Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2019-10-15 14:06
If you are tired and you feel pressure well your sound will surely suffer. The sound collapses from the weak embouchure muscles. Most of the German players use mouthpiece tip openings under 1.00mm and softer reeds, usually under 3 strength. Yes folks this is Generally. Of course not everyone. Don't rag on me. The great Sabine Meyer uses her own reeds made by Steuer, 2 1/2 strength usually and the tips of these German reeds are thick. About 3 times thicker than a Vandoren V12 tip. Her mouthpiece is well below 0.95mm. But needless to say she sounds just fine in any hall, as her sound projects so well.
Then we have the great jazz player Eddie Daniels who plays on a 1.03mm tip opening and his sound can fill any hall.
To be fair here I strongly feel if you can't play about 3 hours without taking a break, because your lips and your embouchure is too sore, to dead to go on the tip opening is wrong. You don't have have to have a tip opening of an alto sax, which 1.20 and above is becoming very close to an alto sax, in some cases it is an alto sax opening. However, the sax reeds are less resistant of course and a totally different cut.
I must also add that sweet sound you are looking for probably will be lost forever. You will just have that everyday standard sound which everyone has in community bands and that's OK with sore lips and maybe comes bloody lips if you play really hard and fast music requiring articulation madness.
I've played in huge halls such as Orchestra Hall in Chicago and outdoors. I use maybe 1.04mm's to 1.05 tip openings and the projection is just fine, because of the design of the mouthpiece. We need the the mouthpiece to Ping and Ring. See, a lot or actually very few mouthpieces ping and ring. The worst mouthpieces are the Zinners and the Vandoren 88 profiles such ass the M series. The ping and ring is what carries the sound not the tip opening. Think about this ...
For example, a hose 3 feet wide with water going through it won't go very far. Maybe 2 feet at best. But a small 1 inch water hose may project 30 feet. Air works the exact same way.
I feel the best mouthpieces, based on 40 years of research, the ideal tip openings are between 1.03 to 1.09, depending on the formation of the mouth cavity of the person. Also of course is the mouthpiece design.
I get idiots call me wanting mouthpieces with tip openings at 1.30mm's. I won't make them because I already know they have the worst possible sound ever. Bigger tip opening is not better, it gravely worse. When people want the Vandoren BD5's tip openings which are around 1.13mm tip openings I send them 1.08 tip openings with a reed to match the mouthpiece. After they play the mouthpiece they freak out. See the problem is a cross between finding that great reed to match the great mouthpiece. They now have an amazing sound which can be heard anywhere and even when playing softly the sound projects.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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