M/Pieces - Ligs TOP Gold Plated jazz Metal Mothpiece for Tenor Sax...from Chinese Ebayer, anyone?

[Colin the Bear]

If you want a cheap high baffle piece the rico is the way to go. The graftonite has a roll over and the metalite has a high step.

 

[jrintaha]

I have one of those too, #8 tip opening, which feels smaller than my Metalite M7. Should have ordered a #9 or #10. Looks reasonably well made, no rough edges, the table is smooth, although the facing curve is not 100% symmetrical. The lig on mine is rather bad, gets stuck all the time - the threads are already starting to deteriorate.

It plays very nicely though, and no intonation issues whatsoever. I'd say it sounds pretty close to the Metalite, perhaps slightly warmer, and intonation-wise plays a lot better than the Metalite.

It's a decent mouthpiece, but I haven't used it after buying the Morgan mouthpiece MMM had listed in the yard sale section.

 

[rsproduction]

I'm looking for a cheap mpc that give me a much warmer sound than my yam 4C. Something smooth and less brilliant....but not too dark.... But I'm already a novice.... So I was thinking the best solution could be a metal cheap one but I understand that it's not the only one way. I'm seeking a guidance!

 

[aldevis]

I'm looking for a cheap mpc that give me a much warmer sound than my yam 4C. Something smooth and less brilliant....but not too dark.... But I'm already a novice.... So I was thinking the best solution could be a metal cheap one but I understand that it's not the only one way. I'm seeking a guidance!

What is your budget?
On this forum few people recommend the Bari esprit. My students usually prefer it to the Yamaha.
In Florence, Onerati used to have a decent stocklist and Marco, that works there, is a very good player.

Personally I would recommend to wait and save some money. A good piece can stay with you for a long time and the more experienced you are the more mature your choice will be. My personal favorite mouthpiece to grow with, is the Pillinger NYT, but I am a positively biased towards Ed's work..

 

[Colin the Bear]

Bear in mind that the mouthpiece doesn't produce the tone, you do. The right mouthpiece lets you produce the tone you're after. That's why you need to try a piece before investing.

There isn't a decent shop in my neck of the woods to try pieces, so I bought cheap, new and second hand off ebay and sold them on for little loss and some times a small profit.

I tried all the usual suspects to find the sort of thing I was looking for. Rico graftonite and metalite, the bari esprit, Selmer S80, Selmer HR Airflow Several Chinese metal pieces. I found more of what I didn't want than what I did.

I didn't find the esprit that good on tenor. They don't do a version of the square chamber alto esprit II for tenor yet.

If you play lots of different pieces, the right one stands out and becomes obvious. It doesn't sound that different but offers an ease of play and expression and a flexibility of tone.

If your embouchure is still developing you may need a transitional piece before you settle. The Yamaha comes in different tip openings and you may be ready for a different size. Bear in mind also that different reeds can affect the sound and a little experimentation can produce pleasing results. Your search may take a lifetime.

 

[rsproduction]

Could you suggest me something less closed than yam 4C? It's sound is not so bad but I'm not realy happy with it. Probably I'd use different reeds ( now 2 or 2,5 Vandoren and Rico).... Or ligature.... Or just doing embroucher exercise..exercise and exercise again!

 

[old git]

Started on a 6C on tenor as they did not have a 4 in stock at the time.

Ended up on a PPT 9* and soft reeds.

 

[Ads]

I like the Esprit sound but having to use floorboards on the alto version moved me to Link and LAWs with decent sized gaps, I still use the Sop version with Rico 3s as it tames the brassy nature or my Elkhart-300 Curvy,

I`d struggle with a tenor piece with such a narrow gap so never tried it , I think that`s more likely the reason the tenor version isn`t popular than the round chamber business, the Sop is round chamber and it`s the most acclaimed of the esprit range .

 

[Saxdiva]

I would suggest buying a bigger Yamaha. It won't cost much and as you're still developing you won't make an expensive mistake. The problem with cheap Chinese mouthpieces us that you have no idea about the quality. Some may be fine, some terrible as their quality control is hit and miss. Yamahas are consistent.

At such any early stage, you won't find a mouthpiece that will significantly change your sound. You need practice to do that as others have said.

 

[rsproduction]

I want to thank you all of you! You are so friendly! Happy new playing year!