[NJLonghorn]

My son is a high-school freshman in the market for a jazz mouthpiece. He plays on a Yani 991T.

Last weekend, we went to the local music store here in New Jersey and he played around with several Otto Links, concluding that he liked the 5 NY or 6 NY best. What else should he be considering? We plan to go into NYC Sunday (the stores on 46th and 48th Streets) and want to know what to hone in on.

Thank in advance!!

 

[andrewfrankhouse]

Vandoren V16 hard rubber

 

[spike421]

I know that a lot of players feel they must have a "Jazz" mouthpiece. Since many of the Jazz greats played and play with pretty conventionl set-ups, I tend to disagree. The Yani mouthpiece that came with your son's horn is actually quite a good piece and can be used in a Jazz venue quite well. If you just have to buy something, avoid the high baffe, small chamber screechers which may present intonation issues with the horn, among others, for a young student. Try to avoid the hype about metal vs hard rubber. It's been pretty well establised that it's primarily the internal dimensions of the mouthpiece that determine the sound, not the material.

 

[Mikeysaxcat]

Hr tenor otto links, meyer, vandoren v16 and morgan mouthpieces are the pieces I usually reccomend to my students. Just try not to buy a very small facing because then the bad habits seem to develop quicker. #6 and #7 or #8 facings are a good start. Good luck.

sent from Mikey's Super Inspire 4G

 

[Atonal]

The Vandoren Hard Rubber V16 T6 is very nice, as is the Jody Jazz HR* 6*. These are the pieces I have most of my advanced high school students using for jazz playing.

Otto Links, metal or hard rubber, can be good too. However, they do not have the best facing consistency off the shelf.

 

[littlewailer]

I also have played a NY Otto Link since just out of High School. 5 Years later it still sounds great. Playing saxophone is my only source of income now and I couldn't imagine giving up my Link even though I might want to try some other things out there.
I agree that the quality control on new Otto Links isn't super. If you can try a bunch and pick the best one then that's your best bet.

If you want a very honest opinion. Try everything in your price range within a tip size or so. You might find something there used as well that we've failed to mention and it just happens to play better than all the other pieces you've tried.

Good luck.