Mouthpieces Selmer Soloist H mouthpiece

M

Musicrocks

Member
44
Hi All,

Been learning for a month now. My set up is an Etude EAS 100 alto (assume it's Chinese but sounds nice), rico royal b5 mpc and rico royals 2.5 reeds. A few days ago, I have actually been able to feel my breath flowing right through in to the saxophone as opposed to the initial week/s where I was mostly using my mouth to blow air and not being able to play any low notes such as D & E without.

I know that am going slowly but find it much easier and comfortable to get these low notes out without the crazy fluctuations which used to occur earlier.

Getting back to my question, have recently purchased a Selmer Soloist H (long shank I think as per my research) and was wondering what are the major changes I can expect when I use that? Also got a flex ligature to go with it. Right now am just getting comfortable playing with the Rico with the standard metal lig that came with it and it sounds reasonable (as any beginner with any instrument, can play the notes but no character/feeling to the music - hoping that changes with experience).

Should I start using the new mpc soon or wait till I more comfortable with the Rico which is holding up pretty well? Wife who accompanies me when I practice says that the higher notes tend to sound a bit constrained however that could be mainly due to practicing more lower notes rather than the mpc itself

Relating to the new mpc, its supp to be made of Hard rubber but feels more like plastic to me as compared to the Otto Link Hard rubber that I had tried from my tutor.

The only reason I purchased it was that it was on sale for $45 from a reputable shop here in Sydney and with the huge discount couldn't help myself.

Thanks in advance. (If anyone is wondering why I am up so early, no - its not because am excited about the mpc but a tummy upset and thought could use some advice on the mpc from those of you in other parts of the world awake right now)

Have a great weekend!!!!!!!!
 
Here is a chart for comparing tip openings.

http://www.bill-lewington.com/charts/tnrsax.htm

The H denotes the size of the tip opening and personally I would describe it as massive. It's not a beginners mouthpiece in my opinion and you may struggle with it. I've been playing 30 years and I think I would struggle with it. Hence the bargain price I would suggest.

The equivalent as you can see from the chart would be a rico 9. Four sizes up from your current mouthpiece. It's a quality piece but for a specialist player. The standard selmer mouthpiece for a beginner would be in the C* area. Because they are so popular they are seldom at a discounted price new, but some second hand bargains can be had from players moving on.

Good luck with the H , but I think you'll struggle.
 
The link was to a tenor, not an alto chart, but I couldn't find an alto chart listing H openings for alto. Is is a tenor or alto piece? Sounds like a bargain either way.

Stick to the rico for now. But if you want to try the Selmer, use a really soft reed, 1 1/2. Don't be too surprised if you can't play it. But some people are able to do well on large tips, even at an early stage.
 
Hi Colin/Kev,

Thanks for your replies. I also saw the Soloist E available for a similar price as there is this huge sale on at the moment. Hope they are still available so that I can use that as a step up from my Rico before I jump any higher. Thanks again.

Regards,

Joel
 
How odd. Sorry for posting the wrong chart

Here's the one I should have posted.

http://www.bill-lewington.com/charts/altosax.htm

The mouthpiece reed setup is very personal. A lot of players when starting out, me included, think that higher numbers on the reed and mouthpiece are a mark of progress. This could not be further from the truth. Think of it like shoes. Bigger running shoes don't make for a better athlete. A good fit is what's required. This may change over time.

You need to develop your embouchure and style before going on the quest for your ultimate set up.

If you're having some success with the Rico mouthpiece I would advise you to stick with it for now.

If you feel you just have to have a Selmer mouthpiece, and I can fully understand that, take your instrument to the shop and try a few of what they have to offer.

The right mouthpiece for you will be a dream to blow. It will have a playability and easyness about it and give you a rich tone throughout the range.

Later your mouthpiece collection will probably grow to include pieces that each have different qualities of sound to them and bring different colours of tone to your playing.

The most important sound producing part of the saxophone is you. Develop you, then add kit to compliment you.

A mouthpiece that sits in your case and is totally unplayable isn't a bargain at any price and trying to master an unsuitable mouthpiece will slow your progress and limit your enjoyment.
 
