Help with a couple areas of my sound

[diminishedpower]

Hello im new here. Well ive been playing the tenor sax for 7 years now but only got serious about jazz 2-3 years ago. Anyways I play a ref. 54 tenor with a metal ottolink 7* faced by Doc Tenney. I have been playing this horn and mouthpice for about a year now. Right now im using 2H rico select reeds.

So heres my problem. On the low end I can get the sweet mellow airy sound of like getz or ben webster. But the higher and i high i climb the more edgy the sound gets, like its not radicly so but id like it sweeter. Ive tried longtones and such. I was wondering if maybe I should try harder reeds, i know doc tenney is a big fan of 3.5 superials on that 7* or even a 3 on it. I was wondering if that could be an issue of to soft of reed. I'm open to suggestions.

My other problem is i can hit altissimo all the way up to C#, but its a very straight cutting sound. Any tips for getting it to that kind of altissimo were it sounds liek the player is straining to get it out(i know there not i jsut can't think of a better way to describe it.)
Thanks a lot in advance.

[Eddie McLean]

Hi DP,
Forty five years of playing tenor does not make me an expert, but my suggestion would be to try reeds with thicker tips which will dampen the high tone response.
I think your Rico Select 2H might be French cut, which have thinner tips.

I beleive that the standard Superials are American cut with less heart and thicker tips.
Lavoz and Vandoren Java might also be suitable, or even a standard Rico , though you might have to move up in strength in some cases.
Experimentation is the name of the game.

[Cepages]

What is wrong with a French cut? My Scottish neighbor? We French enjoy a good cut.

[J.Max]

French cut reeds don't NECESSARILY have thinner tips. Rico Royals do, however some others like Vandoren do not.

Altissimo is another issue. I'd recommend that you work with overtone exercises and alternate fingerings to see if you can get the sound you're looking for. I suspect that what you are talking about is actually a multiphonic sound, like David Sanborn uses a lot, in which case you'll need to not only work on overtones, but you'll need to learn to manipulate your throat to hit both at once.

[whaler]

I think regular old Ricos work best with Links. IMO anything above a 6* is too big an opening to get a good sound on a Link (but I like to play with an embouchure as loose as possible). A Rico 3 might help your sound. The newer Ricos and laVoz have definitely dropped a lot in quality since they are being made by another company (Is it the same people that make Vandorens?, they are almost as bad now).

[Eddie McLean]

I also like your cut Cepages, but I hope you are not a football fan ;)
Regarding Vandorens, the Classique tips don't come any thinner and are prone to breaking and splitting. I like them on clarinet though.
I beleive that Rico make Mitchell Lurie & Lavoz but Vandoren is an independant FRENCH Co..