Reeds and mpc on the vintage Martin.

jeremyjuicewah

Senior Member
After yet more help. Since moving back to the sticks I practice much much more with lots more volume and my playing has leapt forward light years and new difficulties appear every week as I become more critical and the pieces I play become more complicated, faster, cover more ground, need to be more musical to satisfy.

The Martin Indiana is 1952 and I love its sound. I play all over it quite easily, but things are not quite right. Couple of newish pieces, quite fast, mostly in the upper octave, and problems are creeping in.

My favourite mpc, Jumbo Java T55 (I thought it was a 75 till I checked today) is become a squeaker. Tried selection of other mpcs, its the Java not the horn or the reed. Could be me, of course it could. Low down its ok, but up high it squeaks. Have checked the octave pad, it does not leak. Otto Link is fine, in fact it works very well indeed, swapping from very mellow to quite harsh (for a Link) with a little shift in embouchure. But to get a rich and full sound up high I have to use my old standby reed, a Rico plasticised 3. I find it a bit heavy going really, and too hard low down, but anything else, like my Alexander 2.5s and La Voz 2.5s give such a thin quivery sound in the upper octave that I just don't like it.
Otherwise I find these reeds comfortable and fine in every respect, low down no problems, up high not good.

I am prepared to buy a new mpc if need be, or rather I mean a vintage one, but I don't ever hear anyone else say that a 2.5 is a thin sounding reed, but the difference between the Rico 3 and the others is huge.

Any thoughts anyone? Had hoped by now to be a net giver of advice, but I need more advice with every advance I make.

Cheers
Mike
 
My advice would be to pick one mouthpiece and a reed that works for you and stick with them exclusively for a period of time. Chopping and changing will confuse your embouchure.

Check your pitch with a tuner. It can be surprising to find the note you're struggling with isn't where you thought it was and if the tuning is off this can seriously affect tone.
 
Totally agree with Colin.
Get yourself to a music shop and lock yourself away in a practice room with a selection of mouthpieces and some reeds and play until you are satisfied. Bring along your tuner to keep an eye (and ear) on the intonation.
 
Thanks guys. Thing is I probably have more mpcs and reeds than most music shops. Its not tuning, nor intonation. With a heavy reed everything is perfect, with a reed that I find more manageable the sound is thin and not nice. I guess I just have to stick with the scaffold plank and get used to it. Just doesn't seem normal.
Cheers
Mike
 
Mike, try the RJS - they come in third strengths, so there's a 2S, 2M, 2H, 3S.... 2H may be just what you need. I've found that some mouthpieces are pone to squeaks with a poor embouchure. On my tenor PPT, I need to consciously pull/squeeze in from the sides to stop it squeaking.
 
For me , and other Martin players, meduim or small mps are best. The way a Martin sax is built (soldered toneholes and bevelded as well on Indiana, factory setup is low key heigts) I would go for something like Dukoff D or S chamber, Larsen 0 chamber .... . I played a Dukoff LD10 for many years. I could play soft and pretty with that mouthpiece after raising the keys. When I played loud or pushed I was sinking specially in the high register. I also lost some action with rasing the keyheigts.

If you are into Rocksax and want to play loud try a smaller mouthpiece and also check the keyheigts.

They say that Brilhart company made the original Martin mouthpieces (50's and 60's) so try a Metalite or a Graftonite (B or C chamber). Also designed by Brilhart. Reeds it's very personal. I'm playing LaVoz MH/H, V16 3½/4, Plasticover (baritone) 4/5. I think Martin saxes are tolerant when it comes to mouthpieces and reeds.

The Martin saxes are very good in Rock music. Perfect to play in a band together with amplified instruments. A real guitar killer!>:) They are piercing through?

One of my favourite players, Don Wise former saxplayer in Delbert McClinton Band, is playing a customised Otto Link 7S on a The Martin Tenor. Nice filling and solos? His Martin sounds like a Martin? Shaky Ground:

http://youtu.be/w7JCWoxtGLs
 
Rico reserve might be worth a try. They play nice across the range although they don't feel like they would. Internodal density and all that.
 
Thanks guys. I am certainly not against buying a new mpc nor new reeds, though in a clear out night before last when I finally binned all those chipped and split jobbies that I was going to trim and sand, it appears I have 58 assorted tenor reeds untouched, 16 alto, 4 bari, plus a box of about 60 undamaged but used assorted reeds so I dont really need anymore for at least two years and finding the right reed for me has already been a pricey job.

I am going to try a 2.5 Rico plasitcised tonight, forgot I had one, then a 3 lightly sanded. Will get back with results.

Its very annoying. I wonder if my years of playing so not to annoy my neighbours has weakened my lip or something. Could have done. Let you know.

I do feel another mpc coming on though. Mebbe after the bari case and the next tenor, eh.
Cheers
Mike
 

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