[CandyHearts]

I finally have my vintage Martin alto sax, refurbished and tweaked for optimal performance. But the King student mouthpiece I have is not exactly what I want.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a pro mouthpiece that has good volume, projection and tone -- that will hit the whole range, high to low notes, and be fairly easy to blow?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Candy

 

[retread]

Post deleted by retread, who finally noticed this is an alto.

 

[Budget Explosion]

Well, I've never owned a 20's Martin, if that's what you're talking about, but I've owned some The Martin altos and they sounded great with regular Meyer hard rubber mouthpieces with Medium chambers. In my opinion, nuthin' fancy is required to make these horns sing.

 

[bruce bailey]

I use a Selmer Super Session D on mine. I have about 11 right now from 1923-1961. They will also work with a vintage Brilhart Ebolin or any of the selmers.

 

[sax2see]

I have a Martin Indiana very similar to the handcraft (same body tube, but with a little bigger bell and maybe diff. neck?) and I get great results with a runyon custom 7, with a rico jazz select 3s filed reed, and string ligature.

The runyon custom is only $65 or so from saxplus.com. I would get a rovner lig (clarinet size) if you dont want to mess with the string, but it really works great for me. This horn tends to be resistant and a little stuffy but I have fixed a lot of that with the ligature alone, and it is free-blowing and versatile now.

 

[candiceartisan]

Bruce is right. The vintage Brillhart's sound great on both alto and tenor Martins. There are some listed on Ebay right now. I have four Martin horns.(At last count).
Candy

 

[CandyHearts]

Thank you all for the response!! I have written all of these down and will be shopping soon!

Candy

 

[sax2see]

vintage Brilharts in a desirable facing are pretty hard to find unless you want to spend a bit, right? I really do like them.

 

[bruce bailey]

I like the Brilhart in a 4* but others will work. A 4* ia about like a Meyer 6M so go from there. A newer one is OK too. Watch ebay. You may find one in rubber if you look. Find clear Tonalite and you will really have something. Actually the Martins are not fussy and most anything should be OK. I really like the Super Session however as it can be pushed when needed.

 

[CandyHearts]

Thank you, Everyone!!

 

[CandyHearts]

Hello again!

Question: Is Brilhart a TYPE of mouthpiece or an actual BRAND? I see a mouthpiece on ebay which claims to be a Brilhart, but made by Selmer ... ?????

Candy

 

[bruce bailey]

Yes and no. Arnold Brilhart made them for years but by about 1965 sold the company to Selmer. For a while they were the same basically but over the years the care was lost and not the same item. ARB was his initials and became a seperate company around the early 70s as I recall. The facings on the older ones are more open than the same number on the new ones. Bite plates get tooth marks easily and the shanks crack but they still play well.
As a side note, musicians are known for practical jokes and we tend to use the phone to expedite them. One day in about 1974-75 I answered the phone and the guy said "This is Arnold Brilhart.." and I almost hung up thinking it was one of my fellow buffoons but it was ARB wanting me to rep his mouthpieces. Brush with greatness......

 

[CandyHearts]

Thank you, Bruce! This is good to know!