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Mouthpieces Martin alto aficionados help request

MarkSax

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Hi everyone. The nicest sound I get on my Martin alto is with the original ebonite mpc that came with the sax in 1958 or so. I’ve been told it was made by Brilhart for Martin and that it is a large chamber with high baffle......etc. Not sure all is true. I don’t understand the mechanics of mpc making and how different sounds or moods are produced by changing the chamber or table.....I only know how to play and the mpc I got with the sax is close to ‘retirement’. Does anyone know of a modern mpc that comes close to the original Martin mpc? I do have Meyers which are really good but do not produce the same dark tone of the original. Thanks.
 
Hi everyone. The nicest sound I get on my Martin alto is with the original ebonite mpc that came with the sax in 1958 or so. I’ve been told it was made by Brilhart for Martin and that it is a large chamber with high baffle......etc. Not sure all is true. I don’t understand the mechanics of mpc making and how different sounds or moods are produced by changing the chamber or table.....I only know how to play and the mpc I got with the sax is close to ‘retirement’. Does anyone know of a modern mpc that comes close to the original Martin mpc? I do have Meyers which are really good but do not produce the same dark tone of the original. Thanks.
Can you send some pictures?
 
I've also heard that Brilhart made Martin original mouthpieces. Nothing I know for sure. I play Dukoff D chamber but that is a piercing setup. Meyer is used by many Martin players. And also Berg Larsen. Martin saxes are tolerant when it comes to mouthpieces. I've a 1957 "The Martin Alto" and the original alto mouthpiece "Martin" ** is a mouthpiece with no baffle and the chamber is also small. The shape of the chamber is not round and the throat is also wider . Here is a piture
Martinalto.JPG
 
I've also heard that Brilhart made Martin original mouthpieces. Nothing I know for sure. I play Dukoff D chamber but that is a piercing setup. Meyer is used by many Martin players. And also Berg Larsen. Martin saxes are tolerant when it comes to mouthpieces. I've a 1957 "The Martin Alto" and the original alto mouthpiece "Martin" ** is a mouthpiece with no baffle and the chamber is also small. The shape of the chamber is not round and the throat is also wider . Here is a piture
View attachment 11240

My Brilhart Ebolin alto mouthpiece looks quite like that.
But it is made of plastic, not rubber.
 
I use a Vandoren Optimum AL3 on my Martin Skyline Alto. It tunes across the range with no effort. I think it might be because the AL3 is a bit shorter than most modern mpcs. Tone wise, on Yamaha’s and Selmers the AL3 is a straight classical sound. On Martins it has edge. And this is a quiet mpc, which means I do more practice.
 
Many thanks for your replies. It actually looks a lot like @thomsax Martin mpc. And here I was going in the opposite direction.... So a small not round chamber, baffle less wide throat mpc is what I should be looking for? Googling.
 

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Martins are noted for being very "mouthpiece friendly". The two I find best for dark tone are RPC and Morgan jazz. The RPC takes a bit more getting used to, but has a unique tone that's hard to describe...rich spread of harmonics and full rounded timbre so that there's no difference between different areas of the tonal range. It also delivers luscious sub-tone. The Morgan is easier to play and similar, but not quite as full.
 
Many thanks for your replies. It actually looks a lot like @thomsax Martin mpc. And here I was going in the opposite direction.... So a small not round chamber, baffle less wide throat mpc is what I should be looking for? Googling.
Many thanks for your replies. It actually looks a lot like @thomsax Martin mpc. And here I was going in the opposite direction.... So a small not round chamber, baffle less wide throat mpc is what I should be looking for? Googling.
Yes. is a "Martin" ** original alto mouthpiece that use to come along with "The Martin" saxes. There is a very small type of roll over baffle. I don't have the original mouthpiece to my "The Martin Baritone" but the guy who I bought the sax from, packed along two hard rubber/ebonite Brilhart mouthieces. The shape of of the chamber on a Martin ** tenor mouthpice is rounder compare to the alto. When I tried different mouthpieces for Martin saxes I always compare it to the original mouthpiece. For me a "big, round" is not working so well on a Martin sax. I was "sinking" in the higher register. Dukoff D- or S- chamber, Berg Larsen bullet 0 or 1 chamber, Otto Link small chamber ..... are best for me as Rocksax player (hobby player).
 
Hard rubber is another name for Ebonite.
technically, 'Ebonite' is a brand name for hard rubber, but in the same way that Perspex or Plexiglass have become the common names for polymethylmethacrylate it's become a generic term - if you google it you'll find a company called Ebonite who make bowling balls from the stuff Ebonite
 
I have a Martin rubber mouthpiece that came with my Committee III alto. It actually plays very well, but is a bit closed for my tastes. So I typically play The Martin with either a Selmer Super Session D 6 (bought new, but now discontinued) or a Ted Klum Focustone Acoustimax 6. The Selmer's more focused, the Klum more flexible, but both work well.
 
I never noticed the similarities between my 'standard' Martin ** mouthpiece and my Brilhart Ebolin. I don't think I payed much attention to the Martin piece until now. I'll have to give it a try and compare with the Ebolin and Tonalin ...

Thanks for pointing this out.
 
It’s a lot more noticeable in the altissimo register. A doddle with the Martin mpc even though intonation not so good but E, Eb and F on the palm keys with anything else takes a lot of practice.
 
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