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- In this Article: Mike a Saxophone for a Live Performance Mike a Saxophone for the Studio Community Q&A. The saxophone is an instrument widely used in jazz, classical and rock-and-roll music. There are a few techniques and general guidelines you should follow when miking a saxophone.
- Saxophone Mouthpieces Reeds and Setup Responses to Mike's Question. As you know, I play a Selmer Reference 54 Alto Sax and a Yamaha YAS-23. Both are great saxes. With mouthpieces, I usually use a Meyer 5, but I also use a metal Beechler 7. Both are highly recommended; especially the Meyer 5. That mouthpiece made my beginner YAS-23 sound like a professional sax. The Beechler 7 make the sax.
Hello, I am a beginning/intermediate alto saxophone player, I have been playing for about six years being self taught, so I still have a lot to learn, and I own a yamaha saxophone, which is not the greatest brand but thats what I got.
Tenor sax player's setup with mpc tip openings, reeds and sax, chronological.
Basically Ive been playing with the same plastic mouthpiece for all these years and I am not satisfied with my small weak tone
Female Sax Players
![Greatest alto sax players Greatest alto sax players](/uploads/1/2/6/0/126067157/346055832.bmp)
I have been trying to investigate exactly how to choose a mouthpiece but I just cant quite figure it out. Ive read this http://stohrermusic.com/?p=1267
![Sax Sax](/uploads/1/2/6/0/126067157/328909093.jpg)
I know the best thing to do is to go to a store and try some out but there are just so much variety and I dont want to look like an idiot trying everything
Basically I know that I most likely will get a hard rubber mouthpiece. At first I thought metal/gold would be a better choice but someone I played with advised me that since the alto is already bright that it would be better to get hard rubber.
I also have a question, does the horn affect the tone more than the mouthpiece or does the mouthpiece affect the tone more? In the future I might buy a better horn but right now I cant afford much..
Which also brings up the issue of price, Im trying to get below 100 or around 100, 200 might be too much but if its truly worth it I can sacrifice money in other areas
thank you for any help!
edit: I forgot to mention that I play jazz, and I like to have a generally bright tone but Im not exactly sure which player's tone I would want but most likely a player from the bop era in the 50s-60s. I will make a list later on the sax players I like the most. The thing most of the tones I like come from tenor players
edit: Yes I know I have to try out some mouthpieces my self but I dont have time to try them all, I was thinking looking at some videos with people using certain mouthpieces so i can get an idea of what kind I want. Maybe not specific brands but the general shape, chamber size, etc
edit: wow thanks a lot all of you! I did not expect this many responses. And when I said I didnt want to spend a lot of time I meant like I wanted to have some knowledge of dependable companies that make the mouthpieces, Im not sure if basically any is good or if there are certain companies that make higher quality mouthpieces
edit: these are some sax players I like (basically all from the bop era) Cannonball Adderley, Sonny Criss, Jimmy Heath, Clifford Jordan, Sonny Stitt, John Coltrane, Wayne shorter, Tina Brooks, Sonny Red, Jackie Mclean, Maceo Parker, Donald Harrison
16 comments
To be truthful, there really is no one solution that will work for every player. Every player has a unique facial geometry, lung capacity, and desired sound, so what works for Otis Murphy, Rousseau, Formeau, Londeix, Harle, McAllister, etc...may not necessarily be what you need. Generally speaking, mouthpieces by Eugene Rousseau (NC4), Selmer (C*-D), and Vandoren are very dependable and play well in tune, although there are so many technological advances constantly occuring that it's difficult to know exactly what's out there. I personally play on a Rousseau mouthpiece, BG Traditional ligature, Glotin Reeds, and a Yamaha 875EX Alto, but I have heard phenomenal players perform on all different sorts of equipment. Many people feel that you need to play authentic equipment, like Rascher mouthpieces and old Buescher saxophones, but to me that just adds another unnecessary element of difficulty. But, to each his own. Really, the only sure thing is consistent practice: evaluate your options as well as you can, try as many products as are available to you, and then stick with your choice. Frequent equipment changes are definitely detrimental to consistently producing a good sound, so it's wise to purchase the best equipment you can afford, and learn the ins and outs of the setup that you choose. (Although I do recommend Yamaha saxophones and Rousseau mouthpieces to my students, since I personally prefer them, any equipment they can bring in and sound good with is OK with me) Good Luck with whatever you choose, I think there is a little too much brand elitism in the world of saxophone playing today, considering that there are so many quality products available. We're all on the same team, really.