Brilhart Great Neck, NY Tonalin
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109 Posts
The combination of a brilhart 3 with a 3S reed doesn't give you much to push against. depending on how you like it to feel, you may consider either a stronger reed or a more open facing. some examples you may think about:
Joel Frahm (last i knew) plays a slant sig 5 or 5* with a 3 1/2 (i dunno what brand). gorgeous tone, but without a microphone, he can't be heard. wonderful control over the instrument however and the quality of the sound is great.
Chris Potter (last I knew) plays a 7* double ring link with a 4 1/2 something, i saw him with francois louis reeds i think a few years ago. Huge sound, so much that you can practically see it bouncing around the room. He has to work much harder to get that setup to work for him, and he puts a huge amount of air through the horn. However, it is what he's comfortable with.
these are both kind of extreme examples (especially Potter), but i believe that if you want that sound to project, you need to give yourself the room to put more air through the horn, with either a more open facing or a stronger reed, or both.
if you are wondering, i play link 8's with RJS 3M's. it gives me the best balance of control and projection/power that i can find. One more thought- if you feel like there is enough resistance in your setup as is, you may consider having your mpc worked on. It may not be properly balanced and may benifit from a better facing. A good refacer can take a decent amount of resistance out of the piece by working on the facing and rails, which would allow you to use a stronger reed and get a bit more sound. That's assuming there is something wrong with the mpc though, and there may not be.
good luck- no matter what you do, long tones every day. peace- mike
Joel Frahm (last i knew) plays a slant sig 5 or 5* with a 3 1/2 (i dunno what brand). gorgeous tone, but without a microphone, he can't be heard. wonderful control over the instrument however and the quality of the sound is great.
Chris Potter (last I knew) plays a 7* double ring link with a 4 1/2 something, i saw him with francois louis reeds i think a few years ago. Huge sound, so much that you can practically see it bouncing around the room. He has to work much harder to get that setup to work for him, and he puts a huge amount of air through the horn. However, it is what he's comfortable with.
these are both kind of extreme examples (especially Potter), but i believe that if you want that sound to project, you need to give yourself the room to put more air through the horn, with either a more open facing or a stronger reed, or both.
if you are wondering, i play link 8's with RJS 3M's. it gives me the best balance of control and projection/power that i can find. One more thought- if you feel like there is enough resistance in your setup as is, you may consider having your mpc worked on. It may not be properly balanced and may benifit from a better facing. A good refacer can take a decent amount of resistance out of the piece by working on the facing and rails, which would allow you to use a stronger reed and get a bit more sound. That's assuming there is something wrong with the mpc though, and there may not be.
good luck- no matter what you do, long tones every day. peace- mike
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21,498 Posts
You may want to try getting some sent via the internet. The Morgan Protone is a good mouthpiece to use and under $50 shipped. Have you checked with Art's in Montgomery? I don't know if Corder's is still in Huntsville as they had some stuff years ago. Got a Sam Ash in B'ham?
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1,876 Posts
You could have that Brillhart opened by a pro. I have an original 3 Great neck but it's opened to a 7 (.100 ) and it sings.
I've read that the Morgan Protone is almost exactly the same as the Runyon 22 (just like a vintage white Buescher mpc?), which I've read that is almost exactly the same as a vintage Brilhart. I have also read that the vintage Goldentone and the Couf Special is just like a vintage Brilhart. Can this be true?
Vintage Brilhart = Goldentone, Couf Special, Buescher, Runyon 22, Morgan Protone?
Never had a chance to play any of the above, but I did play a Carlsbad Brilhart Tonalin (and a woodgrain biteplate Personaline L5).
If there is someone who can verify or comment on the similarities listed above, this might provide options for us vintage Brilhart lovers...
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1,488 Posts
I play on a Carlsbad Tonalin 3 for alto, with a 2.5 java, and I have all the projection I need, with a meaty core and just enough edge. The playing condition of my sax is spot on perfect, if I have leaks I lose the volume. Maybe you need to get your horn to a shop?
Also, in the question from the last posting, I believe all those mouthpieces were actually produced by Runyon under different names. If that is in fact true, that would tell you why they all are very similar.
Also, in the question from the last posting, I believe all those mouthpieces were actually produced by Runyon under different names. If that is in fact true, that would tell you why they all are very similar.
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