Mouthpieces My Rico Graptolite Soprano Sax Mouthpiece arrives tomorrow!

[TomMapfumo]

Hi Smiffy and all!

After my soprano mouthpiece road test on the weekend, won by the Brancher metal J15 chamber, the Rico has finally surfaced - all ?16.13 of it.

I am fascinated to see/hear what it is like. Of course it will mean another sneaky peek at my 50th Birthday Pressie (BW curvy sax & associated nonsense!) but what the h**l!

I will report pack when I have had a good play.
Kind regards
Tom

 

[Pjonah]

I'd be interested to hear how you get on with it.

The bari piece is excellent nay mindblowing when considering the ?17.00 I spent to get it.

The bari piece is so responsive, it make the Yamaha 5C feel awkward in comparison.

How much longer will you need to wait before you're officially allowed to play said curly one?

It must seem like an eternity!

Nimos

 

[TomMapfumo]

Hi there!

I can, in reality, play it when I like, and played it on the weekend. I am playing it to test mouthpieces, but can't afford many more (I have 4 now, but can only afford ?16.13 a throw at this point!).

It is a beautiful sound, and I prefer it to my original Rampone & Cazzani R1 straight soprano which I traded last year.

I'll let you know asap, and hope that it arrives tomorrow.
Kind regards
Tom

 

[Smiffy]

Don't you know, Tomorrow never comes 😉

Hope you do get it and it's been worth the looooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnggggggggggg wait

 

[TomMapfumo]

Well, I took the dog for a walk at 10.00, returned home at 10.30. There was a note inside the door saying that the post had tried to deliver a small package at 10.15 but it was too large for the letterbox. Now it is due to be redelivered on Friday!

So the wait goes on. Honestly, the only mouthpiece not to fit my letterbox. How big is it, or perhaps they tried to deliver an actual Graptolite (which should, technically, be even smaller than a soprano sax mouthpiece. At least I have my Alto to play while I wait. 8).

Kind regards
Tom

 

[Smiffy]

Maybe it was the piano you forgot you ordered :laugh:

Anyone tried these on a Tenor

 

[TomMapfumo]

They're only ?17.41 at Trevor Jones in Bristol, but are probably massive! I imagine you can't go far wrong - shall I buy you one?

At least I have ordered some new Francois Louis Excellence alto reeds, so there should at least be one packet through the door on Friday

Come on now, off to bed!
Kind regards
Tom

 

[rhysonsax]

Is Graptolite really Graftonite ?

Rhys

 

[Smiffy]

I looked them up on a couple of sites, but want to know if anyone has used one first

Cheap, only if it's better than the Yam5 I have

More reeds Tut tut

Those ones you gave me are all about the same, can't pick one that's any better than the others

Hope you get the Mp

 

[TomMapfumo]

Hi Rhys!

It was designed so long ago, and was ordered so long ago that it could be known as the Graptolite - but it is a Graftonite, all ?16.14 of it. Trevor Jones also has a Berg Larsen Tenor MPC (Student - Plastic) at ?17.50.

Hi Smiffy!

I realise that my alto reeds are in need of restocking, and I am generally playing larger mouthpieces and softer reeds, and no longer play my RJS 2H's or V16 2.5's.
My preferred reed on alto are Alexander DC's, so wanted to trial the FL Excellence jazz reeds. I have moved to filed from unfiled.
I do wonder whether all your reeds sound similar as you do play a closed mouthpiece - I think that the LaVoz, Gonzalez and V16's are similar, but the RSJ's and Marca's have increasing finesse, at least to my ear. Not sure 😛

Nighty night
Tom

 

[Moz]

Oh for heavens sake, just take the bloody thing before your birthday arrives. Let's face it, it's no surprise anymore and anyway, if you take it earlier enough, you might get another present!!!

Moz

TomMapfumo wrote:
Hi Smiffy and all!

After my soprano mouthpiece road test on the weekend, won by the Brancher metal J15 chamber, the Rico has finally surfaced - all ?16.13 of it.

I am fascinated to see/hear what it is like. Of course it will mean another sneaky peek at my 50th Birthday Pressie (BW curvy sax & associated nonsense!) but what the h**l!

I will report pack when I have had a good play.
Kind regards
Tom

 

[TomMapfumo]

Hi Moz!

Well I have been asked whether I would like the 50th Anniversary "Kind of Blue" presentation set.

Anyway, just off to sax lesson - have a good day!
Kind regards
Tom 8)

 

[Pjonah]

Smiffy,

There seems to be a concensus suggesting the Baritone Graftonite is the best of the bunch and it is much better than the Yamaha 5C I had on my Baritone.

I can't speak for the tenor as I already use a Brilhart Super Ebolin 5*, I also have a new Brilhart Ebolin on alto, I am intending to blow a whopping 16 bad boys on an Alto Graftonite just as soon as I have spoken with my financier......watch this space (cadet) dudes!

 

[TomMapfumo]

Hi there!

Well I am now the proud owner of the above mouthpiece in size B7 which seems to be a 6*/65 equivalent. It is a really good blow and I like it a lot.

I did an instant comparison with my Yani HR 5* and it came off better, as follows:

The Yani has a very smooth, fairly clean and pure sound. Intonation was pretty secure throughout and I would be very happy playing more classical type pieces on it. I would give it a rating of 8.6/10, just not as good as my V16 6s or my Brancher J15, both of which are superb.

The Rico is larger, with a longer facing (3.3cm rather than 2.7cm for the Yani. The sound is more vibrant and resonant and seemed a tab brighter, and the intonation was spot on. It had a more contemporary sound to my ears, and I give it a 8.9/10 rating. It had some baffle, not unlike a Berg 1, and sounded close to it from memory.

All in all an excellent purchase at 1/5th the price of the Yani. Both pieces were tried with Marca Jazz 2.5's/Vandoren Masters Ligature.
I can relax now. Conclusion - high recommendation from me - though have not tried a Yamaha Plastic or many others. It also comes with a lifetime guarantee against anything "short of abuse" and proudly displays that it was designed by Arnold Brilhart! What more could you want.

Kind regards
Tom 8)

 

[Smiffy]

" What more could you want. ""

O I am sure you can think of lots of things 😛

Glad you got it at last and liked it, would have been a pain if you had not

 

[TomMapfumo]

Hi Smiffy!

Are you still busy doing that tax return, or have you been out to work today?

Well, today I also got the Francois Louis Excellence reeds for Alto. What an excellent reed - pretty indistinguishable from my DC's (both 2.5) with more vibrancy/slightly more resonance! I rate both of these my favourites for Alto, but sticking with Marca 2.5's for Soprano/Tenor.

Just finished work, fed the chickens - off to play trumpet before news/sport take over the rest of the evening.

Kind regards
Tom 8)

 

[Smiffy]

Been working my butt off the last 3 days have to work Saturday and Sunday this weekend

No Sax for me *or anything by a similar name* Oh no that bits normal 🙁

Have a good weekend 🙂