 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Matt74
Date: 2015-11-27 07:02
I only play clarinet now, but used to be a saxophonist. I want to be able to double on alto again. I never liked any of the alto Selmer CS-80 series mouthpieces. My horn is really bright, so I wanted to try a Caravan. I thought I would ask first:
Does anyone double on saxophone and use a Caravan, if so which chamber? What is your clarinet set up?
Are there other alto mouthpieces you like for someone who primarily plays clarinet, especially darker pieces with round chambers and close facings.
I play a Gennusa Exellente GE on my clarinet.
Thank you!
- Matthew Simington
Post Edited (2015-11-27 07:18)
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Author: clarinetguy ★2017
Date: 2015-11-27 07:44
On clarinet, I use the Gennusa GE*. On alto sax, I really like the Vandoren Optimum AL3, a fairly closed, easy-blowing mouthpiece. If you're on a tight budget, the Fobes Debut is a great choice.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2015-11-27 09:17
First, remember rhat as finicky as clarinet players are with mouthpieces, sax players are worse....
That being said, one of my primary mouthpieces is a genussa GE.
Alto, I have a Rousseau alto mouthpiece that seems good for classical or smaller chamber settings (has a low ceiling for pure volume, but tone and control is nice).
I also like the Vandoren v16 as an "all around" mouthpiece. Seems to be a jack of all trades, master of none of sax mouthpieces. But it's also easy to slap on, play, and sound very good with very good control.
Alexi
Just my opinions. I don't play much alto at all, but if I do, these were recommendations to me from another alto player and they seemed to hit the marks pretty well.
PS - the above mentioned vandoren optimum line is also a good general mouthpiece line for all saxes. Have played on it on Bari and tenor saxes. But once again, a lower ceiling for pure volume. Don't plan on being a brass band player with those.
US Army Japan Band
Post Edited (2015-11-27 19:55)
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Author: gwie
Date: 2015-11-27 10:10
I doubled a lot on alto back in college, and on my Selmer SA-80 Series II, I used a Selmer Soloist C* with a Vandoren 3.5 reed. It worked really well for concert band, and even a few performances of Kodaly's Hary Janos Suite.
However, I expected the Selmer mouthpiece to work well on that alto...what kind of horn are you playing on?
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2015-11-27 20:08
Hi,
I double a good bit on alto and clarinet for shows.
On clarinet, I use a Borbeck 16 (pretty hard to find), a Rico Reserve (X10), or a beat up VD B45. All are pretty open. For the alto, a Meyer 7M or a classic Selmer Soloist E; I played the Selmer E all through college and in the military. However, for classical work, I use a Selmer Soloist C* or VD V2.
The V2s I own are really old and also hard to find but are terrific MPs. There is probably a new VD Mp similar to the V2. I've just never tried to find it.
If I had to pick just one MP to use, it would be either the Selmer E or Meyer 7M. I can make either one work in any setting. Ligatures are always original Harrison's and I am making friend with Legere' reeds.
HRL
PS My altos are a Mark VI and Super Series I.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2015-11-27 20:29
Hank,
If you're still reading, out of curiousity, I've got a 7M on order (tenor). And currently use a 5M. Seeing as you use very open mouthpieces on clarinet, would you say that for the OP who prefers closed mouthpieces, to go more towards a 5M (or maybe even more closed) to keep it consistent?
My personal thoughts are that the relationship of tip opening from instrument to instrument doesn't matter. I mean, the embouchure for a sax is different enough that I don't feel I'd be any more or less comfortable trying to keep tip opening the same. My brain just has to learn to shift to "I'm playing the sax now, so THIS is the embouchure I'm using". It's just as easy (or in my case right now, "it's just as difficult") to go from a close tip clarinet to a giant wide tip sax as it is from close tip to close tip, because I have to change from clarinet style playing to sax style. I think the more important thing is to pick a mouthpiece and work with it, and work transitioning back and forth, rather than trying to keep the mouthpieces similar.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2015-11-27 20:45
Being a sax player first (and clarinet player second) I play Lawton 7*BB brass on alto, 7*BB stainless steel on bari, 7*B brass on tenor and 6*B ebonite on soprano. For orchestral, sax 4tet and concert band playing I use a 6*BB brass on alto, 6*BBS bronze on tenor and a plain 7 ebonite on bari and bass. Alsi a Yanagisawa 5 metal on sopranino. I used to play Dukoff D7 and D8 before, but ran into trouble with them being picky with reeds so went with the more reliable and fuller sounding Lawtons.
I use reeds between 2 and 2.5 on alto through to bari/bass (Vandoren green and red Java, V16 and ZZ, Alexander Superial and Legere Studio and Signature) and Rico Royal 3 on soprano. Vandoren Eb clarinet reeds will fit sopraninos as they're identical in size to sopranino reeds which I found out to my annoyance - I thought sopranino reeds would've been around 1mm wider than Eb clarinet reeds.
The go-to mouthpiece for alto is generally a Meyer 6 and on tenor an Otto Link 6 if you want something more than a Selmer S80 C* will give you. But also try a Selmer S80 C** or D and the metal classic and Jazz equivalents.
