A few months ago I bought a Martin Handcraft on the devil's junkyard. It polished up nicely but I found it a lot more difficult to play than my Hanson SA5. I thought perhaps it needed new pads. (I tried it with mouthpieces Selmer S80 C**, Claude Lakey 4*4, Otto Link 7, and the Dearman Super that came with the Martin.)
Then my Hanson was stolen so I spent a bit more time on the Martin. One day I tried it with a Selmer plastic beginner's mouthpiece I'd forgotten about. Revelation! Suddenly the Martin was really easy to play and I was thoroughly enjoying it, although the tone is a bit harsh.
Now the question is, why is the Martin so sensitive to different mouthpieces, and can anyone recommend a good mouthpiece that might play easily while giving a decent tone? (The Otto Link is the best of the other mouthpieces, but still much more difficult than the plastic Selmer thing.)
Then my Hanson was stolen so I spent a bit more time on the Martin. One day I tried it with a Selmer plastic beginner's mouthpiece I'd forgotten about. Revelation! Suddenly the Martin was really easy to play and I was thoroughly enjoying it, although the tone is a bit harsh.
Now the question is, why is the Martin so sensitive to different mouthpieces, and can anyone recommend a good mouthpiece that might play easily while giving a decent tone? (The Otto Link is the best of the other mouthpieces, but still much more difficult than the plastic Selmer thing.)