Mouthpieces Tenor mouthpiece advice please?

[sax panther]

Hi

my first post, although I've lurked for a while...I have a dilemma.

My favourite tenor mouthpiece has for a while been a HR Berg Larsen (think it's 130/1...will check when I get home). I like it because it feels nice, it sounds nice - I can get it to sound lovely and warm and lush, find it easy to get a nice vibrato on...only the other day I heard a recording someone had done of me playing on it and although I'm usually extremely critical, I thought, "oooh...I've just made a lovely sound". And when I tried it at the shop, and at home, it was loud enough, with a bit of edge. Or so I thought....

I've recently started playing with a small brass band (same type of thing as Youngblood, Hackney Colliery, Lucky Chops etc) and I'm finding it very hard to compete with trombone, 2 trumpets, 2 "enthusiastic" percussionists (plus sousaphone and alto). I've also got my hands on a Runyon Quantum which definitely has better projection, but isn't as flexible (we do perform a couple of quieter, more ballad-y numbers) and the core sound just isn't as nice as the berg. I find the Runyon a bit hard to tame, and for me it's difficult to get the low notes to speak as well.

I've been hearing (well, reading on here) some good things about the PPT mouthpieces and I'm hoping they're the golden-holy grail-all rounder-one mouthpiece fits every occasion piece of gear that I'm looking for. However....I'm not a lottery winner and although price-wise they're not stretching me to Theo Wanne territory (for the non metal ones anyway) I'm nervous about dropping £200 on something that might not be what I'm looking for. I also do the occasional bit of sax quartet, concert band, and latin band stuff...Ideally I'd just have one single, awesome mouthpiece.

So....I was wondering if anyone has been mouthpiece shopping with the same considerations as me..whether the PPT was everything you'd dreamed of, or whether you have any other mouthpiece suggestions for me to try?

thanks

Mike

 

[Ivan]

I'm in a very loud covers band and for a while used a Ponzol plus Plasticover reed. This was an alarmingly loud combination; not subtle

I have found I can be just as loud with a PPT*, yet one can be subtle too

An alternative is to contact Ed Pillinger and tell him your needs

*I already had a PPT, but (some of) the earlier ones had a shade narrow internal bore and mine was a pig to get far enough on the cork. Morgan Fry reamed the bore to a standard diameter and it fits beautifully

 

[Nick Wyver]

.Ideally I'd just have one single, awesome mouthpiece.

Doesn't exist - unless you confine your playing to a narrow range of genres.

My 9* PPT is an excellent mouthpiece for the rock/funk/blues stuff I usually do but it would be very hard work to play it in a classical quartet setting.

I'd be hard put to do anything too subtle with a 130 Berg too.

 

[sax panther]

Doesn't exist - unless you confine your playing to a narrow range of genres.

My 9* PPT is an excellent mouthpiece for the rock/funk/blues stuff I usually do but it would be very hard work to play it in a classical quartet setting.

I'd be hard put to do anything too subtle with a 130 Berg too.

I'll double check the numbers on the Berg and post back, maybe it's a smaller one...I didn't pay too much attention, just bought it because it played nicely! I was playing some soft and slow stuff on it last Sunday.
9* is the most hardcore PPT, maybe the smaller openings are more versatile (as Ivan suggests)?

 

[sax panther]

I'll double check the numbers on the Berg and post back, maybe it's a smaller one...I didn't pay too much attention, just bought it because it played nicely! I was playing some soft and slow stuff on it last Sunday.
9* is the most hardcore PPT, maybe the smaller openings are more versatile (as Ivan suggests)?

Ok - got the Berg model wrong in my initial post, it's a 120/1 SMS 9.

 

[kevgermany]

My tenor PPT is an 8*. Loud flexible, controllable. I play in a symphony orchestra with it. No problem getting to PP. Although I try mouthpieces out, this one works for me and I've no wish to change.

Keep your eyes open, I've a feeling there's a PPT in the yardsale.

 

[MMM]

i'm quite sure you can buy on approval from Pete's website...

