented with other reeds?

Kind regards
Tom

 

[Smiffy]

I can vouch for the Selmer Soloist, to me it's far better than the S80, freer blowing, saying that, the Yamaha C4 is rated as good a learners mp, maybe go to a 1.5 reed,? if it works it works

 

[snatch182]

Hi tommy!

I agree that the yamaha 4C is a great mouthpiece also. It is the one of the easiest mouthpieces to play and is great for any player really.

I think the only reason for you to upgrade to a different mouthpiece, should be if you are looking for a different tone. I've heard good things about the otto link tone edge mouthpieces (which is apparently more jazzy) and also a selmer s80 (which are more classical).

I also recommend you try the Vandoren Optimum series mouthpiece. They are great also. But it all depends on what tone you would like? So the best thing is that you try them out first at any local music shop before purchasing.

Also consider the possibility that soon in the future you may want to upgrade your sax also. So going for the most expensive mouthpiece now, may not be a good idea if your thinking of upgrading your sax in a year or so, as you may find that one mouthpiece that goes well with your prelude may not go so well with another sax that you upgrade to.

I hope that helps.

 

[TomMapfumo]

Hi Tommy.

What exactly is your reason for considering a change of mouthpiece? I should have asked earlier. Is there something that you are unhappy about with the 4C or your sound etc? As Snatch is highlighting, is there a wish to sound different, or something that you are not happy with? I'm sure that we can offer some help, whatever the problem is. You mention low notes as a slight problem. Anything else, do let us know.

Kind regards
Tom

 

[ch_boogie]

Yes, It could make a difference. As I remember the mouthpiece that came with Janes (ch'boogie) prelude was relativly easy to blow. The low notes require an open throat and a slighlty different approach than the others. We found it came with practice.

Col.

 

[andrew_sanders]

Hi Tommy
I had the same problem a couple of years ago, cheap mouthpiece with vandoren 2's. It felt like playing a lolly stick to my under- developed embouchure. Bought a Yani mouthpiece 7* and use Superial 2.5 and the horn sounds beautiful. I think the standard Vandorens seem somewhat unyielding compared to other makes.
Try Rico Royals perhaps 1.5 or 2.
Hope this helps.
Andy

 

[tommy_ng]

Hi

Many thanks for all the comments

I am having a Prelude and a Yamaha 4C (BG ligature, Vandoren traditional 2). I find it quite difficult to play the low notes. I also think the sound is not "bright" enough.... Well, it could be my skills that cause all the problem :cry:

Will a metal mpc produces a brighter sound?


🙂

 

[peedee]

Hi Tommy

I have a cheap Lafleur Tenor, and the mouthpiece I keep comin back to is a cheap Yammy 5, and bog standard Rico nr 2-1/2. When I can play at least 80 % of the music in my books well then I might think about changing my sound. Actually I tell a lie, i have been experimenting with sound effects with the cheap mpc, and quite successful. So moral, get the basics sorted with the basics, before forking out loads of dosh!

 

[TomMapfumo]

Good point PD.

It sounds like Tommy needs to do more practice and get softer/brighter playing reeds than a Traditional 2, before changing mouthpieces. At the same time not all needs are the same and beginner mouthpieces do not suit everyone. When I started trumpet the standard issue mouthpiece was a Vincent Bach 7C which ALL beginners were encouraged to start playing - bordering on religious mania. I found it didn't sound right and went on a journey playing larger and larger pieces, with an increasingly improved and satisfying sound (not just my opinion!) For me a larger mouthpiece was infinitely superior in all ways. I would recommend that it is useful to have at least 2 mouthpieces available in order to help with these sort of issues. It may be that Tommy should try a slightly larger MPC with a brighter sound - at least it would clarify certain issues.

I have been using a Yani 6 HR whilst waiting for my mouthpiece problems to resolve. I am currently playing a Java T55 which represents an increase in facing from 85 to 98. My experience is that the lower end is improved and there is good control down to Bb, much better than before. I have resolved my reed issues previously and am very happy with the current arrangement and the sound that is produced.

What I tentatively conclude is that we all have to follow a bit of a journey in the initial stages and learn & decide lots of different things on the way to establishing our sound etc. There are plenty of cheaper mouthpieces out there that play brightly and may be worth a try/purchase as Tommy tries to resolve his dilemma. I would suggest sort the practice issue out and experiment with reeds, before making a more expensive decision re mouthpieces, and look for reeds/mouthpieces that are known to play brighter.

I'll get my coat at this stage, but hope, Tommy, that this is a helpful post. I've never played a Yamaha 4C or Vandoren Traditionals (played the other Vandorens, and like the V16's particularly - Java and ZZ's also sound good to my ears) but have played other mouthpieces and reeds and my search has led to some greater clarification of what I am looking for.

Kind regards
Tom

 

[Rogerb]

If you wish to learn from the experience of many beginners, Tommy, I'd say that many of us...maybe most....have changed mouthpieces too soon or too often, in search of a sound which really only comes from practice and more practice, plus listening to lots of the sort of players you aspire to sound like.

Get the sound firmly in your mind, practice lots of long tones, scales and arpeggios ... eventually it will start to come, but it WILL be slow. Boring but true!
Trust me, there are no short-cuts which you can buy over the counter. (I've tried!)
If you have a sax & mpc in good playing condition stick with them for a while.... an expensive mpc won't help significantly at this stage....apart from being nicer to look at! And if you lay out lots of ?? on a mpc now, you will probably need to do it again as your chops develop 🙁

FWIW, I found the Vandoren V5 A25 a really good mpc which I could still be using, if I hadn't been so impatient.
A metal mpc will not necessarily give a brighter sound....I sound much the same on my metal Jody Jazz as I do on my Vandoren Jumbo Java, which cost a fraction as much. I am hoping that one day the expensive JJDV will start to sound better!!

I found that I got along with #1.5 - #2 Rico Standard reeds better than with others, at first (and they are usually cheaper!)...I have moved to Jazz Selects now.
A reed which is too hard for your chops will make the low notes hard to blow.

If you have a good ear for pitch, I think chords & arpeggios are a great way of improving your intonation...it certainly helped me a lot.

And read the Beginner's Diary.....practically all of us can relate ro Chris's experiences.

I still rate myself a very poor player after over 2 years of weekly lessons.... but would have been much worse without a patient teacher!

Good luck.

 

[tommy_ng]

Thanks for all the comments... ya, i need to practise more before changing my mpc... I was using 1.5 reed but my friend told me that i should start from 2.5 !!! This was told by his sax teacher...

 

[Rogerb]

Tommy Ng wrote:
Thanks for all the comments... ya, i need to practise more before changing my mpc... I was using 1.5 reed but my friend told me that i should start from 2.5 !!! This was told by his sax teacher...

Yes I saw a teacher in the Sax on The Web Forum saying that he insists on his students' starting on 2.5 😱
(They sometimes forget what it was like to be a beginner!)

I wouldn't have been able to make any sound at all with a 2.5 Rico when I started ..... I only use a RJS 2M after 2+ years! ...and Vandorens are a bit harder, generally.
(Of course it also depends on the mouthpiece tip-opening, but if you have an 'entry level' mpc like the 4C, you should, IMO, start with a reed you can blow!!).

 

[Smiffy]

Agree

 

[tommy_ng]

will try using a 0.5 reed :laugh: