Yes Syos interests me, for instance, a BC piece is the same price as a Sop Clarinet pieces, same with a Bari Sax.
Also, Pete Thomas has an arrangement with Syos for a discount.
Also, Pete Thomas has an arrangement with Syos for a discount.
What Mouthpieces Do You Use?
- Thread starter Keesha
- Start date
Sounds interesting, BSG.
I more-or-less just geek out over the technology. I'd go hard into the 3D printing thing, if I could afford that. I'd also assume that to get a product that stands up to some degree of use and abuse, you'd have to pay big $ for the right 3D printing equipment AND all the stuff you need to measure things properly. There's free software that'd work, but you'd probably want something a bit more pro-end and I know that can be in the hundreds or thousands of $ range. Oh. You'll need some pretty high-end computers, too.
I more-or-less just geek out over the technology. I'd go hard into the 3D printing thing, if I could afford that. I'd also assume that to get a product that stands up to some degree of use and abuse, you'd have to pay big $ for the right 3D printing equipment AND all the stuff you need to measure things properly. There's free software that'd work, but you'd probably want something a bit more pro-end and I know that can be in the hundreds or thousands of $ range. Oh. You'll need some pretty high-end computers, too.
How do we know that they're doing all the heavy lifting?
Syos doing everything I mentioned? Dunno. I know that there are places that will do 3D printing for you and probably other places that can do both the 3D scan of the object AND do the printing, but there'll be some point where that's just not economical anymore.
Again, I'd really have fun with that kind of tech, but it's way too money and time consuming.
Some of you may know that one of my other hobbies is repairing vintage computer keyboards. There isn't yet someone that's been able to 3D print good quality keycaps or key switch parts, which is a bit of a shame.
Also, first post of 2022
.
Again, I'd really have fun with that kind of tech, but it's way too money and time consuming.
Some of you may know that one of my other hobbies is repairing vintage computer keyboards. There isn't yet someone that's been able to 3D print good quality keycaps or key switch parts, which is a bit of a shame.
Also, first post of 2022
.
Me too! lolThat, I'd like to see
Yes. I honestly believe if you purchase a custom mouthpiece, you will get great customer service. If you don’t like your mouthpiece you can send it back and they will make you another. Of course you have to pay for shipping and any duty frees.
This was my intention all along. For some reason, I got distracted from my original plan.
Anyway I think I got the silly idea of a fuscia pink mouthpiece out of my head now.
My gear varies at times based on the horn, or what genre I'm playing. Some horns I have, have very specific MP/reed needs, but here goes:
Soprano
Conn, Pan American Curvy Bb Soprano: Bilger Gold
Mark VI Bb Soprano: vintage Dukoff D8
Conn New Wonder Series II C Soprano: Conn Eagle C soprano MP
Alto
vintage Dukoff D8
vintage Meyer 6M (used in the big band I work in)
Runyon Custom 8 with spoiler
C Melody
Runyon 6 C mel MP with spoiler
Tenor
vintage Dukoff S7
vintage Dukoff D7*
Olds Super tenor: Apollo Series brass 6* by Claude Lakey
Bari
Couf Blackgold bari: Theo Wanne Durga 8*
Mark VI & Martin Committee III baritones:
vintage HR Berg 100/2 SMS
vintage SS Berg 110/2 M
Bass **
Runyon blank 7 - customized for bari by Paul Coats
Vandoren bass sax MP
** Just got the Couf bass in 2021, and haven't settled on a MP yet
Soprano
Conn, Pan American Curvy Bb Soprano: Bilger Gold
Mark VI Bb Soprano: vintage Dukoff D8
Conn New Wonder Series II C Soprano: Conn Eagle C soprano MP
Alto
vintage Dukoff D8
vintage Meyer 6M (used in the big band I work in)
Runyon Custom 8 with spoiler
C Melody
Runyon 6 C mel MP with spoiler
Tenor
vintage Dukoff S7
vintage Dukoff D7*
Olds Super tenor: Apollo Series brass 6* by Claude Lakey
Bari
Couf Blackgold bari: Theo Wanne Durga 8*
Mark VI & Martin Committee III baritones:
vintage HR Berg 100/2 SMS
vintage SS Berg 110/2 M
Bass **
Runyon blank 7 - customized for bari by Paul Coats
Vandoren bass sax MP
** Just got the Couf bass in 2021, and haven't settled on a MP yet
WOW! That’s impressive!
