As far as alto goes, I have a few setups but the type of gig will pre-determine what I take. I've had a Lakey 4*3 rubber for years which really is quite incredible. It's the best lead alto mouthpiece for me - clarity, power, flexibility, direct, bright (but not too much). You can back off it too and it will do a really decent Paul Desmond - but by choice, I tend to change to something less 'easily aggressive' or direct in a small band situation playing standards. It's a very good Pop 'piece too, though if I need a little extra bite/brightness I use a Jody Jazz DV8.
The Jody isn't too dissimilar to a Beechler (and many others of this ilk), but I find it more forgiving if I haven't played it for a good while whereas I found that I had to absolutely live on the Beechler and a Dukoff D10 (yes, D10) that I had and loved. I used it on a Yanagisawa A800 Elimona I had in the '90's and it was more or less the the most playable setup I've ever had. I eventually succumbed to the pull of a Mk 6 and I couldn't even control a D8 on that. Sax bore sizes??
For the jazz combo gigs I've been happy on a Meyer 6, Otto Link and now a Vandoren A-something. Variations upon a relatively small theme really - the Vandoren being a little more punchy if required, for me anyway.
I've changed reeds over the years too - different vamps don't suit all facings, and some are brighter or darker. I've used Hemke 2.5, Vandoren ZZ 3, Vandoren Javas 2.5/3, Rico Jazz Select 3 soft (for a recent rock 'n' roll gig on tenor the filed reeds were a revelation over the non-filed).
My number 1 thing is sound though, so it drives me nuts even if it's just a few % off where I want it. The Lakey would be an amazing all-rounder for me, but I chop and change for that extra few %. Having said that, my gig-types tend to be a long run of one thing, rather than a constant change - which could possibly lead me to stick with one size fits all..
