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Tenor reeds in an alto mouthpiece? Whatever next!

johnboy

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I have just checked Earl Bostic and his Buzzsaw tone on Wikipedia, and was surprised to find, that they say that he used tenor reeds in his Beechler mouthpiece. Hows about that then?

John.
 
I bet he trims them and files them to fit John :)
 
George Shelby, american Session guy and sax palyer for the Stray Cats, did a workshop for us a while back and recommended the smae thing for a big, powerful tone... "Whatever next"- baritone reeds on a tenor, I'd assume (though a pricey prospect!)
 
Baritone reeds on a tenor sound sooo!! loud. Just watch the width though, plus they're a bit on the pricey side.

Chris
 
I've been playing around with old reeds while I've had to lay of the sax due to tinnitus and I must admit I'm getting quite good at shaping the reed to get a different response! I'd happliy try a Bari reed on my tenor ;} Anyone got a box they don't want?
 
I use Plasticcovers baritone reed. #4 or #5 depending on how much I'm playing. Right now #4. My mouthpiece is a Rovner Deep-V #8. Both mouthpiece and lig can hold a baritone reed. No sanding or anything like like. Just take one out of the box and play. A real Rock'n Roll setup. Easy to play like a barisax/lines with that setup.

I use plasticovers on baritonesax as well so it's not that pricey for me.
 
I use a Legere Signature tenor reed on my backup alto piece which is an SR Tech polycarb 0.85, not because it sounds better but it fits the table of the SR better as these pieces have a slightly wider table than other alto pieces.


Brian
 
Search and you will find a thread in which I confessed to baritone Fibracelss on my tenor and Pete quoted many other users, sadly all far more talented.
 
Search and you will find a thread in which I confessed to baritone Fibracelss on my tenor and Pete quoted many other users, sadly all far more talented.

Oh go on, modesty doesn't become you- NOT YOU!!! >:)
 
quite a few years ago, i turned up at a gig with my tenor only to find that the guy in the music shop had given me alto reeds by mistake, and so i had no option but to play alto reeds on my tenor, i have always double checked since then, not one of my best gigs!
 
George Shelby, american Session guy and sax palyer for the Stray Cats, did a workshop for us a while back and recommended the smae thing for a big, powerful tone... "Whatever next"- baritone reeds on a tenor, I'd assume (though a pricey prospect!)

Been using tenor reeds on my alto's for some time now. No trimming or filing,just the usual break in palava. Not sure if it gives me a big powerful tone. Just seem to prefer them.
Regards.
 
When I've done this - both accidentally and deliberately - I've found that the wrong reeds didn't work as well as the right reeds. I wasn't surprised.
 
Who's going to be first to try it?

I could always use my famous unplayable Gonzalez tenor reed which has been sanded down sufficiently to be able to slice diamonds - I'll give it a quick prune and see whether it produces the goods!
 
George Shelby, american Session guy and sax palyer for the Stray Cats, did a workshop for us a while back and recommended the smae thing for a big, powerful tone... "Whatever next"- baritone reeds on a tenor, I'd assume (though a pricey prospect!)

When I sold my baritone I had some Rico Royals left over. They fit the Yamaha CM tenor mouthpieces exactly, and i tried them. Though they are half a size stronger than the RRs I sometimes use on tenor, they were, if anything, easier to play. OTOH, the sound, especially in the lower ranges, is quite dull. You may gather from this that this has not become my regular practice, aside from the pricey prospect.
 
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Interesting subject. Here is some info that might be of interest;

Earl Bostic: alto: Beechler m/p on a Martin Committee. Bostic used a tenor reed on his mouthpiece according to one web site. It is also claimed that Earl Bostic used to put a sliver of Gillette razor blade in his mouthpiece to get that Bostic sound. The razor apparently worked like a baffle. Others say that the sound came from within. Per an SOTW contributor, “I asked Herb Gordy, his bassist for many years (50's) on the road about the tenor reed thing and he said no. He may have tried it, but played his Martin horn and different reeds, but alto reeds”.

Plas Johnson: tenor: Ponzol M2 .120. Baritone: metal Scoop Bill Berg Larsen 120/2. Reeds: Ponzol 3’s. Saxophone: Yanagisawa tenor and bari. According to Mr. Johnson he played a MK VI on the “Pink Panther Theme.” And he used a baritone sax reed on his tenor m/p. I did not ask him if he used the same set up on his other "rock & roll" solos.

The bari reed on a tenor m/p and tenor reed on an alto m/p has been around for a few years in some areas of music. In the late 50's I spoke with an older tenor player in Florida whose specialty was the blues. I noticed that both his style and tenor tone was very different than other local sax players. He used a bari reed on his metal m/p.

I later heard another tenor player in the 60's at Va. Bch who played a bari reed on tenor and a tenor on alto. He was from New Jersey and was rock & roll all the way. He said it gave him more volume and flexibility on the horns. And it did!

Ron Coelho has made several tenor m/p's for players who use a baritone reed.
 
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