May I ask how many saxophones you have?
Do you like the curvy soprano as opposed to the straight?
Can you hear your own sound better with a curvy soprano ?
What’s considered vintage in years?
My oldest mouthpiece is 70 years old but most are 35 to 40
Meyer 6 is a great mouthpiece.
It seemed that most players seem to prefer the 6 to 8 mouthpiece sizing.
You play soprano, alto, tenor AND baritone?
That’s truly remarkable? Your embouchure must be in amazing shape?
Do you play them all often?
If you’ve been playing your baritone for a long period of time how difficult is it to go straight to the soprano?
Do you play in a band? Have you ever taken all 4 different saxophones?
Probably not but I had to ask?
Which saxophone was your first?
Do you have any music you’d like to share with us?
Sorry for all the questions. I actually have a lot more but I don’t want to overwhelm you.
I’ll say it again.
That’s impressive!
Hey Keesha, I answered you questions in the quote.
So whereabouts in Canada are you? I am in Metro Vancouver.
If you want to see any of the saxophones I have, my gigging horns are shown on my website under the Gear section. The big exception is my Couf Superba I bass that I got last spring. I haven't had a chance to take my own photos of it yet. But I did write a review of it already with photos.
May I ask how many saxophones you have? Honestly, I'm not sure off the top of my head. I also own a bunch of clarinets, so all in, around 30 horns give or take. (I had to sell some to finance my "new to me" bass sax, when I sold my old Buescher bass in spring last year.
Do you like the curvy soprano as opposed to the straight? It depends on what I'm playing. These days I find myself using my Mark VI more more than my curvy. Why? B/C after 20+ years of searching, 2 years ago I found the PERFECT Dukoff mouthpiece I had been looking for. It had been refaced by Theo Wanne himself.
Can you hear your own sound better with a curvy soprano ? Hard to say. The sound is most definitely different to my ear. About 5 years ago I had my curvy lovingly overhauled by a tech I know on Vancouver Island. Claudio did a fantastic job, but since then I have only gotten to use it a handful of times. The MP it requires to play in tune is very different. Therefore the sound is very different as well. So to answer your question, I guess the answer would be "yes", I suppose that I can hear my sound easier on the curvy, but if I'm using monitors, it makes no difference.
What’s considered vintage in years?
My oldest mouthpiece is 70 years old but most are 35 to 40 My oldest pieces are nearly 100 year old bass/bari MPs.
Meyer 6 is a great mouthpiece. The new ones not so much, but the vintage ones, absolutely. That's why they are so crazy ass expensive. For generations they have been paired with the Mark VI alto to provide "the" section sound in big bands. That is what I use mine for.
It seemed that most players seem to prefer the 6 to 8 mouthpiece sizing. It was what available to me. If a 7 or 8 would have been available, I would have gotten it, but hey, it was free, and I got it.
You play soprano, alto, tenor AND baritone? soprano, alto, c mel, tenor, bari, bass
That’s truly remarkable? Your embouchure must be in amazing shape? The trick is to do LONG TONES on every horn. (5 minutes per horn every day usually does it. I have an exercise I do that I was given by my instructor 25 years ago, that I still use today, and give to my students. It is fantastic.) I also am lucky to have fantastic muscle memory, so it usually doesn't take me long to get my chops back in shape if I've laid off a horn for a while.
Do you play them all often? It depends. I am primarily a bari/bass player. Those are the ones I play most. C melody is the one I play least. Of my 3 sopranos, I play my C pitched one the most, b/c I am doing duets with a friend of mine who is the oboe player in the symphony. That keeps my small horn chops in shape. She has perfect pitch. She makes me work hard.
If you’ve been playing your baritone for a long period of time how difficult is it to go straight to the soprano? Not difficult at all.
