Mouthpieces Need some moutpiece recommendations

Hello everybody I'm new to the forum and decided just to combine posts.

Anyways I need some suggestions on which mpc to buy. The music stores in my area don't have many mpc's so I can't try any out. I would like to have a mouthpiece that is good for concert band and jazz. Maybe just by switching reeds? Does this work?

The ones I've been looking at are: Selmer C*, a rubber Meyer (maybe a 5M or 6M, I don't know which would be best), and maybe this vintage moutpiece http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130326438373&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT. Any advice would help, and if you could suggest some other mouthpieces that would be great too.

Edit: Sorry forgot to say I play alto.
 
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Hello everybody I'm new to the forum and decided just to combine posts.

Anyways I need some suggestions on which mpc to buy. The music stores in my area don't have many mpc's so I can't try any out. I would like to have a mouthpiece that is good for concert band and jazz. Maybe just by switching reeds? Does this work?

The ones I've been looking at are: Selmer C*, a rubber Meyer (maybe a 5M or 6M, I don't know which would be best), and maybe this vintage moutpiece http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130326438373&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT. Any advice would help, and if you could suggest some other mouthpieces that would be great too.

Hello Brian. I'm not experienced enough to help you but I just want to say hello and that I'm in Durham, NC. Where are you?

The mpc you linked to was an alto. I think the more-experienced people here may be able to help you more if they know what brand and year of alto you play and how long you've played.

I have a YAS62-II and I absolutely love my Meyer 6M, if that is of any help to you. It darkens and richens the sound of a horn that some would call overly bright otherwise.

AndyB
 
Not sure if you are playing alto tenor or something else....

I love my Meyer 5Ms... Have one for bari and one for alto. I am sure the 6M will only be a little wider.

I can get a nice clean concert tone or push it a little and get the harder sound. They are great units.

You best bet is always to test play a mpc if you can. Some places will send you a mpc to test. You use a tooth guard on top and send it back if you do not like it.

Good luck with your choice.

P.S. Bring lots of reeds and a tuner.
 
I'm from Asheville, and my sax is a Alto Bundy II that I think is from the 90's. I'm not sure because there aren't any serial number charts that go up to the present. I've only been playing for about 2 1/2 years, and have been using the stock mouthpiece, so I know my tone could definitely be improved.
 
I.M.O. On alto- if you're not in a position to try out first- Meyer every time (if you're wanting to play any classical go for the 5M, if not, then the 6)...
 
You could also do fine with a Ponzol Vintage HR or Vandoren V16 HR - some places do 'try before you buy', which can be very helpful. These and the Meyer purport to have a similar type of sound -and the above are commonly thought to be better produced versions of the vintage Meyers of yesteryear. Having tried all of them I much prefer the handmade Ponzol.

Good Luck, whatever you do
Tom😎
 
Hi and welcome to the site. Difficult to make recommendations as we all have so many variables - in ourselves and in the style and sound that we want to achieve. What style do you play, and who do you want to sound like?

If you can, then go and try out some - but expect to buy one and move on a few months later (and then repeat, and repeat again...). Things change so what works today MAY not work as you develop and change your own style.

Good luck though, and great choice the alto - love them!

Phil
 
you really cant buy blind, do you have any idea what sound your looking for?
how much do you want to spend?
In my opinion "i've played for 25 years" your best bet is to decide what sound you want, most good shops will let you pay for about 5 mouth pieces and give you your money back less a small handleing charge.
on all my horns i play yanigasawas metal 7 MP, but i'm using a berg larsen 9 on tenor at the moment.
 
To follow on from what Phil said, I thought I was happy with my Meyer large chamber alto mouthpiece until I tried it on my newly rebuilt Martin Handcraft stencil.
I was pretty confident that there were no leaks anywhere but the instrument seemed reluctant to speak readily. It was ok, but not very eager.

Not really expecting any improvement I tried my old Otto Link Super Tone Master, and it worked. Suddenly it was there, what a surprise!
I'd expected this old horn to be favourable to something like the Meyer.
I suppose it just shows that you shouldn't assume.

Getting back into the Link I was again irritated by the ligature, but the mouthpiece seemed to suit the combination of me and the saxophone.
I bought a Rovner ligature and all is now well.
The combination of mouthpiece/reed/ligature/saxophone/you/how you feel on that day is almost infinitely variable.
The Rovner ligature seems to give a more concentrated, focused sound and seems to give me more control. From top to bottom, from very quiet to bloody loud.

That's it for me, for now.
We will never be satisfied, we always want to sound better and will therefore constantly experiment with the combinations.

The variables are probably infinite.

Good luck
 
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I think I'll take everyone's advice and try some mouthpieces out, but as I said before there aren't music stores around that have many mouthpieces. Can you guys recommend some websites that let you test by mail.
 
I like the Jody Jazz pieces. I play in a concert band and in other groups. It does for me with no change of reed. I use a Classic 7 piece (reasonably wide) with V16 2 reeds. According to others I achieve good projection and a good tone.

With Jody Jazz you can fill in a questionnaire online and he then responds with a suggestion. He will enter into Email dialogue as well.

Stephen

PS
I use Jody Jazz Classic 7 on both Alto and Tenor, I also have a hard rubber Jody Jazz (7*) for the Tenor and on the sop I use a Jody Jazz Classic 6.
 
Growing into and out of mouthpieces.

There have been some really good recommendations put up there before my post, so I will add the following: Don't spend tons of money getting the latest, greatest mouthpiece. I got a secondhand Meyer 6M and it was great. You will develop. The more you play, the stronger your embouchure will become. Your ears will also develop and begin to inform your choice of how you really want to sound. I have a box full of mouthpieces for both my alto and tenor saxophones.

What I found helped me the most was travelling and being stuck with one mouthpiece. I simply worked hard on that mouthpiece and watched the development come along in leaps and bounds. Having too much choice means that you will chop and change.

One crap practice day may be seen as "oh, perhaps it's the mouthpiece" and you run the risk of flitting from one to the other, in the hunt for something that you can achieve by putting in lots of effort on tone exercises and some patience.

Good luck 🙂
 

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