Klarinet Archive - Posting 000321.txt from 2006/10
From: "Kevin Fay" <kevin.fay.home@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Kinda OT: Saxophone Mouthpieces?
Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2006 14:02:26 -0400
Lynn ("thomaswinds" <thomaswinds@-----.net) posted:
<<<I don't usually teach saxophone, so I am hoping those of you that do can
help me out. If I should go somewhere on the web to ask, please let me
know what sites are good. I do play and do understand about sax embouchure.
I just got a tenor sax student who's in 6th grade, in the Breeze Easy 2nd
book. He has his grandfather's Mark VI tenor...yeah, we know how much it's
worth, and it IS worth it! The tone is gorgeous. And No, they aren't
selling, LOL. He also has his gpa's Selmer C* mouthpiece with original
facing, and plays on Rico Royal or similar 3.5s. We just got him a BG lig.
It's almost impossible for him to get anything lower than an E. It's not
the horn, I've played it, and Vince Marinelli worked on it, it's fine. We
have been working on the embouchure and breathing, that's not the issue. I
have a feeling it's the mouthpiece, it seems to be a really long facing.
You slide a piece of paper down there, and it goes almost a whole inch.
Maybe even more. I think it's too much mouthpiece for him right now.
Can anyone suggest a good but not overly expensive tenor mouthpiece for a
student? How are the Hite Premieres for tenor sax? What about Meyers?
What facings should I look for?
I play on an old Woodwind mouthpiece on my alto. Would something like that
be good for him?
Any help is GREATLY appreciated!!!!>>>
An old Woodwind would be a decent choice for concert work - but if it's in
decent shape, it wouldn't qualify as "not overly expensive." Vintage
mouthpieces tend to be quite spendy these days. For reasons I can't
understand, tenors seem to have prices inflated more than other sizes.
Fortunately, there are a number of good, inexpensive saxophone mouthpieces
to be had.
For concert work, I'd skip an interim step and obtain a Rascher. You can
get them from Fred Weiner (www.weinermusic.com) for $100. While advertised
as "designed" by Sigurd Rascher, it's really a reproduction of the Buescher
mouthpiece from the early 20th Century. Some (like me) are of the opinion
that it's the easiest way to make a saxophone sound the way it's supposed to
for concert work, do to a large barrel-shaped chamber, open baffle and a
medium-short, close facing.
If $100 is too steep - and it shouldn't be, if the kid's playing on a
saxophone that could sell fro five grand - there are a couple of good, cheap
mouthpieces to try, both designed by Arnold Brilhart. First would be the
Brilhart, made and marketed by Conn-Selmer. The street price is about $40.
I'd shoot for a closer, "star" facing - the "star" means the lay is shorter.
A 3* would be a good start.
While marketed as a "student" mouthpiece, many, many, many fine players have
used it as their weapon of choice. On alto, it was good enough for Charlie
Parker, Benny Carter, Johnny Hodges and Maceo Parker. A 5* is my current
favorite for "commercial" work.
. . . even better (i.e., cheaper) is the Rico Royal, designed by Mr.
Brilhart. A big "A" chamber with a 3 facing will give a good, "legit"
sound, and set your student back less than twenty bucks. You can get a C7
to rock-and-roll for the same price, and have both for less than a tenth of
what some tenor mouthpieces are selling for these days.
Hope this helps,
kjf
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