Do you play in a band? Have you ever taken all 4 different saxophones? Yes, I play in multiple bands, plus I have my own jazz band. However, due to COVID, things are a little messed up right now. I play in 17-piece big band. I play the baritone chair. It doubles on alto when the Alto 1 picks up the clarinet. Hence my need for a Meyer MP on my Mark VI. I am currently in the process of transposing some of bari parts to bass. Should be we ever be able to host dances again, or play at another festival, I will be playing bari/bass/alto in the big band.
Probably not but I had to ask?
Which saxophone was your first? Like most people, I started on alto, but switched to tenor in my 2nd year of playing.
Do you have any music you’d like to share with us? Until recently I have made it a point of not having my stuff online. When my former bandleader and blues partner died last month though, I wrote an obit for him. In it, I posted a couple of old video clips of his band that I worked in for 10 years. They were shot on a Panasonic DLSR camera, so are pretty rough, but they give you an idea of what my blues tenor stuff sounds like. (Lots of growl, lots of edge, many many overtones.) In total there are 3 solos, and numerous examples of background fills.
Sorry for all the questions. I actually have a lot more but I don’t want to overwhelm you. Ask away. I am an admin here, and one of the resident sax people. I have been playing for around 35 years now, and have played professionally for 20 or so of them. I have worked in almost every type of band imaginable, and have played almost all styles of music. I had been away for a bit due to a medical emergency, but I am back now.
Hey Helen,
I didn’t realize you were in Canada . We just moved from Ontario to retire in Nova Scotia and love where we live.
I’ve known many instrumentalists but I’ve never met anybody like you. You teach music are in many different bands playing a variety of instruments and aren’t even sure how many you actually have. LOL! That’s beyond obsessive. Impressively so though.
You’ve got one of those huge saxophones?
Do you know it’s only been recently that I knew they existed.
A mouthpiece resurfaced by Theo Wanne himself? Wow!
This guy says he plays the curved soprano for the reason that he can hear himself better. It’s an interesting thing to consider when picking a soprano.
I think I’ve got one of the older Meyer mouthpieces. My favourite mouthpieces are my Selmer S80D, Meyer 6, Morgan Excalibur 7E.
My vintage gold plated one that came with the saxophone is fairly nice but I’ve only had it for 49 years. It’s still a long time. My brother can’t believe I still have my saxophone.
Did your 100 year old mouthpiece come with a 100 year old bari saxophone?
Thank you for the extra info. I’m very interested in the mouth exercises for creating a nice tone.
I’ve never heard of a saxophone in C. This is all new to me.
I’m so sorry for your loss. That’s quite recent too. Lovely photos. You all look great. I don’t think I’ve ever met somebody so into saxophones as you.
I’m still so fascinated about the fact that you can go from playing a huge instrument to a small one and get a great sound.
Then again, almost my entire life I’ve heard how hard soprano is to get a good tone from but as soon as I started playing my soprano , I instantly got a nice tone. Even the guy selling it was surprised.
Do you suppose the fact that I’m an avid singer have something to do with it?
I’m going to have a better look at your stuff tomorrow when I have time.
Thank you for answering my many questions.
No way! Eh! Lol!
Detroit, Michigan area. North of Ontario Canada. LOL
Windsor, Ontario if you want to be more specific.
But I figured you would figure it out. It's a long standing joke for SE Michigan people. I guess only funny to us.
You live in Windsor Ontario?
No! I didn’t figure it out. I’m a bit on the slow side. I’ve been to Detroit Michigan before though. Not a fan. Lol I went with my dad and we got a flat tire . I waited in the car in a parking lot by myself for hours. It sucked.
Since I only have one mouth, it's one mouthpiece per horn for me:
Sop: Runyon Custom 8 (spoiler removed)
Alto: Meyer NY 6
Tenor: Yani metal 9 (after I wrecked my beloved Berg 115/1 of 45 years)
Bari: Level Aire ~110 (custom facing)
Bass: Selmer C**
Sop: Runyon Custom 8 (spoiler removed)
Alto: Meyer NY 6
Tenor: Yani metal 9 (after I wrecked my beloved Berg 115/1 of 45 years)
Bari: Level Aire ~110 (custom facing)
Bass: Selmer C**