Beginner Out of tune mouthpiece

[eb424]

I bought a 10m fan mouthpiece what is an acceptable range in tuning. I use clear tune and with the Morgan Fry the needle is bang on but with the 10m fan its halfway in between the 2 notes. If i back it up it gets closer to being in tune but its so far back towards the end of the cork its almost hanging of the end. Tried the kanee studio and bang on do some mouthpieces just not go with some saxes.. or do i have to work at it.. its a showtime new model and a buescher big b 1945.. I haven't tried it on the 10m yet but you'd think.. what is classed as to far out of tune for a beginner.... Thanks as always

 

[jbtsax]

The short answer to your question is, yes some mouthpieces go better with some saxes than with others.

The acoustic principle that applies is that the "effective volume" of the mouthpiece must be a close match to the calculated volume of the "missing cone". The length and taper of some vintage saxophones were designed to match the large chamber mouthpieces used at that time. Putting a modern mouthpiece with a long, narrow chamber at the normal location on the cork does not provide the needed volume, or length. This is why some mouthpiece must be pulled out so far. For several years I played on a Conn New Wonder tenor with a metal Berg Larsen mouthpiece that needed to be barely on the end of the cork to get down to pitch. Some players who really love the sound of their narrow chamber pieces have an "extension" added to the shank of the mouthpiece to overcome this difficulty.

Another variable is the mouthpiece input pitch you are putting into the saxophone. The higher the input pitch, the farther out the mouthpiece must be to play in tune. The rule of thumb for tenor is the mouthpiece pitch should be no higher than G concert, and the pitch on the mouthpiece and neck should be close to an E concert. In some cases playing lower on the input pitch and pushing the mouthpiece farther onto the cork produces both better intonation and a better tone.

 

[Colin the Bear]

Every time you play or listen, you're training your ears. Train them out of tune and...you'll always be out of tune.

 

[eb424]

thanks JBTSax ... does that mean that if you put the mouthpiece on the crook and blow you should be looking for an e.. excuse my daftness LOL

 

[eb424]

never know if your being serious Colin LOL... if i only play by myself whats acceptable..i thought between + and - 20 was ok??

 

[Colin the Bear]

Every time you play or listen, you're training your ears. Train them out of tune and...you'll always be out of tune.

 

[eb424]

so near as dammit huh...

 

[eb424]

just checked it is large chamber with a rollover baffle...

 

[CliveMA]

never know if your being serious Colin LOL... if i only play by myself whats acceptable..i thought between + and - 20 was ok??

I believe "average" human ear can detect -10 as flat and hence out of tune.

 

[CliveMA]

thanks JBTSax ... does that mean that if you put the mouthpiece on the crook and blow you should be looking for an e.. excuse my daftness LOL

Yes, on Tenor mpc + neck should be E.

 

[CliveMA]

Another variable is the mouthpiece input pitch you are putting into the saxophone. The higher the input pitch, the farther out the mouthpiece must be to play in tune. The rule of thumb for tenor is the mouthpiece pitch should be no higher than G concert, and the pitch on the mouthpiece and neck should be close to an E concert. In some cases playing lower on the input pitch and pushing the mouthpiece farther onto the cork produces both better intonation and a better tone.

+1
Try pushing mpc further onto the cork and relaxing your embouchure to see if you can still get an E on mpc + neck. If so, then use that relaxed embouchure on full assembled sax.