 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Roger
Date: 2001-08-04 14:16
The other day I was playing my tenor sax (a top of the line yamaha made in 1983). I used a Selmer C* mp and put the mouthpiece about 3/4 of the way onto the neck and it was terribly sharp. To get in tune I had to pull out so far that the cork was not thick enought to hold the mp steady. A prof. sax player at the rehersal with him said the C* was a little shorter than many mps. When I switched to my Yamaha mp, it was it tune no problems.
My question----As Selmer undoubtedly designed the C* for Selmer saxes, is the selmer sax a differnet size than the yamaha thus, accounting for the above problem?
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Author: William
Date: 2001-08-04 14:37
Ever since I stopped using Selmer mps on my Mark VI tenor, I have had to have the cork on the neck altered to be able to put my preferred (Bergs and Guardalas) mps on far enough to be "up to pitch." Your obersvation about Selmers in general may be valid.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2001-08-04 15:49
I actually noticed the same thing on one of my student's Yamaha sax as well. We simply just had the neck recorked to accomodate his Meyer mouthpiece. I also noticed that the Selmer mouthpieces do not fit as well on the Yamaha necks without altering the thickness of the cork.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2001-08-04 17:31
I've had the same general experience. I played Reed 2 of Wizard of OZ, using a friend's older Martin tenor sax, my Selmer C* , a Meyer? and another didnt tune or fit well, so used the Martin mp [original?], results good. Conclusion, there is larger variation in sax mps and necks than in clar mps and barrels among differing makes of horns. Luck, Don
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Author: jbutler
Date: 2001-08-04 18:41
Don,
The older Vintage saxes must have a mouthpiece with the round chamber in them or they won't play in tune. I made that observation long ago. The newer, well ever since Selmer with to the S-80 mouthpiece with the square chamber, will not work well on these saxes. Now, the Larry Teal, which has the round chamber will work on most of them. But, all the conclusions above are correct: 1) The older vintage instruments need to have the mouthpieces made for them. 2) Manufacturers make mouthpieces specifically for their instruments and 3) if you consistently use a different mouthpiece than the one made for the instrument.you may have to have the neck altered. I have shortened necks, lengthened necks, and ordered different necks for saxes.
Also, I might add the Selmer went through a phase where they made a short and long version of their sax mouthpieces. I have some Selmer C* mouthpieces, the ones with the raised and scrolled ridge on the neck end, that are quite a bit shorter than others.
John
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2001-08-04 21:52
TKS, J B, you cleared up [for me and hopefully others] a considerable confusion that arises from trying modern mps on the great old saxes. I tried my 1930's WW Meliphone Special on my Mark VI alto and quickly went back to the stock C* and D mps. Tim Rees of the great sax quartet [in BVL for concert] played it [with his own mp!] far better than I can! , and wanted to buy it, no sale!! Great experiences, as Jerry says, "still in boot camp" . Don
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Author: Whitney C.
Date: 2001-08-05 03:52
Lol, Don... gotta love those Winkie Marches on the Tenor part... low D whole notes all the way through, heh heh. I loved that Reed 2 book sometimes though.
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Author: Jim
Date: 2001-08-05 09:45
I play "old" sax's and have had the Selmer problem like everyone else. My solution, everytime I go to a music store I ask for the mouthpiece box and look for the oldies. Intonation might improve, but tone can suffer. Most shows I've played, the small sound was what the conductor wanted. 21 years of "too loud" finally convinced me to go small. Jim
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Author: Hiroshi
Date: 2001-08-06 01:12
>jbutler wrote:
The older Vintage saxes must have a mouthpiece with the round chamber in them or they won't play in tune. I made that observation long ago. The newer, well ever since Selmer with to the S-80 mouthpiece with the square chamber, will not work well on these saxes.
Selmer about a year ago started to sell 'SuperSession'. This is a round chamber mouthpiece and has several tip opening choices. I have one for my Selmer Serie III soprano(not an old Selmer). Sounds great. Old Selmer 'Soloists' with round chamber are seeked for by many players. Wirh my C*, my sounds are not only out of tune, but are very unstable. Hite mouthpiece with rectangular chamber is better for me. Its rectangular corners are rounded.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-08-06 14:09
Just a wild card: Are you quite sure that the the sharp mouthpiece is not for an ALTO sax?
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Author: Roger
Date: 2001-08-06 14:19
No it was a tenor, but it did have the raised and scrolled ridge that JButler mentioned. I bought this mp in 1963 (I am not a spring chicken).
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