Mouthpieces If you use a metal mpc, why?

[Vlad]

I've tried metal mpcs but I don't get on with them - I dislike the vibration through my teeth.

I haven't got many teeth left so I don't care ! 😉

 

[Colin the Bear]

My first proper mouthpiece was a gift from a retired pro. A metal Ben Davis. Silver plated brass. I played it for decades. Wore out the bite plate and plating. Repaired the bite plate with Waterweld and started using a patch, then painted the raw brass with clear nail varnish.

There are some subtle differences.

A metal mouthpiece always feels cold in the mouth, at first.

They are usually smaller which can affect jaw position and therefore playability and sound.

A plated mouthpiece can lose its plate through mishandling or wear over time.

They look much more stylish/cool imo.

They are more likely to survive a drop, but not always.

No sulphur taste/smell as they age.

Less likely to distort and discolour compared to HR.

I'm currently using HR on SATB and plastic on clarinet. Just because.

 

[Vlad]

With one of the instruments I got once was an old wooden mouthpiece, obviously I tried it, was fairly hopeless as I recall, I think I experimented with filing it and messing about to 'open it up' a bit. I think after my piddllng about with it it was even worse and I chucked it in the bin !
No doubt it would now be 'priceless' and big ££ on ebay or something 😉

 

[Tenor Viol]

I haven't got many teeth left so I don't care ! 😉

I suspect my aversion is due to some oddities with my bite

 

[jazzdoh]

They are more likely to survive a drop, but not always.

I would agree, but the only mouthpiece I damaged due to a drop in 50 years was metal ( hope I am not tempting fate here), I dropped a custom alto LAW metal in the sink whilst washing it and damaged the tip, luckily Laurie only lives 15 mins from me and he rectified it while I waited.

 

[dexdex]

I play hard rubber on soprano and alto, and metal on tenor and baritone. Form factor is very likely one reason, even more on baritone.
But I also favor metal pieces on the big horns mimicking my major heroes. Most of them played Link STMs on tenor, and Bergs or spin-offs on bari. I keep feeling that the higher partials, those creating the sparkle and white noise on top of the tone, better get through with metal pieces. As if many rubber pieces were slightly dampening them.
I keep reading that material doesn’t matter. Maybe the inner surface does, and machining rubber or brass ends-up in different micro-geometries.

 

[Pete Effamy]

I keep feeling that the higher partials, those creating the sparkle and white noise on top of the tone, better get through with metal pieces.

I agree. I have had v bright HR pieces but when pushed hard, they seem to reach a buffer which has a particular sound, not so with bright metal pieces.

Can a Grafton sax be picked out? 🤷🏻‍♂️ Never had one, but Pete has..

 

[PiccoloPirate]

Then there's the Stainless Braonze.
Cast of Stainless, Bronze and Trinidad Moruga Scorpion Peppers.
Best MP for wailing a hot Saint Thomas.

My goto Alto MP, for 50+ years, is an HR Berg, 95/0 and the new Bronze is 100/0.
No particular reason for getting the metal.
Both work as they should, with older reeds, Med LaVoz or similar Rico Royals.
Last reeds bought about 25 years ago, and still have older ones.

Mainly play Flutes, since the mid '70s.
Will pick up Sop at some point, to go with the '73 MKVI. Played Sax for 17 years before Flutes.
Started in Sept '59, on Tenor.
Happy 66th. 🥳

 

[turf3]

...You cannot mold a metal mouthpiece! ...

Of course you can! Have you ever seen a Dukoff metal mouthpiece?

The mold for a rubber mouthpiece and the mold for a metal mouthpiece work the same way. There's a core - from what I've seen, generally two pieces, the window/baffle part withdrawing toward the tip and the chamber/cork bore part withdrawing toward the cork bore, then at least two exterior halves. As long as you make sure there's appropriate draft on each surface, you're good to go.

 

[Dr G]

The material of the mouthpieces makes no difference, don't fall into the line of thinking that some will say that metal is brighter and HR is darker, some of my darkest have been metal and brightest have been HR, the main reason that players pick metal will be the profile, metal tends to be a slimmer profile than it's HR equivalent, but go with the sound whatever the mpc is made of.

I haven’t seen many here making that argument of “metal is brighter because it is metal”.

If they do, then hand them an early Otto Link or a Goldbeck.

