Klarinet Archive - Posting 000054.txt from 2008/07

From: Adam Michlin <amichlin@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] RE: Tenor Sax Mouthpieces
Date: Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:52:22 -0400

Dear Christy,

What tip opening on the Otto Link? What size/brand reed? Lack of control
in the lower register could mean a whole set of possibilities. Perhaps a
reed that is too strong for the opening of the mouthpiece? Perhaps a
leaky instrument (a Mark VI would have to be over 30 years old)? Perhaps
too much (or too little) mouthpiece in the mouth? The Conn mouthpiece
was definitely not designed for the Mark VI, but I've seen stranger
things work.

Tenor saxophone, more so than perhaps any other instrument excluding the
human voice, can make so many different yet "acceptable" sounds. Stan
Getz vs. John Coltrane, to give just one obvious example of
contemporaries. As such, there tends to be a huge variety of
mouthpieces. I tend to recommend the Otto Link Hard Rubber 7 with a med
hard reed (La Vox Med. Hard, Vandoren (Java/Jazz/V16) 2 1/2 or 3) for
people new to jazz saxophone. I am a big fan of the Ponzol mouthpieces
for more experienced players (and play one myself).

As to ligatures, I tend to play on the inverted Bonades when I'm feeling
er.. frugal and the Vandoren Optimums when I feel like splurging (don't
get me wrong, they're worth the extra money).

-Adam
http://www.michlinmusic.com

Christy Erickson wrote:
> I have tried an Otto Link mouthpiece, with "so-so" results. At the
> moment, the one I like best is a Yanagisawa no. 7 but it's a little
> hard to control in the low register. I've been amazed by the wide
> variance in intonation issues that I've experienced with various tenor
> sax mouthpieces. The tenor I'm using is borrowed and there was an old
> Conn mouthpiece in the case. The entire horn played about a half step
> sharp in every range for me on that mouthpiece, even with the neck
> pulled out so I knew I had to experiment but it has been a rather
> tedious, frustrating process. Initially, I though it was just me but
> after trying out a few different mouthpieces, I knew it definitely
> wasn't just me.
>
> Do you have any specific ligature recommendations? I use a metal
> Beechler on my alto. It's a slimline mouthpiece, which of course
> requires a smaller ligature. The threads on the screws stripped after
> using it for about 3 months. Thankfully, the company sent me a new
> one. As a result, I'm a bit reluctant to experiment with any
> equipment that isn't somewhat standardized. Having said that, I
> wouldn't want to give up that Beechler alto mouthpiece.
>

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