Mouthpieces Mortified!!

[Fraser Jarvis]

Ok so i left the mouthpiece with reed on my sax for maybe a week without cleaning it (have done it many times before without issue) so tonight I decided to strip and clean it and found these horrific pit marks! Wouldn’t have minded but this mouthpiece is very special to me i had it from a Royal Marines bandsman who had it silver plated, it’s a Lawton (Geoff) 7*BB that i had Sakshama open up to 115# 8*bb, plays great (mouthpiece not me) so I guess the message is clear, clean the bloody things every time you play!

 

[saxyjt]

I fell you, but does it affect the sound at all?

This is a good warning call, because since I use Légère, I tend to keep the reed on the mouthpiece, but not on the sax...

 

[Fraser Jarvis]

Yes i use Legere too. And no cant see any difference in what it gives me, just lucky i guess bit longer and it could have been a hole !

 

[Nick Wyver]

That's a bugger.

I left a reed on a Jody Jazz gold plated DV9 bari mouthpiece overnight. It took the plating off under the reed.

 

[ChampagneBears]

Yikes! Message received!

 

[Veggie Dave]

As someone whose only experience of plating is in the motorcycle realm, and therefore not really qualified to comment, I'm going to comment anyway and say that any plating that can be removed with a soggy reed and a little saliva is the lowest of the lowest possible technical quality.

I can't think of any way to describe such a level of unbelievable cheapness that doesn't involve words that aren't allowed here. It should take a hammer or angle grinder to get even cheap plating to separate from the surface underneath.

 

[Pete Thomas]

As someone whose only experience of plating is in the motorcycle realm, and therefore not really qualified to comment, I'm going to comment anyway and say that any plating that can be removed with a soggy reed and a little saliva is the lowest of the lowest possible technical quality.

I can't think of any way to describe such a level of unbelievable cheapness that doesn't involve words that aren't allowed here. It should take a hammer or angle grinder to get even cheap plating to separate from the surface underneath.

I agree about plating quality but the photo in the OP appears to show pitting that goes way deeper into the metal below. Or maybe that’s just a trick of the light.

 

[Ivan]

Good lesson, ta

 

[Fraser Jarvis]

Hi Pete, yes correct it goes way deeper. I just can’t understand why it’s such aggressive pitting that’s developed in such a short space of time? Must have just eaten or drank something extremely acidic I guess.

 

[Wonko]

My guess would be acid corrosion caused by the bacteria that lived in the small space between the mouthpiece and the reed. In anaerobic circumstances these bacteria would produce acids that could have a nasty effect on the metal surface.
That implies that there is something for those bacteria to eat of course. That could be minute remnants of something you ate or drank....
My guess is that I would not be so bad with a natural reed since they dry out (unless the environment is extremely humid)

 

[thomsax]

Don't leave the reed on the maouthpiece after you've been playing. When I re-padded my bari there was manu black spots on old pads. The skin/leather is often prepared with chemicals to make them soft and to give them the right colour as well. It's important to keep your mpc, sax, and pads as dry and clean as possible.

 

[TimboSax]

Eek! You been drinking the battery acid again Fraser?

 

[rhysonsax]

As someone whose only experience of plating is in the motorcycle realm, and therefore not really qualified to comment, I'm going to comment anyway and say that any plating that can be removed with a soggy reed and a little saliva is the lowest of the lowest possible technical quality.

I can't think of any way to describe such a level of unbelievable cheapness that doesn't involve words that aren't allowed here. It should take a hammer or angle grinder to get even cheap plating to separate from the surface underneath.

Well, yes but that's probably not a criticism of the original product from Lawton.

It sounds from the OP that this was re-plated, by we don't know whom, on behalf of a Royal Marine bandsman. What preparation they did, whether they removed all of the original Lawton finish and under-plating, how many new layers they applied, what thickness, what quality etc. are all unknown.

Perhaps there were pits in the table before they applied the silver plate and they only put on a light thickness which didn't adhere well.

Rhys

 

[scotsman]

Good post Fraser Jarvis and saxyjt. Just had a look at my Theo Wanne Mantra mouthpieces. Tenor and Alto..Indeed both had signs where the reed had been left on. No pits though!.More so on the Tenor as I play that more. Ive had a good clean and the tenor now "pops" easier... Goodness!! I am such a slut!!!! Regards

 

[s.mundi]

The human mouth is extremely beautiful and nasty. Good luck.

 

[Fraser Jarvis]

But I thought Fraser is Fraser.

I agree about plating quality but the photo in the OP appears to show pitting that goes way deeper into the metal below. Or maybe that’s just a trick of the light.

My guess would be acid corrosion caused by the bacteria that lived in the small space between the mouthpiece and the reed. In anaerobic circumstances these bacteria would produce acids that could have a nasty effect on the metal surface.
That implies that there is something for those bacteria to eat of course. That could be minute remnants of something you ate or drank....
My guess is that I would not be so bad with a natural reed since they dry out (unless the environment is extremely humid)

This makes complete sense. Of late ive been moving the ligature further and further back so a gap although microscopic could have formed resulting in a bacterial buildup.

 

[Jazzaferri]

If the pitting is as deep as it looks there is more happening than plating coming off.