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Mouthpieces Mouthpiece for YAS-62II?

drm180

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I have a YAS 62II alto sax with a Yamaha 4C mouthpiece. I would like to upgrade it. I've been playing for 8 years and I'm going to college next year. I plan to be in the Jazz Band. Anyone have any suggestions? I don't know what to look for in mouthpieces.
 
I suppose the 1st question would be: what are you not getting from the 4c?
 
This is the only mouthpiece I've owned so I don't know if I'm missing anything with it or not. I hate to sound so ignorant but I really don't have much experience with the different aspects of the sax. I've always worried more about the music I'm playing rather than the parts of the actual saxophone.
 
I was going to be flippant and suggest a 4C....

Have been trying to find something for my alto. I've a vintage Brilhart ebolin personaline that sounds superb - dark and rich but is tricky to play for me. I've a modern Selmer solist E that is nearly as good. I'm collecting a Pillinger copy of an older solist at Christmas, which I hope will sort me out - but you really need to try them all together. I tried a Selmer S90, but it's nowhere near the depth of the solist, or the Brilhart. Haven't tried a JJ or vandoren, but they have a lot of fans. And then there's Meyer - if you can get a good one.....
 
This is the only mouthpiece I've owned so I don't know if I'm missing anything with it or not. I hate to sound so ignorant but I really don't have much experience with the different aspects of the sax. I've always worried more about the music I'm playing rather than the parts of the actual saxophone.

Well, what I partly meant was: if the 4c does everything you want it to, why change it? And if you're not happy with your sound, volume, or some other aspect of your playing, you should probably try to focus on what that aspect is, before you can decide what mouthpieces might help you to achieve it.
 
Go down to your nearest good wind instrument store and try as many mouthpieces as possible. The next question to ask "Is what kind of music will I be playing?" Good starting point if playing mainly jazz would be a Meyer 5M or 6M, Vandoren Java and their various other models V 16 etc, E. Rousseau Studio Jazz or JDX models, Claude Lakey perhaps, Beechler hard rubber. On my Mark I 62 series Yamaha I use Meyer 5M, E. Rousseau JDX 8, Vandoren Jumbo Java A35, Beechler S6S and Brilhart Level Air 6 with interchangeable baffles. What may work for me, may not necessarily work for you. I used a 4C for quite a few years because I couldn't find a decent piece until I got my old Meyer 5M. During that time I tried a Berg Larsen 95/1 metal mouthpiece and Otto Link STM 7* - terrible mouthpieces for me on alto - but I have heard some people use these mouthpieces and sound good.
Good hunting and have fun.
Regards,
GS.
 
Just starting off on the sax again, I just wanted to try something different with my YAS-62 MkI - and the sound from the supplied 4C was a bit bland. So I noodled around on eBay and picked up a metal Yanagisawa which really sings - it has a much brighter and forward sound than the 4C. I took a punt and lucked out, but there's no reason not to go and try a few at a shop to see what's available.
 
The issue for me about mouthpieces is: "You never know until you know". If you only ever play one mouthpiece then you will never know whether any other mouthpiece would sound/feel better than the one you start off with. A friend of mine who has a Yamaha 7C mouthpiece, and has been playing Alto for 6 months reported that he was "very happy" with his sound. He came to visit last week and tried all my Alto mouthpieces. It was certainly an eye opening experience the improvement in sound, and he has decided he wants to upgrade his mouthpiece as soon as he has the cash. The ones he tried were Vandoren V16 7m HR & Ponzol Vintage 0.070 HR (others were slightly too large, inc. Rico B5, V16 9m, Ponzol 0.085). The Ponzol was a revelation - his sound was far more characterful, complex, interesting and more. It was an obvious improvement to both of us, with no discussion until preferences had been stated.

This is not a shameless plug for the Ponzol (the 0.085 is my main piece) but rather in favour of trying alternatives and not just resting on our laurels. Similarly most people are happy listening to music on the equipment that they have BEFORE they hear better equipment. So I do challenge the assumption that you should only try alternatives when you are dissatisfied with your current set up in some way - too bright, too mellow or whatever.

The reality is that the original Meyer Alto mouthpiece set the benchmark for jazz players, and many Ebonite/HR mouthpieces are modern copies of the original. In the States you have a number of excellent alternatives (Meyer is generally considered to be not what it was) - Ponzol, Mouthpiece Cafe, Barone, PhilTone, and in the UK we have Morgan Fry, Ed Pillinger and maybe others. If you have the opportunity to try one or more of these - depends what stores you have local to you - then it would certainly help clarify whether a change/upgrade would be a good idea. If you have to rely on Online stores then there are one or two who offer trial periods on up to 3 pieces, and "JunkDude" would be an excellent retailer to address a query to.

On all the instruments I play (sop sax, alto sax, tenor sax, trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, tenor trombone) I have several mouthpieces and it has really helped me clarify what I need/like/prefer/play so most of them are idle at this time but I am much happier with what I do play now, and I know why!

Kind regards
Tom
 
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