Klarinet Archive - Posting 000236.txt from 1995/03

From: Syd Polk <jazzman@-----.COM>
Subj: Mouthpieces and reeds
Date: Wed, 8 Mar 1995 14:42:16 -0500

On the subject of mouthpieces:

A poster mentioned that he preferred the open Selmer C* as opposed to the
closed metal mouthpieces he saw other alto players playing. In my experience,
jazz mouthpieces (which is where most of the metal mouthpieces are) are
much more open, have a much bigger chamber, and are louder. The sound
is quite different from the classical sound typified by the Selmer C*.

I don't like most metal mouthpieces on soprano and alto because they have
too many high harmonics, and the high harmonics are already loud enough.
On tenor and bari, you want to emphasize the higher harmonics, and metal
may be appropriate to your situation.

I play a VanDoren B45 on soprano sax. It works great for both jazz and
classical; it gets a sweet sound that's not too edgy. On alto, I play
the Selmer HS* for classical (low notes work better than on the C*),
and a Yanagasawa hard rubber 7 for jazz. (Yanagasawa mouthpieces are the
best jazz mouthpieces for the price)

On tenor, I play three different mouthpieces. For classical, I have
the obligatory Selmer C*. For most jazz, I play a Berg Larsen hard
rubber 103/1. For fusion/rock, I play a Lawton 8BB* metal. This last
is very edgy, but that sound can be appropriate in certain settings.

On bari, I play a Selmer D* for classical, and a Yanagasawa 9 metal
for jazz.

On Eb, Bb, and alto clarinets I play VanDoren B45s. On bass clarinet,
I play a Borbeck. On contra, I play what comes with the instrument I borrow,
but I have a set of Rovner ligatures that really help the sound.

Syd