Mouthpieces Meyer Alto

[kevgermany]

Have been usinga Selmer Soloist E on alto for a while. Sounds good, not as good as a Brilhart, but good nonetheless. Someone lent me a Meyer 5 aerodynamic to try. Initially I wasn't too impressed - sounded harsh/ugly, but was easier to blow than the Selmer. I tried a harder reed (Rico Royal 3, instead of RJS 2H). And it was transfromed. Stuill a rather harsh sound, but much better. And.... LOUD. I couldn't believe just how much volume this little peashooter was able to make before it started closing up. At volumes which the Selmer peaked at, it was just getting going. But it still had lots of quiet tones...

Going to be interesting.... My wife's already commented on how harsh and loud it is.

 

[TomMapfumo]

It's time that they produced the Meyer "Culpa" mouthpiece - even louder and harsher than the one you are putting your lips around!
So, are you still after a specific sound, or are you just undertaking an experiment? Gilad Atzmon used to play a Meyer 5 but has swapped to the Morgan Fry alto piece.

What is the "aerodynamic" part? Is it a specific mouthpiece I've not heard of or is it a name for the German market? Pray enlighten us.
I've yet to try a Selmer Soloist, and am a little put off by the regular comments about it being finished inconsistently. I am quite tempted by the new Mouthpiece Cafe Espresso Alto mouthpiece which purports to be based on the original Selmer Soloist, but am happy enough with what I currently play.

 

[kevgermany]

Meyer culpa - good one!

Sound - yes, something clean, smooth, classical I suppose, like the Brilhart I had, but easier to play/blow, with guts when pushed. Much like the PPT on tenor. I've got Bariandyf's Morgan on it's way, so we'll see how that turns out. Meyer's on trial, but I think I'll keep it. Even if it's just for letting off steam...

I'll try and find out more about the 'aerodynamic'. I guess it's not a german special. Maybe a pic would help.

I've got 2 solists, one's a pillinger replica, so plays well, but there's a lot of resistance which I don't like. But the sound is nice. The other is a modern E, works OK, but again the resitrinace is very high and on both the facing is such that I'm using a lot of force to get it under control.

 

[TomMapfumo]

I'd be interested to hear how you get on with the Morgan!

 

[kevgermany]

I'd be interested to hear how you get on with the Morgan!

will keep you posted

 

[koumou]

Hello Tom,

Thanks to you I learned about Gilad Atzmon, what a great and iteresting musician he is.

A standard soloist D works very well for me on alto, though not the same story on tenor. A Phil - Tone Meyer 6 I got through a trade is also very good. It has a little more edge and can play a little louder.

 

[TomMapfumo]

Now have a look at Charles Lloyd's new 2CD set on ECM - recorded live in Athens. Lovely stuff!

 

[Tenor Viol]

--snip---It's time that they produced the Meyer "Culpa" mouthpiece -----

Groan

 

[kevgermany]

Update....

Meyer continues to impress, but so does the Morgan. i need to do some serious reed sanding to get he morgan to fit/play in tune.

But it's louder than the Meyer, with a more mellow sound, especally at the bottom, where it's almost as rich as the tenor. Subtones are a breeze... Am struggling with reeds for the Morgan at the moment. Andy suggested trying some Alexanders, which I didn't get time to do over the weekend.

But.... I picked up my tenor for the first time since July. And for the first time I didn't feel the alto was a thin weedy sounding instrument (in my hands). Both Meyer and Morgan have given it some strength and richness that was missing with the Selmer... Going to be an interesting ride. But my initial experience with the Morgan is very positive. Same, mind you, for the Meyer.

 

[TomMapfumo]

Hi Kev!

Steve Neff has just popsted a review of the new Phil-Tone Solstice mpc on his website. Commonly he uses Java reeds on his tests. However, this time, he used Rigotti Gold reeds. I have just acquired some of these which sound very good indeed on Meyer type alto mouthpieces and are very reasonably priced. I would recommend them highly, as well as the Alexander DC's. When I played my own Alto set-up in comparison to the previous Yani T901 tenor set up the former sounded almost more tenor like.

 

[kevgermany]

Food for thought, thanks, will take a look!

 

[kevgermany]

Well I've been blowing the two mouthpieces side by side for a while now. RJS filed are working well for me, but I tried a Rico Royal 3 instead of the RJS 2H/2M. Seems to work better, so maybe I'll try the RJS3S, as well.

I'm enjoying both pieces, but (for me) the Morgan has it on sound. Rich/warm, earthy. But a touch slow to respond for quicker stuff, where the Meyer goes better.... stiffer reed will help, I'm sure.

I took a look at he Phil-Tone web site as well, some interesting stuff there, especially the reviews.

I'm going to stick with both for now, and learn to blow the alto better. But I think the Morgan will get the vote in the end.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

Now to try some of those other reeds.

 

[kevgermany]

Still running with the Morgan. The Meter's hardly been on the sax since I got the Morgan. It's difficult cos the neck size of the two is so different.

Have nearly finished rebuilding a Buescher 20A. Will try both on that, but I think the Morgan's here to stay!

 

[TomMapfumo]

Still running with the Morgan. The Meter's hardly been on the sax since I got the Morgan. It's difficult cos the neck size of the two is so different.

Have nearly finished rebuilding a Buescher 20A. Will try both on that, but I think the Morgan's here to stay!

Well, the morgan's are a very decent mouthpiece. They are currently made by the folks that produce Mouthpiece Cafe mouthpieces, of which I play an NYC on Alto.

 

[Steve Stockham]

Fascinating thread! I recently moved to a Meyer 6M from a Selmer S80 E on a Rico Reserve 2½ and I was impressed with the change in sound! Meyers do seem to give a harsher tone than the Selmers but, with practice, you can get a warm mellower sound out of them! I've not had the opportunity to try a Morgan so thanks for the informative thread!

 

[Riversax]

.. read with interest as I,m thinking of another setup for alto. Currently on Lawton 7*B or 8*B, but going back to Tenor so I'm interested in a shift toward more standard/lighter alto sound (poorly described but hope you know what I mean.)

Anyway surely the Meyer to get would be the "maxima culpa"

...sorry.