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Mouthpieces Upgrading Yamaha 4c mpc

One more question about the Esprit II, how tight or loose a fit would you reckon it is on the cork? The Hite was quite a bit tighter than my original Jupiter mpc so it has compressed the cork a bit, so I hope it's not too loose so it would make the sax go sharp before it gets a good seal.

Hold the neck cork in the steam from a kettle, this will bring it back to it's original size.

John :):);}
 
One more question about the Esprit II, how tight or loose a fit would you reckon it is on the cork? The Hite was quite a bit tighter than my original Jupiter mpc so it has compressed the cork a bit, so I hope it's not too loose so it would make the sax go sharp before it gets a good seal.

I think that sax corks do vary in thickness, as much as mouthpiece openings. On both my altos the Esprit II is tight but comfortable. Same with my Esprit on both my sopranos. If a mouthpiece is loose I tend to use a little piece of tape around the cork - which works fine
 
But as I said, steam will bring it back to its original size. As per the Stephen Howard "Haynes Saxophone Manual". Which I highly recommend to all saxists!!!

John :)
 
I use a Hite Alto MP and don't find the top end thin and it plays the low notes well. But I haven't alot to compare it with.

Hite website recommend "Medium or medium hard reeds cut with a strong center and thinner sides (such as the Rico Jazz Select, LaVoz or Vandoren Java)". I have used Rico Royal 2.5 and Rico Jazz Select 2M with it, prefering the Jazz Select. Have some LaVos 2M to try. Maybe a different reed may help.

I agree about the low notes as they've improved a lot compared to my original Jupiter 4C mpc, but at the cost of the upper octave becoming a bit thinner. I've been reading on this subject now and will try some things later to see if it's something lacking with my embouchure/air support. I've been using all the reeds mentioned on the Hite site though, but half a step softer, around MS/2.0 instead since a Rico royal 2.5 had me huffing and puffing too much to focus on improving my tone.
 
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Caution - steaming works, but if the cork glue is poor, it'll take the cork off.

Don't ask me how I know, let's just say I failed to listen to one of the other member's who warned me about it.
 
Caution - steaming works, but if the cork glue is poor, it'll take the cork off.

Don't ask me how I know, let's just say I failed to listen to one of the other member's who warned me about it.

Thanks for the warning, good to know the risks before I decide whether it's worth it or not
 
If it comes unstuck, and on a Yamaha that's unlikely, then do the job properly. I've never had the problem myself and I frequently do it on my saxes.

John :):);}
 
I just bought a saxophone for the first time, an alto Orpheo, and bought 2 different mouthpieces for it, a Yamaha 3C and 4C as well as a BARI Esprit. Waiting for the BARI Esprit to arrive and with soft 1 1/2 RICO reeds my original MP that came with the Sax is much easier to play in the lower notes. The Yamaha MPs and harder 2 reed seem clearer, but a bit more difficult to produce nice low tone (to me) than the no-name plastic OEM that came with the Orpheo. A friend of mine, Scott Kurtzweil, who worked for Conn-Selmer and now does custom mouthpiece modifications as well as other woodwind stuff, played the Orpheo and thought it was a very nice Sax.

My question would be what is really the difference between the Esprit and Esprit II mouthpieces? They are listed for about the same money, but I would not know if I would gain anything from the Esprit II over the other. I live in SW Michigan not far from South Bend, IN.
 
Hi There!

The main thing that can be concluded from the enclosed Bari alto mouthpiece blurb: http://www.bariwoodwind.com/new%20site/altosaxtnew.html is that the Esprit II has more focus and slightly more edge than the original Esprit. As far as I can see the original Bari Esprit alto is not for sale in the UK otherwise I'd get one and try it. I have the soprano and tenor original Esprit mouthpieces and what is said about the original Bari would seem to describe them quite accurately - they are warm and also vibrant in sound and I rate tthem both very highly. I love the Esprit II and do notice a more focussed sound with slightly more edge (not bright or in any way sharp), and would recommend you get one IF that would make a difference to your sound, but it might be too early to tell given that you are a beginner.

Hope this helps!
Tom
 
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The bari is a very good place to start. It comes in one lay so no wondering which one to buy and no "have I bought the wrong one?"

It plays very easily from top to bottom with a very acceptable sound.

All the terms bright, edgy, focused, warm etc are irrelevant till you can get all the notes and play them in tune, which will take a while.

The Bari will speed your development to a point where you can pick things for yourself based on how your chops turn out.


There's enough to grapple with when starting out without adding unnecessary variables.
 
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