One mouthpiece I tried recently on alto which I took to immediately was a Theo Wanne Durga which was either a 6* or 7 - but that wasn't mine and for economical reasons I'm sticking with my Lawtons.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2015-11-27 20:47)
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Author: Kel
Date: 2015-11-27 20:56
Should you come across one, I recommend a Meyer or Link blueprinted by the late, great Doc Tenney. They can be recognized by the BP10E stamp. Very nice playing pieces that don't get in the way. I use his Link 7 on bari and tenor, Meyer 6 on alto … and, for what it's worth, Ralph Morgan 15 on clarinet.
edited to correct Ralph Morgan's name
Post Edited (2015-11-28 17:21)
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Author: KenJarczyk
Date: 2015-11-27 22:06
My immediate thought was that most of you folks posting must be younger. I'm reading Meyer - this, Otto Link - that.... There are differences.
All Meyers and Otto Links for quite some time now, are made by the Babbitt Mouthpiece Company, and a very good one does escape their Indiana factory from time to time, but they are not your Grandfather's Meyer or Otto Link.
The legendary Meyers were made in New York, are stamped "Made in New York," and would have been finished by the late Ralph Morgan's father. Those are treasures. Ralph Morgan had his father's specification sheets, and would make a player a Morgan Branded, but NY Meyer in Soul and Spirit mouthpiece. I have one, and it is indeed, the absolute best alto piece I've ever played. For "modern" measurements, he marked it a 7, but in historic thought, it would be a NY Meyer 5. When you read in interview magazines, quoting Phil Woods saying he plays (alas, now played) a Meyer 5, that is an old NY Meyer 5. I'm afraid the secrets of the NY Meyer left the planet forever, with Ralph Morgan. I do have a vintage NY Meyer 6 on Bari, and a NY Meyer 7 for Tenor. The Bari piece has been my mainstay since I copped it in 1973. The Tenor is safely guarded, but not used. The NY Meyer chamber is perfect for Alto and Bari, but in my thought, lacked a wee bit on the Tenor - which is why that vintage era of players used NY Otto-Link mouthpieces quite alot!
Ken Jarczyk
Woodwinds Specialist
Eb, C, Bb, A & Bass Clarinets
Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Baritone Saxophones
Flute, Alto Flute, Piccolo
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2015-11-28 06:03
Alexi,
I think your logic is sound. The 5M on tenor might be a better match with what you are using on clarinet which I assume is a closer lay. In m ycase, I have always used very open MPs but am comfortable with a C* which is what I play on soprano and bari (both are older Selmer Soloists). That is not really logical since I really like my old Selmer Soloist E. But then I have a really old white Brilhart Tonalin 5 that is quite good.
Ken,
I'm pretty old and do know about the NY Meyers as well as the Otto Links. But the 7M I used on alto is a newer one. On clarinet, I do not play any vintage MPs as IMHO, current clarinet MPs are superior (I do have some SMS and Portnoy MPs that are pretty great). So many MPs, so little time.
However, I really like the old Selmer Soloists and have not even tried to find a contemporary alto MP other than the Meyer I currently use.
HRL
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Author: Matt74
Date: 2015-11-28 06:50
Thank you! And feel free to, "Tawlk amongst ya selves.." but I was looking for a classical piece.
I have a SA-80 II horn. I have a C* and a Meyer 6. (I also have a Buescher True tone with the original mouthpiece that I started on, but it's not in playing condition and the mpc would require a re-cork on my Selmer, and I don't know if the mpc facing is good anyhow.)
I do much better with close facings. I'm sure that I want a round chamber. I don't care for the C* sound, or others like it. What really bothers me is the attack. There's this edgy reedy sound that drives me nuts.
I was thinking of a Caravan, or Selmer Concept. An AL3 is about as bright as I want to go, but I'm sure there must be other options out there. The thing I'm worried about is that I don't want to have to spend too much time with it. If it's massively more resistant than my clarinet set up (Gennusa Excellente GE) it might take more work than I'm willing to put into it.
Alexi, What Rousseau do you play?
I'd be interested in trying the Debut.
- Matthew Simington
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Author: ned
Date: 2015-11-29 05:03
''Are there other alto mouthpieces you like for someone who primarily plays clarinet, especially darker pieces with round chambers and close facings.''
*************************************************
Ninety-nine percent of my playing is N.O. jazz, on clarinet (Hawkes & Son simple system) using a Meyer #9 or #8, depending on the shape of my chops at the time. Rico reeds of #3 or #3+ also are used as appropriate.
I decided to go back to alto only recently and am experimenting with a Claude Lakey Jazz mouthpiece...yeh...I KNOW...there's no such thing as a ''jazz'' mouthpiece.
However, it's easy to blow the alto with this + a Rico #2 reed. I don't want the alto to affect my clarinet tone and, so far, the clarinet embouchure and tone seem to be unchanged.
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Author: concertmaster3
Date: 2015-12-01 20:12
Being an oboist first (then clarinetist, then saxophonist), my clarinet set-up is a Genussa GE. I like the Vandoren Optimum AL3 on Alto with a V12 #3 reed as my classical set-up. For Jazz, I use a D'Addario Select Jazz D7M with a Jazz Select 2H.
Both are fairly comfortable, and play great for each setting.
Ron Ford
Woodwind Specialist
Performer/Teacher/Arranger
http://www.RonFordMusic.com
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Author: Ed
Date: 2015-12-01 20:56
The older Selmer soloists are quite versatile and play very well. I have not played the newer version, so I am not sure how they compare.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2015-12-02 01:26
Quote:
Alexi, What Rousseau do you play?[\quote]turns out I have a Rousseau 4R. If that means anything. Just followed advice from our resident alto sax expert. Seems like a good mouthpiece, albeit I can't get super loud on that.
US Army Japan Band
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