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A couple of weeks ago I went on an alto mouthpiece hunt at the local sax store and, after trying quite a few, came away with a luvverly Vandoren AL3.
Yesterday I returned to the store with my tenor, hoping to find a mouthpiece that would similarly grab me. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. I have a rather bright tenor, which works great with the band (last night we got together, I used my rico metalite M5, and it cut through brilliantly), but at home I would prefer something darker, smoother, richer. The AL3 gave me that for the alto, so I was hoping I'd find something that did similar for the tenor.
I have a budget up to about £150, and tried:
Vandoren TL3: still too bright, and in fact didn't sound that much different to my Yamaha 4c (at least, not different enough to be worth buying).
Otto link jazz: better, but still not different enough
Selmer s80: didn't like the tone in the upper octave at all, very stuffy sounding
Rousseau Classic 5: nearly there. Easy to play, darker (less "buzzy" if you know what I mean) but again, not enough of a difference to be worth spending my hard earned on
Yanagisawa metal jobby: Great tone, much more like it, but I did find it tricky to blow (particularly around upper G), so felt as if I wasn't in as much control. Also seemed to need a lot more puff to get going. I'm sure that that's all due to my chops not being any good yet, but at £215 it is also out of my budget - I don't want to be spending that money yet. Not sure I'm that keen on metal mouthpieces either, the ebonite/rubber/plastic ones feel much more comfortable.
There were other mouthpieces available to try, but your man at the shop said that there was nothing there that would provide the darker tone I'm looking for, they were all brighter.
So, I came away sans mouthpiece. I know that the tone I want is possible, 'cos the yani pretty much had it, but I'd prefer it in ebonite/rubber/plastic, easier blowing, and cheaper.
Not much to ask for ;}
Yesterday I returned to the store with my tenor, hoping to find a mouthpiece that would similarly grab me. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. I have a rather bright tenor, which works great with the band (last night we got together, I used my rico metalite M5, and it cut through brilliantly), but at home I would prefer something darker, smoother, richer. The AL3 gave me that for the alto, so I was hoping I'd find something that did similar for the tenor.
I have a budget up to about £150, and tried:
Vandoren TL3: still too bright, and in fact didn't sound that much different to my Yamaha 4c (at least, not different enough to be worth buying).
Otto link jazz: better, but still not different enough
Selmer s80: didn't like the tone in the upper octave at all, very stuffy sounding
Rousseau Classic 5: nearly there. Easy to play, darker (less "buzzy" if you know what I mean) but again, not enough of a difference to be worth spending my hard earned on
Yanagisawa metal jobby: Great tone, much more like it, but I did find it tricky to blow (particularly around upper G), so felt as if I wasn't in as much control. Also seemed to need a lot more puff to get going. I'm sure that that's all due to my chops not being any good yet, but at £215 it is also out of my budget - I don't want to be spending that money yet. Not sure I'm that keen on metal mouthpieces either, the ebonite/rubber/plastic ones feel much more comfortable.
There were other mouthpieces available to try, but your man at the shop said that there was nothing there that would provide the darker tone I'm looking for, they were all brighter.
So, I came away sans mouthpiece. I know that the tone I want is possible, 'cos the yani pretty much had it, but I'd prefer it in ebonite/rubber/plastic, easier blowing, and cheaper.
Not much to ask for ;}