 

[kevgermany]

If you go for the PPT make sure you get a lig that fits. The body is quite tapered and quite a few legs can't cope.

 

[Jeanette]

If you go for the PPT make sure you get a lig that fits. The body is quite tapered and quite a few legs can't cope.

Don't know about tenor but the absolute lig fit my alto PPT great

Jx

 

[thomsax]

Maybe you should put more Texas to your sound? The saxplayers from Texas use to be loud. It's the player that is loud or playing with full volume, not the mouthpiece. Do some excercises that will develope a big sound before you buy a new mouthpiece. A metal mouthpiece use to cut through better than a hardrubber ..... and a plasticover reed is also more piercing ..... . I'm very pleased with my setup; Rovner Deep-V D40 (#10, 0.130") and 3½ or 4 plasticover reeds.

 

[aldevis]

Ok - got the Berg model wrong in my initial post, it's a 120/1 SMS 9.

Still generally considered a loud piece. That "9" number is odd. Has it been refaced?

 

[Alphorn]

Just out of interest, what's your horn? Some horns can be louder than others and allow more dynamics. Iam not suggesting you need a new sax, it's only curiosity. Never having battled with trumpets and never having played anything close to a 120/1 I would expect it to produce sufficient noise at that tip opening. The 100/2 I have in my drawer isn't restrained and 120/1 must be even much louder.

Alphorn

 

[sax panther]

Still generally considered a loud piece. That "9" number is odd. Has it been refaced?

that's just what it said on the mouthpiece box. I haven't had any work done to it - I bought it new from the sax.co.uk shop.

 

[aldevis]

that's just what it said on the mouthpiece box. I haven't had any work done to it - I bought it new from the sax.co.uk shop.

It makes sense then: .120" equals to a 9, and it makes sense writing it on the box.
I did not realize it was a new one.

 

[sax panther]

Just out of interest, what's your horn? Some horns can be louder than others and allow more dynamics. Iam not suggesting you need a new sax, it's only curiosity. Never having battled with trumpets and never having played anything close to a 120/1 I would expect it to produce sufficient noise at that tip opening. The 100/2 I have in my drawer isn't restrained and 120/1 must be even much louder.

Alphorn

It's a Trevor James SR. I haven't played any other tenors (I'm usually alto) so haven't got anything else to compare it to.

 

[Rikki]

Hi Mike,

If you are interested I have a PPT 8* which has been refaced by Morgan Fry, who did such a good job I ended buying one of his metal (much more expensive!) mouthpieces, hence why I may let it go after hanging on to it for over a year!. It comes with a Marc Jean ligature and with Legere signature reeds is very flexible.

Sale details here (link edited in by mod)

Best Regards Rikki

 

[sax panther]

i'm quite sure you can buy on approval from Pete's website...

hmmm, do you have a link? I couldn't find anything about an approval/returns policy on the online store.

 

[sax panther]

Hi Mike,

If you are interested I have a PPT 8* which has been refaced by Morgan Fry, who did such a good job I ended buying one of his metal (much more expensive!) mouthpieces, hence why I may let it go after hanging on to it for over a year!. It comes with a Marc Jean ligature and with Legere signature reeds is very flexible.

Best Regards Rikki

Tempting Rikki...how much would you want, and which material is it - I'm guessing the onxyite if you've now changed to a metal one?

 

[sax panther]

It's a Trevor James SR. I haven't played any other tenors (I'm usually alto) so haven't got anything else to compare it to.

thinking about it, there are a few quirks about my tenor which I haven't got on any alto or soprano I've played...the D (all fingers plus octave key) is quite fuzzy, and when I get up to G and A above that (sitting on top of the treble clef), if I really try to push a load of air through it...it's hard to describe but the notes seem to 'split'.

 

[Colin the Bear]

Check the side octave is switching with the neck octave by alternately fingering G2 A2. You should see the neck closing and the body opening and visa versa. The side octave sometimes dries closed and sticks. Check all the pads that are closed at rest are opening as they should before playing.