 

[Dr G]

I think it can possibly make a slight difference, but only when the material at the tip is thin enough, ie when there is no significant baffle. This is something Ed Pillinger has noticed but it isn't necessarily metal vs HR

I agree that there exists a boundary condition in extreme instances. The Morgan Excalibur comes mind - I found it to have a harsh character when pushed.

 

[jazzdoh]

I haven’t seen many here making that argument of “metal is brighter because it is metal”.

If they do, then hand them an early Otto Link or a Goldbeck.

No you are right there are not many here making that quote but I have seen some retail websites that have made that claim that most metal are brighter and most HR were darker, not sure if it's still there but sax.co.uk was one such site.

As a side note just checked sax.co.uk, that blog is not there and it seems to have been done again correcting the original.

 

[Grumps]

I played metal mouthpieces when I was a kid because they were cool.
Now I play hard rubber mouthpieces... because they're cooler.

 

[turf3]

No you are right there are not many here making that quote but I have seen some retail websites that have made that claim that most metal are brighter and most HR were darker, not sure if it's still there but sax.co.uk was one such site.

As a side note just checked sax.co.uk, that blog is not there and it seems to have been done again correcting the original.

Retail websites can say any damn foolishness they want. Most of it's lies. Remember "Lies, damn lies, and statistics"? Well, in 2025 it's "Lies, damn lies, and marketeering".

 

[LostCircuits]

Of course you can! Have you ever seen a Dukoff metal mouthpiece?

The mold for a rubber mouthpiece and the mold for a metal mouthpiece work the same way. There's a core - from what I've seen, generally two pieces, the window/baffle part withdrawing toward the tip and the chamber/cork bore part withdrawing toward the cork bore, then at least two exterior halves. As long as you make sure there's appropriate draft on each surface, you're good to go.

Ok. the Dukoffs I have had (vintage) were brazed together.

But I should have said stainless steel - I think it is possible but I don't believe that's how they are done.

 

[LostCircuits]

I think it can possibly make a slight difference, but only when the material at the tip is thin enough, ie when there is no significant baffle. This is something Ed Pillinger has noticed but it isn't necessarily metal vs HR

Yes, my own ultem tenor pieces are extremely thin at the beak to the point where I can feel the tip vibrate. There is a point when I machine the beak where I hear the transition from "clonk" to "ding" and that's when I know I am there.

 

[progger]

I was mostly a hard rubber guy until a couple years ago. I was deep into my "transcribe every Wayne Shorter tune from the 1960s" journey and ended up just calling Matt Marantz to see if he could make me the mouthpiece Wayne was using at the time, around E.S.P. and Sorcerer. We talked for a bit and I ended up buying one of his "Florida double-ring" Link clones in my preferred tip opening (.108) and I've been on that ever since. Before that I was on a Macsax Bob Sheppard model in the same tip opening that Matt had also finished... So I essentially sidestepped from a great rubber Link to a great metal Link and I'd be happy with either.

For whatever reason, I do think my current piece gives me my favorite results of anything I've used yet, I love it to death. It'll be my thing for a long time, I suspect. I mostly got it out of geeky hero-worship at the time but it clicked for me. Here's a relatively recent clip for anyone curious.

There's a very real chance I'll just get one of Matt's Slant Link clones sometime in the future, just for grins.

 

[helen]

The material doesn't matter to me.

• What a particular MP is capable of dong for a particular sax does.
  • What kind of tuning?
  • What kind of tone?
  • What kind of sound?
  • Altissimo ease?
  • Works well with my choice of reeds?

These are all some of the questions I ask myself when I assess whether a particular MP will work or not.

I have lots of both metal, hard rubber, and even plastic MPs for all my horns ranging from soprano thru to bass.

It all depends on which horn I'm playing, and what kind of setting I'm playing it in. That will determine which MP I will use. EG: I might use my Labayle metal bass MP for some groups, but for most, I will use my hard rubber Vandoren.

 

[jonf]

I currently play metal on soprano, alto and baritone. Bari on sop, Yanagisawa metal on alto and baritone. For many years I also played metal pieces on tenor as well, Lawton, modified Link and Berg. In all cases, it was just that the mouthpiece itself suited me, not the material. On tenor, I now play a SYOS 3d printed plastic mouthpiece. It looks odd, as it's a funny colour, but it plays better than any other mouthpiece I've ever tried.

 

[jonf]

Can a Grafton sax be picked out? 🤷🏻‍♂️ Never had one, but Pete has..

I've got one as well, I play it using my metal Yanagisawa 7. When I play the Grafton with the Yanagisawa, it sounds, well, just like me playing an alto sax.