Mouthpieces The right Bari mpc

jeremyjuicewah

jeremyjuicewah

Senior Member
1,879
Costa Blanca Spain
Hi all. I have the Pennsylvania bari, its quite old, I guess a vintage horn. Its great. I am using my second attempt mpc a Rico Metallite, and for 20 odd quid it is extraordinary. Would be good at a lot more than 20 quid too. I am hoping to improve however. I have been recommended to go for a Selmer, Vandoren etc, one of the known older makes, big chamber, wide tip for a soft reed. This came from a very respected tech, the one who fixed it up for me, and a bari player from way back.

I mailed Vandoren as the info on their website is pretty sparse, they tell me V16 B9. I guess I trust them, its one I have considered already as I generally like Vandoren mpcs, but there is a lot of knowledge on this site and it seems a shame not to access it. Anyone got an opinion on that? I have also mailed Woodwind Exchange who, from my last visit there, I would think have a a heap of older pickle barrels to sort through, they are phoning me tomorrow.

I cant really try the mpcs but I am willing to take a gamble on a couple of hundred quid, the more info I have however, the happier I will be.

Thanks all
Mike
 
Hi Mike,

The Vandoren V16 is a fairly modern design of jazz mouthpiece, based on the Berg Larsen, I believe. They are made of good hard rubber and are consistently finished, but not really "big chamber" or "pickle barrel" as you mentioned. Should be a good sound, but might not match your horn well. for tuning.

I guess you don't want to hear "try out lots of different pieces to see what works well for you". When you say "I am hoping to improve" - what do you want that will be better - tuning, tone, articulation ... ?

Rhys
 
All of those things. I never knew what my tenor could sound like till I had spent out on a Link and Jumbo Java. I want ease of playing, I am bothered that there are things I dont know about this old sax and it seems wise to listen to people who do know. I believe its more important on this sax than on the tenors. Thats part instinct and part listening to others. I just want a good set up, and am in doubt where to start. I would have bought the V16 already but what you have told me is what I suspected, its not a big chamber piece and it may not suit. I am not being very helpfull because as I say, I suspect there are things about this one that are different. Because its a bari and because its old.

If I tell you that my favourite piece on tenor is the metal Link, that probably helps with the sound I like. I use the Java more often, but still my favourite is the soft, mellow tone I can get with the Link. It works fine on tenor, I doubt it on this bari.
Cheers
Mike
 
Pete says the PPT Signature Bari piece is very close to the Slant Signature Link. And he created them because the Slant Sig Links were very scarce and were what he was looking for. Afik he's tried them on many different instruments, vintage and modern, without problems.

I've compared it to Bari Gold, Rico Metalite, Rico Graftonite, PPT Power. Like all bari pieces there's quite a marked sound difference between the registers. It's an easy blow with super lush, rich sub-tones, but strong when you want it. Much mellower than the Metalite which I find aggressive and harsh, more character than the Bari Gold. The Graftonite is an easy blow, but a bit lacking, very good for the money though and I prefer it to the Metalite (accusations of heresy fall on deaf ears). Compared to the PPT Power, it's quieter, mellower, but with enough bite. But not so good if you really want to push it. The PPT Power has a huge sound. Almost scary. Metalite isn't in the same league.

The PPT Signature is the one I play, the PPT Power is second on the list for when I really want to annoy someone, or just honk and let off steam. The rest stay in the drawer.
 
I agree with Kevin - we could form a coalition.

If you like a metal Link on tenor, you may well like a metal Link on baritone too. Large chamber, lots of top players use them and there are plenty about, new or used. They are possibly a bit more variable than the PPT in terms of quality of finish and so playability. I use a metal Link on bari when I want a bit more warmth and less edge than my Guardala provides. My Link has been worked on by Morgan Fry.

