bari sax mouthpiece questions

[marvelouspatric]

hey all,

it's my first post, so be kind....

After years of dreaming, I finally got a bari sax, a Conn 11m to be exact. The mouthpiece it came with was a Yammaha 5C. Now, here's my question... back in high school, i played bari sax in band (about 8 years ago.) back then, i had a jazz mouthpiece, but danged if i remember what kind.

if i was to buy a jazz mouthpiece now for my horn, what would be different? i'm going to play the horn in a local pep band this fall. i remember back in highschool i could be very loud or very soft and i had a lot of control over my sound. was that the mouthpiece or me?

thanks!

patric

[Chris Peryagh]

I would say try a metal or ebonite Lawton 7*BB which is what I use (mine's in surgical steel which I had gold plated) - you can make ANY sound with this, but I'm not sure how production of these is going in terms of availlability.

[barisaxbeast]

I'll go along with Chris, I blow a Lawton 8*b , silver plated brass on my Mk6 and have done for about 25 years.I know a lot of guys here in the UK blow Lawton on bari. Mine's a great piece, big phat sound, with just enough edge to cut thru, I use it for everything. I know they are getting a bit hard to find now, but if you ever see one, I suggest you get it. They can be a bit expensive tho. I believe the hard rubber ones are good too, but I haven't tried one so I can't really comment.

[RS]

Lawtons are very good but may be hard to find. Same with RIAs (what I use). For a reasonably priced hard rubber piece that has good power and response I like the Vandorens. And they're readily available. Metal Links are okay and metal Bergs when they're made right can be good. Rubber Links and Bergs lack power in my opinion.

[retread]

Musician's Friend has very good pricing on the Hite Artist bari piece...and they are an excellent all-around bari mouthpiece.

[Dr_sax]

You might also consider a Lamberson. Big fat sound and also can play soft.

[Bootman]

Definitely try the Lamberson, you wont regret it. The Lawtons are also good but the Lamberson has a bigger/ fatter sound and does work wondefully well on a Conn Bari.

[Pinnman]

I switched to Lmaberson with my 12M laregly for the volume. At present, I am still using a Yani in concert band as the Lamberson does not blend too well with me on the end. In due course, as I get more control over it, I may use it for both.

[MojoBari]

A local player here uses a Bari brand plastic reed on a Yamaha 5C and sounds great. Give them a shot, they are loud and bright sounding reeds.

I like Runyon Quantums on bari. But they are a different animal.

[marvelouspatric]

thanks everyone for your replies! so now here's my next question...

if i get a different mouthpiece, how will it be different from my 5C? will it be noticeable?

secondly, what is the general feeling on plastic-coated reeds and synthetic reeds? i had a plastic-coated reed once, but all the other sax players in my municipal band told me i had to get rid of it, that it didn't sound as good. now, it's been years since high school, and i'll admit my ears aren't as well trained as they were, but i really didn't notice a difference.

thanks!

patric

[Chris Peryagh]

I had problems with Plasticover reeds on bari as they used to leak along the side rails below the bottom of the lay and near the base of the window, so they used to squeak and cause all sorts of trouble - the reason being they weren't flat and didn't seal against the facing of the mouthpiece well, and as they're plastic coated, they won't absorb moisture in order to swell up and help them seal.

I've never tried synthetic reeds on bari yet, I have used Bari and Carbon Toptone Fiberreeds on alto and tenor (and Bari reeds on clarinet) but they do tend to get a bit flabby after you've been playing for about 30-60mins.

[Dr_sax]

I play and love Plasticover reeds #2,5 with my Lamberson 7SB. Just slap´em on and let it roar :D

[barigroove]

I really like my Jody Jazz ESP Gold 8 (.120"). I tried it out against a Berg Larsen 110/1, a Ponzol Custom (.110" facing with crazy high baffle), Vandoren V5 B75 (.108") and B95 (.122"), SR Tech Pro (.110" with moderate baffle) and a Jody Jazz Classic 8 (.120" Ruby Red). The ESP Gold was by far the best piece of the bunch. All the other pieces were either full low end and thin high end or thin low end and full high end. Although, the Ponzol Custom was the loudest and had a decent high end, the low notes sounded like blats and squaks to me.

The ESP Gold is basically a modified Runyon Jaguar without the "V tone chamber" so you may save some money getting one of those, though not much ($379 vs. $312). I don't know how different they are after Jody finishes them. Also, Jody Jazz facings match up with Otto Link facings so a Jody Jazz 8 would be equivalent to a Runyon 13.

I know a lot of people who really like the Rousseau Jazz JDX mouthpieces. They didn't really work for me, but they're pretty cheap around $100-$150. They seem to be out of them at WWBW and I don't know where else to get them for a good price. Good luck in your quest.

[jmathesonjr]

I have always liked Berg Larson on Bari. I have been playing a 130/? for about 7 years now and really love the piece. I have gone back to Rico reeds on this piece. I sit somewhere around 3 to 31/2.

Someone please explain "Lamberson" to me. Where does one find these? What are the available tip openings?

I am curious.

Thanks.

[tophatsax]

http://www.lambersonmouthpieces.com/

[jmathesonjr]

Oh, thanks for the link. I forgot about these.