Mouthpieces Mouthpieces

[exrcsst]

Hi,

I'm looking to upgrade from a student mouthpiece to a pro mouthpiece. I was wondering if this is a smart leap since I figured it would save me money instead of buying intermediate mouthpieces. Would a pro one be a lot harder to blow/control? I've been playing for seven years, but really only started taking it seriously recently so I would consider myself upper intermediate. This site recomends RPC so I was wondering what everyone thinks and what they recomend? Thanks.

 

[old_git]

Re RPC, Ron asks you what type of music you play, what sound you want etc., etc. I wanted breathy ballad and breathy ballad is what I got, so I'm delighted, despite the six month wait. Another member of this board sold his soon after receiving it, so it depends on whether the communications with Ron are on a shared wavelength.
The other option is to go to your local shop and try everything in the mouthpiece department. There is a small possibility that something might gell.
Good luck in your search but do ask yourself, "What's wrong with my present tone?".

 

[phil_edwards]

As OG said, what's wrong with your current one? Don't think you have to move to another mouthpiece just because you're progressing. If you like what you have , and have a good consistent mpc/reed combo that works then stick with it.

I'm thinking of changing at the moment, but only opening up to a slightly wider version of the mouthpiece I currently play, not changing to another make, as I'm happy with the fundamental tone produced.

I did a jazz course a while ago, and in one of the sax tutorials we got onto mouthpieces. The tutor questioned why some people decide they have to move 'up' to a 'better' mouthpiece, saying that you should be get competent at playing all styles on a 'beginner' mouthpiece and only change if you really can't get a particular style you're after. If that's the case buy one with that in mind. Which you can only do by trying some out to see if they deliver what you're after.

Now this chap's a Professor at the Guildhall and Head of Jazz so no mean player, and what mouthpiece was he using? A Yamaha 4C - yep, the one often talked about as an ideal 'starter mouthpiece'. Believe me, he sounded good - why change to a 'pro' mpc?

Maybe that's the difference, a 'pro' mpc can make you sound like a pro when you're not (or get you a tone you aren't yet capable of finding), whilst a pro player can work with any mpc and make it sound good - discuss...

Phil

 

[Pete Thomas]

Yes I agree with thos aebove.

I think the time to change mouthpieces is when you know what's wrong with your current one. I happily use Yamaha mouthpieces from time to time. I think the dividing line between beginner and pro mouthpieces is very vague, if it exists a t all outside of marketing hype.

The only reason I suggest certain mouthpieces for beginners (Yamaha 4C, Vandoren) is that they are cheap, not because they are somehow best for beginners and not for pros.

I certainly don't think a "pro" mouthpiece should be any harder to play.

 

[Jules]

In the case of Yamahas, isn't it partically that they're very narrow tipped and therefore easy to get to sound good...? Plus the fact they're generally well designed- giving the same effect (especially compared with the pieces that come with a lot of student saxes).