Rhys
 
I have a Selmer S80 D on my Yamaha YBS 62 Bari.
Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but I find it easy to play across everything I do.
Mind you....not exactly cheap either
 
I've got an old Pennsylvania bari as well. I use a Runyon Smoothbore 9 on mine. Works great, very reed friendly. Just not very mellow. I don't like mellow much.....:w00t:
 
I play a 1980's Weltklang Bari. I've used a Selmer S80 C* since I bought it new. I use a Vandoren Blue 4 or Rico Royale 5 with it and find it a very easy blow. It will whisper, sing and belt it out. I've tried the Metalite M7 and found it an easy blow with an interesting if a bit raspy sound. More rock and roll than jazz. Having said that I've seen clips on utube with the same piece sounding very sweet. The S80 pieces come up from time to time second hand on Ebay quite reasonably priced. They've been going since the 1980's so there's lots out there.

I aim for the Mulligan sound.
 
Thanks all. I have a few days to go before I decide. The Selmer S80 is one of the ones that my tech recommended to me, I have this prejudice that Selmer are a bit stuffy, not quite cool, but I know perfectly well that when all else fails on alto, which I don't play often, the Selmer will give me an easy time in every way. I have a D for tenor, but I am spoiled for tenor mpcs so seldom use it. The PPT is an interesting thought. I did not consider it. Any other thoughts, keep them coming. Been a big help so far.
Cheers
Mike
 
The S80 is my go to mouthpiece. It has saved me going insane on sop and got me moving on tenor. I've moved on with alto and tenor but I'm happy with my Baritone. It's a marmite piece. No middle ground, just lovers and haters.

I like to be uncool. I find it cool.
 
Call it what you like but I suspect it has a lot to do with how a lot of us spend a lot of our money. I know perfectly well there is nothing wrong with a Selmer mpc, but its not the one I look to first. As I said, its a prejudice, not a sound and reasoned attitude. Better to know about it than not to realise it.

Horsey people wear Mustoe jackets. Because of the price or despite it I don't know, but I know I am still wearing a jacket that I bought in a market 14 years ago for ten quid and its still warm and I dont get chucked out of places for wearing it. Does everything that a Mustoe does at a fraction of the price, even at the stables, but I don't think even my mum would call it cool, and she loved me. Or so she said. I wonder....

But then horsey stuff doesn't really matter to me whereas when it comes to spending a few quid on something to do with saxes, yep, I wanna be COOL!!!!
 
I want a mpc that is good in the lower register and I want my baritone to be powerful and "edgy". I try to play in a 3-hornsection and it's blues, soul and rock tunes on the songlist (Pickett, Rice, Berry, Faboulous Thunderbirds, Stevie Ray Vaughn ...).

I have an old Pennsylvania bari with split bellkeys. I can't use my bari mouthpieces on that horn. I need to extend the neckpipe.

The bariplayers I know, who are more "allround", use mpc's like HR Larsen, Meyer, Brilhart. Otto Link ... and they are blowing baris from the 30's to 60's. One player is also sometimes on a low A bari!
 
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Colin the Bear said:
The S80 is my go to mouthpiece. It has saved me going insane on sop and got me moving on tenor. I've moved on with alto and tenor but I'm happy with my Baritone. It's a marmite piece. No middle ground, just lovers and haters.

I like to be uncool. I find it cool.
Click to expand...

I love my Selmer on sop but the one I bought for alto didn't work for me 🙂

Jx
 
jeremyjuicewah said:
But then horsey stuff doesn't really matter to me whereas when it comes to spending a few quid on something to do with saxes, yep, I wanna be COOL!!!!
Click to expand...

Onyxite is really cool.
I really liked a PPT I tried once, I think it was what is now known as a "Power".
I haven't tried the slant-like

On bari you can have quite different directions in sound.
One is Mulligan, and a Selmer could be an easy fix.
On the other side the Tower Of Power guy (Kupka), but I never heard him playing a note above D1.
My idol is still Pepper Adams (when I met him he was on a Metal Link).
A couple of years ago, I looked inside Smulyan's Metal Link, and he has a distinctive baffle added. He played great on the Vandoren too. Both on big tip opening.

If I had to bet without trying, PPT.
 
Jules said:
Wow- still playing that piece. blows a dream but absolutley terrifying amount of kick to it.... nice tone though...
https://soundcloud.com/jules-alex-l/dust-by-mudlow-live-bbc-session
Click to expand...

Jules - that recording and the solo are great !

Rhys
 
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