hi everyone, i'm new to the forums does anyone have any advice on which brands of Alto Sax mouthpieces are the best?

Welcome to the forum driftwood. We're, in my opinion, a little short of sax players here, so it's good to see another one.

Plenty of good mouthpieces are available for the sax. The best advice I can give is to try lots out, if you can. Vandoren is one good make to look for, also Morgan, Hite, Pomarico crystal, there's so many...

Do look into Viva Woodwind, where we woodwinders share advice and talk all things woodwind!

Welcome!


A

Hi Driftwood

Welcome to the forums!

I don't play sax myself but I love the sound of the sax. There's a thread called Saxy things in the Viva Woodwind forum if you want to chat about anything to do with the sax I think I've seen elsewhere that you play the clarinet (which is my instrument), and if you want to chat about clarinetty things, there's a thread called Clarinettists United which is also in Viva Woodwind. Look forward to seeing you around

What style of music do you want to play?

What set-up (mouthpiece, reeds, lig) are you playing at the moment, and what is it about the set-up that makes you think you need a change?

I'd really like to play some more jazz... Use 2.5 Vandoren reeds... Nad the mouthpiece is really making my pitch sound quite sharp (i've checked, it's not me!)

Alto mouthpieces worth trying for a jazz-style are HR Otto Link, Meyer, Berg Larsen, maybe a more open Selmer. I've got an SR Technologies Legend that I fall in and out of love with - I'm currently playing a Selmer Super Session E for jazz, but alto isn't my main horn and I don't feel as much at home with it as I do with tenor. If you're going for a much brighter jazz/funk sound then a Berg Larsen with a high baffle, a metal Yanagisawa or a Dukoff might be worth trying.

Depending on what the opening of your mouthpiece is (which is why the mp/reed combination is the important thing) the Vandoren reeds could be a little soft (although 2.5 is hard enough to give you some resistance and I doubt that would be a problem). Vandoren reeds are generally regarded as classical, jazz reeds include La Voz (my current favourite), Rico Jazz Select (a slightly mellower sound) and Vandoren Jazz (I know a few people who like these but I don't really get on with them).

As I said before it's the combination of reed and mp you need to get right. Generally, for a classical sound you would play quite a close mouthpiece like a Selmer C* with a hard reed like a Vandoren 3 and above. For a jazz sound you choose a more open mouthpiece, from the ones I listed above starting points could be Otto Link 6, Meyer 5 or 6, Selmer D or E, Berg Larsen 75 with maybe a La Voz M or MS reed or Jazz Select 2M or 2H.

Finally, are you absolutely sure it's the mouthpiece, not you that's playing sharp? The reason I ask is that as an ex-clarinettist myself I had terrible problems playing sharp when I first started on sax. Particular mouthpieces would exacerbate it but it was definitely my problem. I was playing with too much of a clarinet embouchure. Sax embouchure is different, it's rounder, tends to be looser and you need to shove tons more air through the instrument.

Hi!

I have been impressed with vandoren mouthpieces with both clarinet and saxophone. Before the vandoren on my sax I played with a yamaha which was also very good. Really depends what sort of music you want to play and what standard, what strength of reed you use etc. Try heaps!

Welcome.
Bev.

Welcome. Sorry, I'm late...

Welcome. Enjoy your visits here

Hello & welcome!