Mouthpieces E. Rouseau Studio Jazz Alto Mouthpiece.

[Andrew Sanders]

I picked up a lovely vintage alto recently (Thanks Jobylou) and after a quick service and a bit of soldering at Woodwind Exchange it was ready to blow. I meant to spend a few hours with Stuart at WE to try his vast array of mouthpieces but as my wife Sue was with me I had to quickly settle for a secondhand Selmer S80 C to get me going.

After a couple of weeks getting to know the instrument I realised I needed a wider tip and a brighter sound and with help from TomMapfumo and Jonf seemed to know where I was headed.

Time is not on my side at the moment due to work commitments, plus we are due to visit my son in Australia so a visit, unencumbered, to Stuart's is not on the horizon.

So, to cut a long story slightly less long, I decided to try something different and plumped for a E. Rouseau SJ6.
It arrived today and I've just put it through it's paces.

It's a beauty, bright enough for me with a good strong core and very flexible. The tip is .076" has a slight roll baffle, well made and well finished in Hard Rubber. You can pick them up quite cheaply.There are two bigger tip options for you real men and ladies (.081 and .085)

Pete tried a Rouseau JDX 7 on his alto mouthpiece soundclips and seemed impresses. I can see why.
This will keep me happy for a long while.

 

[Andrew Sanders]

Oh, I used Rico Jazz select 2m reeds by the way. Will try 3s tomorrow.

 

[kevgermany]

My second teacher knows Rousseau. Swears by his mouthpieces... Sounded good on them as well. Enjoy!

 

[Andrew Sanders]

Do you have any experience of the metal ones Kev (or any one)?
I've never played a metal mouthpiece and this would be an affordable way to try one out.

 

[kevgermany]

Sorry, no. And we didn't get on too well, so no avenues to explore there...

I've played a couple of metal pieces - a Runyon smoothbore - harsh, unrefined but loud. An antique Selmer of Gladsaxisme's that I really liked, and a Morgan Fry Floridated link. The link's superb. As good as the PPT, but I prefer the PPT sound so don't use it much. It's better for posing, though. Gold beats blue plastic... Personally I prefer the warmer feeling non-metal pieces, so don't go out of my way to try metal ones.

 

[Andrew Sanders]

I feel the same as I've got metal in my gob seven hours a day glassblowing.
But am I missing something?

 

[Saxdiva]

Hi Andrew,

A cheap non-risky way to try a metal mpc would be to have one on trial for 7 days and use it at home. Dawkes offer this service and charge £3 if you don't buy. You do have to pay up front but the refund is done very quickly. I used the service recently after being happy with a mpc after spending time testing several in sax.co.uk. It is much better to be able to test over a few days in your own environment and I found one that is better for me. If you tell them what you are looking for they will give you some great suggestions too.

 

[jonf]

Pleased to hear you've found something you like. Hope the weather's finally cleared up in Ilkley.

BTW, I had a look at your website, some nice stuff. Website looked crisp and sharp too. I'm visiting my friend in Ilkley (well, Addingham, actually) in August, so if I have time I'll drop in the studio in Pateley Bridge to say hello.

Jon

 

[Andrew Sanders]

Hi Jon,
Thanks for your advice. I'm still looking for that Yanagisawa metal you suggested (and Chris too by the way) but will have to have a look in Stuart's mouthpiece cupboard.

It would be great to see you up at the workshop. We are away the last two weeks of August though. Give me a ring to make sure we're there.

Website is being updated this year too!

Cheers

Andy