Metal Mouthpiece

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October 8th, 2008 admin Leave a comment Go to comments

Metal Mouthpiece
best mouthpiece for tenor sax?

ok, so i’ve been in the music program for 5 years, but have only been playing tenor sax for 3 years. My lesson teacher has an amazing morgan mouthpiece that i loved but i know they’re really exclusive and checked it out and it was about $250. I kinda wanna keep the price down. I have a Meyer size 6M, but I don’t like the sound it gives me. I don’t really like metal mouthpieces because they are too bright for me. We are playing jazz music for our field show and I will hopefully be in jazz band, but I wanted to know what’s a good mouthpiece that would work for both jazz music and classical music??
actually, it’s not a morgan that I tried out, it was a kessler. are they good for long term?? (don’t worry about the original question, because that was just a matter of price, and the kessler is a decent price)

Rebecca;
Bluespeed gave you good advice… here’s some additional thoughts…
#1.. there is no “best”.. its completely up to the player, and every piece has different results for each player. If you want to sound like X player, using his mouthpiece/reed/horn combination WON’T get it done.
A mouthpiece is a means by which you reduce the obstacles that get in your way to achieving your goal sound. You pick one that take away the most obstacles for you, and then start shedding.
All that being said.. here are some tips towards pieces that might get you where you want to go.. depending on what that is.
If you don’t want an overly “bright” mouthpiece, like some of the metal ones, I am surprised that you don’t like the Meyer… that is a good middle of the road piece, that isn’t too bright, but still should give you decent projection and a full bodied tone.
What don’t you like about it?? What kind of reeds are you using?.. it might just need a different reed depending on what it is you don’t like about it.
For reasonably priced alternatives… I would recommend looking at the Vandoren line.
These pieces are very consistent. Many mouthpiece manufactures today really lack consistency, and the exact same pieces don’t play the same from one to the next.. Vandoren is doing an excellent job in this area, and their pieces are really consistent.
Here’s their lineup..
The V16 – this is a great piece.. no baffle, good dark sound.. very flexible for concert or jazz band with a change in reeds.
The V5- I have not played one of these, so I can’t comment on it .. others have said it has a VERY dark, mellow sound, more geared for concert playing. The Java – this is going to give you more “edge” than the v16, because of the medium baffle, but not be as bright as the Jumbo Java. The Jumbo Java- this is a VERY bright piece.. big baffle, small chamber, similar to any screaming metal piece out there. The Metal v16- is a really nice piece with a lot of flexibility.. a little more punch available than in the HR version.(but a LOT more pricey). but still not a typical Bright metal piece. You might want to try a HR v16 or regular Java if you want keep a slightly contemporary sound, with a little more punch, but still get a non bright.. full bodied, projecting sound. I’d say try the v16 first, this is becoming a very popular piece amongst a lot of players for its flexibility. Use Java reeds for a more mellow sound, and put ZZ’s on it if you want to hear it really come alive. About $125 new.

The HR Link or even a Metal Super tone master Link, are not bright at all. They have no baffle, and a large chamber, for a full dark sound. Also are good alternatives.$75 (HR)-$125 (Metal) new
I’ve never played a Kessler, so I can’t give you any advice on those.
Morgan makes good pieces, but they are expensive, and I think you could find something that works for you, for a lot less money.
Best bet… try as many as you can to find what you like, and what gets you going in the right direction.

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