How to improve my soprano ?

[MB-913]

I'm using a YSS-675 silver plated soprano. My main MPC is Vandoren S-35 HR with V-16 #2.5 reed.

It sounds nice, excellent keywork design. But just nice, I'm not very satisfy. I hope I can improve the sound.

If I don't change the MPC, reed (& me), what thing I can try to improve the sound - More Rich , more thick, better transparence sound.

Do you think change the neck is a good idea? My YSS-675 is a straight M-1 neck. Did Yamaha release G-1 neck for soprano ?

[gege]

yamaha sells 3 types of necks for soprano, (F1, G1, M1), they all are claimed to sound different, look on their home page. also the curved and straight versions sound different, but the difference is not to much. if you want to change your sound moore you have to experiment with your mouthpiece - reed combination. maybe you should use a haarder reed (#3) and play long notes. hope i could help..
gege

[Dr G]

Make sure that you get the maximum sound from your current setup before you start trying to solve you tone issues with changes in gear. If you are new to playing sop, there's a good chance that you are giving it less air support and playing with a closed throat. Approaching it with the idea that it needs just as much support and airstream as a larger instrument will often result in a bigger sound.

[Roger McWilliams]

Dr. G is right on the money.

[singlereed]

The sound comes from the reed, mouthpiece and the embouchure as well as your air support. Make sure you have a nice 'o' shaped embouchure. I would say, though, that mouthpiece and reed can give a bit of a wild sound, I need to use a harder reed (e.g. 3.5 Vandoren) and a more closed mouthpiece to get a smooth controlled sound on a sop, perhaps a Selmer C** or D would do the trick - I did see that you don't really want to change the mouthpiece, but its easier to find one to try, and it is cheaper than looking at a different neck - I wouldn't go messing with the neck BTW.