Mouthpieces Mouthpiece differences (PPT 8* vs. Yani metal 9)

[VirusKiller]

I recently bought an PPT 8* for use with my bronze BW tenor. The tone is great and really adds some sparkle to the horn that was missing with my Yanagisawa metal 9.

But I've been having trouble with both the bell notes and the altissimo with a Legere Signature 2 reed.

Just to check, I switched back to my Yani yesterday with the same reed and found both the bell notes and altissimo considerably easier. With the altissimo, front E was pretty good where it's non-existent (at the moment) with the PPT, and I had little difficulty getting a clean pure tone on altissimo G and G#. Front F and F# were a cinch.

I read a comment on an eBay auction the other day which seems to confirm that the Yani is particularly easy to hit the high harmonics with.

Do I just need to practice more with my PPT? I suspect I need to strengthen the muscles in my lower lip as I recently changed from a lip-over embouchure to a no-lip-over embouchure.

Thoughts?

 

[TomMapfumo]

Hi there!

The PPT 8* is 0.115" tip (as far as I am aware) and the Yani Metal 9 is 0.105" (equivalent to a normal 7*) which makes the PPT a much more open piece, which usually would show at the extreme ends of the scale. Certainly I would just take time to get used to playing the PPT, and leave the extremes for the time being - concentrate on making the change to an open lower lip embouchure first or you might just end up tightening your embouchure too much and strangling the production of certain notes.

Hope this helps.
Kind regards
Tom

 

[kevgermany]

Might be the reed is a touch too hard for you with the PPT. It's usual to need a slightly softer reed with a wider piece.

However with a little practice you may find that you get used to the PPT/reed and the missing notes come back. Tom makes a good point about switching mouthpiece and embouchure at the same time.

 

[VirusKiller]

Thanks guys. The Yani 9 is actually 0.109" according to the Yani website (which is up - I half expected it not to be...). Jody Jazz had it wrong at 0.105" and still does at 0.108". PPT 8* is 0.117" which makes it 7% wider than the Yani.

Dare I say it, I'm probably about to change horns! 🙂))

 

[TomMapfumo]

You'll be getting a new Loan Agreement soon.................;}

 

[VirusKiller]

Nah, I've just been tempted by Griff's Vito which won't break the bank if it works out. I suppose that GAS has to start somewhere though!

 

[Two Voices]

Dare I say it, I'm probably about to change horns! 🙂))

Most certainly guaranteed to help 🙂))

Thoughts?

Want my penny first 🙂))

Seriously, when I got my Otto-Link Vintage 7* I struggled to blow it cleanly top to bottom! In fact I was struggling general with it. The Tip Opening is 0.015” but the lay is longer than the average 7* mouthpiece. This is often overlooked when people start comparing mouthpiece tip openings. The longer lay makes it harder to blow cleanly. Furthermore the vintage has a huge chamber compared to any of the current link mouthpieces. So it stands to reason that this was going to be much harder to tame than the New York Model.

Anyhow, what I did to get used to the mouthpiece was to play a Rico Royal 3. That certainly made blowing it harder than my preferred RJS 2M. Nonetheless, with many hours of practice with the scales it slowly came. I still struggled on the bell notes and at the top end slightly but was beginning to sound okay. At this point I switched to my prefer RJS 2M that I initially struggled with and I blew it like a dream! Even my Altissimo was solid!

I’m sure if you play a harder reed on the PPT for a week it’ll come!

 

[VirusKiller]

You raise an interesting point Paul as I think the PPT lay is longer than the Yani's.

 

[Two Voices]

You raise an interesting point Paul as I think the PPT lay is longer than the Yani's.

It's easy enough to see or measure but does make a huge difference. If so you may need to take more mouthpiece in. I found I needed to take about an extra 4-5mm on my Vintage. I usually take about 8-10mm on most mouthpieces.

 

[TomMapfumo]

I do like a long lay, but not on a mouthpiece..................:shocked:;}

 

[VirusKiller]

Amen to that!

 

[Two Voices]

I do like a long lay, but not on a mouthpiece..................:shocked:;}

 

[Nick Wyver]

I read a comment on an eBay auction the other day which seems to confirm that the Yani is particularly easy to hit the high harmonics with.

I'd go along with that. I bought a Yanag 9 the other week and had to use it at a gig when I found I'd stuck a bari mouthpiece in the case instead of my usual Guardala.

Anyway, it wasn't a disaster despite the fact that I'd probably played it for about 5 minutes before the gig. Finding the right reed took a few songs and I eventually ended up with a LaVoz medium hard. A tad harder would have helped but that was the hardest I had with me at the time. Having to play it with a 2 would have been really difficult.

Can't help with the PPT but I'd be inclined to try something harder.