Mouthpieces Metal mouthpiece?

[FastFred]

Have been playing about 16 months now and have a nice tone on my tenor and otto link 7*/2 & 1/2 vandoren jazz reeds. Don't want to start collecting mouthpieces but I am thinking of trying a metal mouthpiece. I am looking for the Coltrane type sound (but don't expect that exactly after 16 months). It sounds to me very smooth but with that fuzzy tone over the main sound that typifies a sax. I don't get the fuzzy with the link. What difference would a metal mouthpiece give me I guess is my first question? Are they capable of a wider range of sounds? Should i buy a PPT??

 

[Saxlicker]

If you mean what I think you mean by 'fuzzy overtone'
That usually comes little by little once it's set in your minds ear so a metal mouthpiece may not do too much for you initially. It's always a combination of the player and the set up and in that combination the player does so much more than the set up.
After 16 month playing I'd guess the mouthpiece is still shaping your sound as opposed to your sound coming through it.
So, you will notice a change but providing significant shades of overtones is unlikely to be a characteristic.

Good fun playing around with different pieces though.....
Good Luck!

 

[tengu01]

Uh oh...I smell GAS

Hi there Fast Fred,

I would highly recommend that instead of getting more gear, you work on long note and overtone exercises to really develop your own sound before you start getting new mouthpieces to go with it.

Of course on all the threads, you will note that some folk have drawers of mouthpieces, but at this stage in the game, I think that you're better off tackling some of the exercises that exist for bettering your intonation, tone and breathing (and really master them rather than running through them once and thinking....'ok, now what?').

Then once you have developed a strong sound of your own, you can add equipment to assist you in your quest. As you're developing at the moment, you will have to keep adapting to match your kit.

I have made the most in terms of development when I just stuck to one piece and really got to grips with it properly.

(but that's just my opinion for what it's worth)

Cheers

 

[FastFred]

Hi Teng

I am going to do just that. I have a pretty good tone and don't want to end up with boxes of reeds/mouthpieces such that it's impossible to ascertain which variable is doing what.

I let an alto player have a go on my set up the other day and it sounded very good. The Link is a good mothpiece and I will stick with it. Cheers.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Don't want to start collecting mouthpieces but I am thinking of trying a metal mouthpiece. I am looking for the Coltrane type sound (but don't expect that exactly after 16 months).

What difference would a metal mouthpiece give me I guess is my first question? Are they capable of a wider range of sounds?

It's not so much the fact that a mouthpiece is metal, but the mouthpiece make and model which defines the sound. (A metal Berg larsen is very different to a metal Link). It's unlikely you'll find the exact same mouthpiece as Trane very easily as they are quite rare and he had many which were extensively reworked.

Should i buy a PPT??

Of course, everybody should!

Seriously though, I don't think it will be what you are after. Someone with much more than 16 months experience would be able to get a Coltrane sound from one, but at this stage you would be better off trying to find something more similar to his set up, possibly a refaced modern metal Link.

 

[Pjonah]

Pete

You may have already answered this eslewhere, sorry if you have, but have you any intention of making a PPT for baritone?

 

[FastFred]

Thanks all for your responses. Here is the next question then..

How is that fuzzy overtone I described produced? I just can't understand the mechanics? If someone can explain that then I/others will have something to aim at? I can produce a very smooth tone now, presumably because i am using my mouth/cheeks (soft tissues) to dampen some overtones? How do you add this fuzziness as soft tissues are not ideal for generating high freqeuncy waves/vibrations?
In essence what exactly am i going to be able to perhaps do in 5/10 years time (when I am not a beginner) that I can't now?
Thanks

 

[Pjonah]

Try roughing it up, by gently humming while you play, you'll notice the growl come through, but don't do too much or it'll be a little passé.🙂))