[CandyHearts]

Does anyone who plays alto sax have a Kessler 50/50 NY mouthpiece? If so, do they play as well as they say? And, would they work well with a soft Fibracell synthetic reed? Altho the 50/50 is not their most expensive piece, I have heard that it is easy to play (free-blowing) and has a lot of power and volume, and can easily play from low to high notes. Can anyone tell me if they have had this experience?

Thanks a heap!!

Candy

 

[J.Max]

I tried one and didn't like it all that much, but I did like their upper end pieces on tenor. They were very well made and actually played a bit better than the "V" Links. (In fact, I'm thinking about getting another one.) It's really hard to say whether a particular mouthpiece will work with a particular strength of a particular reed. It depends on your embrouchure, level of ability, etc.

 

[Dave Dolson]

Candy: I have two Kessler mouthpieces for alto and one for tenor. I like the tenor piece and use it on mine. I don't play the two alto pieces because I have others that I favor. The Kessler splay okay, though.

This should mean nothing to you because no one here can tell you anything about a piece that transfers to your embouchure. Everyone is different and it doesn't matter AT ALL what anyone else thinks or feels about any mouthpiece. DAVE

 

[littlemanbighorn]

I picked up one of the plastic NY altos and was pleasantly surprised with how well it plays.

 

[CandyHearts]

Thank you, Everyone! I know it is ultimately my decision, I was just kinda wondering what other's experience might be. I drive down to the Vegas airport tomorrow to pick up my boys, and thought I would leave early and stop in at Kessler Music to try out a mouthpiece or 2 .... right now all I have are a couple student mouthpieces -- one King and one Runyan. My sax is a vintage Martin alto.

Thanks for your input!!

Candy

 

[Rackety Sax]

Thank you, Everyone! I know it is ultimately my decision, I was just kinda wondering what other's experience might be. I drive down to the Vegas airport tomorrow to pick up my boys, and thought I would leave early and stop in at Kessler Music to try out a mouthpiece or 2 .... right now all I have are a couple student mouthpieces -- one King and one Runyan. My sax is a vintage Martin alto.

Thanks for your input!!

Candy

Now yer talkin' - go give them a try. Depending on how close they meet your needs, a short trial may be adequate. To really determine how a "close candidate" mouthpiece works for you, you have to play it for a while over a period of days or weeks. Let us know how it works out.

 

[Dave Dolson]

Right on! Then, report back to us what you found. Enjoy the shop, by the way - always a fun place to visit when in Las Vegas (and no slot machines in sight!). DAVE

 

[CandyHearts]

Thanks Dave and Chitown! Everyone was friendly and helpful at Kessler's Music and I ended up trying out 4 mouthpieces, then decided on a Meyer 7MM ... it has a lot of projection for me, plays easily from high to low range, and doesn't brighten up my "vintage" Martin sound too much. I like a little brightness, but the "Martin sound" is kinda "dark and smoky" in the first place.

One more little question tho: If I did decide I wanted to play it brighter at times, would applying a removable "stick-on" baffle do the job?

Candy

 

[The Saxist]

Try Rico Plasti-covers for a little brightness. I'm using them on a Kessler NYSS when I need a psuedo contemporary sound.

 

[MojoBari]

One more little question tho: If I did decide I wanted to play it brighter at times, would applying a removable "stick-on" baffle do the job?

Yes, but they cannot be stuck-on/off frequently. A few times and they loose there "stick".

 

[CandyHearts]

Thank you, Saxist and Mojo!!

I also read on this forum that using dental wax or putty would make a removable baffle that would stick to the mouthpiece while playing, but be removable when I wished to switch back to dark tone.

Does this sound reasonable? Thanks!!

Candy