Wow H is really a big opening! especially with the selmer mouthpiece design, facing curve, baffle design. this makes it even harder.
I've got a Rico Metalite 11 (.110) myself but this blows allmost as easy as my C**, although with a lighter reed..

I wouldnt recommend a Selmer H to a beginner let alone an early intermediate!
 
Hi Colin, am not so interested in Selmers as such, just that this deal won't come around anytime in the near future as almost everything over here is over priced. So just picking up to use in the.future, and the.way my practice is going, hope my teeth are still there when I feel ready to use it , though I must say I loved the Otto link hr when I tried it as it was really comfortable but too expensive.
Any reason why this selmer one feels cheap in the mouth as compared to the Otto link even though online prices are similar. Shop is reputable so I know it's original
 
I wouldn't call a shop that sold anyone who's been playing for a month an H mouthpiece reputable. It may well be genuine but still useless to you.

If you're buying to sell on fine. Don't open the packaging and stick them on ebay.

The Otto Link was good? But you bought a Selmer because it was cheap....and you're going to buy another selmer, because it's cheap.

If you subtract the price of the two selmers from the price of the Link does that make it more affordable?

I am reminded of an old saying.

"You can't dig a hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper."
 
All good, they decided to close permanently today first thing so couldn't even look around. Will hold on till I switch to my tenor next year, still lying in its case at the.moment . Thanks for all the replies
 
For the price you paid for it,just hold onto it for now,well maybe for about 5 years,it is very open for alto but in a few years with a softer reed you might be able to control it.
A pro player friend of mine uses a LAW mpc on alto which is a 105 tip opening but uses softer reeds usually 2s on it, he sounds great on this setup.

Brian
 
Musicrocks said:
Hi Colin/Kev,

Thanks for your replies. I also saw the Soloist E available for a similar price as there is this huge sale on at the moment. Hope they are still available so that I can use that as a step up from my Rico before I jump any higher. Thanks again.

Regards,

Joel
Click to expand...

Hi Joel - The Selmer Soloist E is the same size as a Rico B5 (0.080") - it will be a better mouthpiece but should be playable as long as your reeds are soft enough (most beginner mouthpieces are (0.065"). Here is the best mouthpioece comparison chart IMO - http://www.jodyjazz.com/facings.altosax.html

I have one mouthpiece of similar size to the Soloist H (0.102") - a Barkley Pop 8, which is playable with a light 2 reed (I usually use an Alexander Superial or Marca Jazz). Larger tip openings are often a little harder to play in tune and need a well devdeloped embouchure.
 
Hey Tom, Thanks for the tips however the store was going out of business and finally closed before i could get anything more. Plan to switch to a tenor next year so saving for accessories for that now.

However, the first order of business is to play using a tuner I guess, something i haven't done at all
 
Musicrocks said:
However, the first order of business is to play using a tuner I guess, something i haven't done at all
Click to expand...
It's good that you haven't! The tuner is for tuning up (although it's better for your ear to learn to do even that by listening to a note and comparing with what you play) and for checking the cccasional note if you think the horn might be doing something weird. Looking at lights from a tuner is just going to distract you from the important business of developing your musical ear. (I'm assuming you're new to playing music, not just to the sax. Otherwise just ignore me).
 
BigMartin said:
It's good that you haven't! The tuner is for tuning up (although it's better for your ear to learn to do even that by listening to a note and comparing with what you play) and for checking the cccasional note if you think the horn might be doing something weird. Looking at lights from a tuner is just going to distract you from the important business of developing your musical ear. (I'm assuming you're new to playing music, not just to the sax. Otherwise just ignore me).
Click to expand...



Am new to music also, learning the guitar on the side, however thats a lot easier since there is tab and the only song I want to learn first on the guitar is "Sweet Child O Mine".

Will use a tuner to check where the mouthpiece should be and use some of the steps from the other posts in this section to tune it.

As far as my musical ear is concerned, I normally practice in the park, however after half an hour of playing, my ears feel battered, then just rely on my wife to tell me if I am playing right or not.
 
Might need to go to a softer reed but that size in that design is playable. Sure it's big, but I know guys who play jazz on that kind of setup just fine.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
 
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