[sax4him]

I always loved Cannonball's sound. Who knows any particulars about his mouthpiece/reed combination? Was it set up for low/med/or high resistance? Thoughts?.....

 

[CooolJazzz]

There are lots of threads here already that include the information you're looking for and discussions thereof. Just put "Adderley setup" or "Cannonball's setup" in the search bar. In just a few seconds I found several threads discussing both his alto and soprano setups, and I'm sure there's plenty more where those came from...enough to keep you busy for hours.

 

[Pete Thomas]

I'm sure there's plenty more where those came from...enough to keep you busy for hours.

Much more productive than practising.

 

[Borganiboy]

Must say Cannonball for me was the man,his playing and sound was,is the ultimate in alto jazz.No other alto player makes me smile like him,that guy was 1 funky dude.

 

[Aquitania]

But to answer your question, I'm pretty sure he played a Meyer Bros piece with a 2 Rico on his King Super 20. Just in case you still don't know

 

[minous]

He eventually moved to a VI but kept the Meyer piece. Well documented here and elsewhere. Look for Cannonball videos on youtube and you'll see sample pics of him with both the King and the VI with a Meyer on board both.

 

[keilwerthman]

I always loved Cannonball's sound. Who knows any particulars about his mouthpiece/reed combination? Was it set up for low/med/or high resistance? Thoughts?.....

Cannonball used a small tip opening mouthpiece (Meyer 5) with a relatively soft reed (LaVoz medium). Try the setup, you can get the same "vibe" somewhat. I'm fairly certain he had almost no resistance in his sound. His sound for some reason to me resonates as "big band" lead alto (lol?) in the most positive way, something about his tone, round but edgy, full and crisp articulation. Of course, he practiced like a beast, shedding Klose, various method books, etc.. and of course playing/teaching, someone very dedicated, and having a positive attitude even while under the influence of drugs at different points of his career. some recordings he can sound a little different. Some people called him the "soulful technician" a player with an incredible amount of soul in his playing, with his impeccable technique behind it.

 

[Agent27]

Cannonball used a small tip opening mouthpiece (Meyer 5) with a relatively soft reed (LaVoz medium). Try the setup, you can get the same "vibe" somewhat.

A Meyer 5 back then was larger than today's Meyer 5. The old Meyer 5 had the same tip as a modern 6 or 7 (I think it's the 7) which is in the range of today's most popular tip openings (.075 - .080).