Mouthpieces Mouthpiece help!Am I using the right one for me?!

[raindog]

Looking for some help regarding mouthpieces and whether I am blaming the mouthpiece for my lack of experience!

Currently using a Rico Royal B7 which came with my hanson ST5 tenor and recently moved up to 2.5 reeds (rico royal). Also a BG ligature.

Read that my mouth piece apparently has a very wide opening. How does that affect things?! Would I be beter goin for a selmer s80 c* that I have seen mentioned a few times or is what I have perfectly fine?
I do tend to squeak quite randomly and not sure if its just me, the mouthpiece or a combination of the 2!
Dont think it has anything to do with the reeds as I really didnt like 1.5s, found them too weak! didnt notice much of a difference when I went from 2s to 2.5s, if anything I prefer the 2.5s

Any help/thoughts appreciated, cheers!

 

[justin_chune]

Hi raindog. The Selmer C** is considered the better choice for the tenor sax. The C* is popular for the alto. Or, you could try the ever popular Yamaha 4C for around ?25.

Any of the reeds you are using should be fine. Play what you are comfortable with. You can expect to squeak until your embouchure forms.

The Rico Royal mouthpiece sounds as if it's suitable for a more experienced player. I think that a medium mouthpiece and reed is the place to start. Good luck.

 

[Linky Lee]

The Yamaha comes very highly recommended as a beginners piece, and for the price of it, I think it's always worth having one to use as a 'stock' piece.
Whenever I do any testing I always use a 4C as a control mouthpiece. The reason. Because it plays easy up and down, it sounds fine and it has no frills or anything. Just a plain bog standard mouthpiece, but made well.

 

[Rogerb]

Here's what I found about this mpc, which suggests that yours may be a bit on the wide side:

"The Rico Royal mouthpieces come in a variety of tone chamber styles and facings. If you don't know which one to get, try the B5.

Tone Chamber Style (A, B, or C): The tone chamber of a mouthpiece is the inside area of the mouthpiece. The size and shape of the tone chamber will change the tone quality of the instrument. With the Rico Royal mouthpieces, an "A" tone chamber will give a dark sound which is best suited for concert work, a "B" tone chamber will give a little more brilliance (better for using with most bands), and a "C" tone chamber will give a lot more brilliance and edge which is great for rock and jazz bands.

Facing (3, 5, or 7): The facing is determined by the distance from the tip of the reed to where it first touches the mouthpiece. The bigger the facing number, the farther back the reed goes before actually touching the mouthpiece. Changing the facing of the mouthpiece will generally change the volume of the instrument. With a shorter facing (3), less of the reed is vibrating, so the instrument will tend to be quieter, with a longer facing (7), more of the reed is vibrating, so the instrument will tend to be louder.

In general, we recommend the B5 for most situations. If you are looking for a little edgier sound try the C5, and if you are looking for a darker sound (primarily for classical style music) try the A5. We typically don't suggest the other facings without the recommendation of a band director or private instructor."

 

[Linky Lee]

The B7, will have a long facing then which I find to be beneficial to the ease of playing. Your mouthpiece seems pretty standard, so unless there are any mismatched rails or a dodgy tip it's not likely to be doing anything extreme.