I am a weekend bari player trying to find the right mouthpiece.
I play in a community Klezmer band and want a sound that projects, can be punchy, holds the bottom, but can also be warm and woody when we play under singers.
I play my great-grandfather's 1904 Buffet Evette-Schaeffer, recently overhauled. A nice horn with tricky double keys for the upper register.
I have been playing the ebay game looking for relatively inexpensive mouthpieces so I can gain some experience as to what I am looking for. I have picked up the following mouthpieces:
Rousseau 4R
Metalite (on the recommendation of MartinMusicMan)
Dolce by Wansley (http://www.dolcemp.com/)
Selmer S-90
Vandoren V5 B35
Of these five, the Vandoren plays with the biggest and most complex sound, both penetrating and restrained. I loved the Rousseau until I got the Selmer and Vandoren; in comparison the Rousseau sounds dull, although it can be pushed. (The Metalite simply would not be tamed.) I have read on SOTW that the Selmer piece is favored by classical players, but I feel like my horn forces the Selmer to play Klezmer, whether it likes it or not.
I just received in the mail three Beechler metal Bellites, sizes 5,6,7 to try out from Weinermusic. I am wondering whether this is the piece or not. (I've got 13 days left to decide.) All three of these are a larger tip opening than the largest of the hard rubber pieces I have, and I am wondering what size tip opening might suit me.
As someone who doesn't play full-time, my chops are not what they could be. I'm a little perplexed though. I figured the 5,6,7 would be harder for me to play in that order, with the larger tip opening giving me more trouble with control. I don't find that the case. The tip opening doesn't seem to be the issue. I am getting the best sound with the 6, but I suspect this is because the 6 is just a better mouthpiece (although to the eye each one looks flawless).
In any event, the Beechler Bellite physically is extremely narrow. I have a small mouth, so I thought this would be okay, but it's really very narrow, no wider than the reed itself. Perhaps I could be able to get used to the small size.
The sound I get from the Bellite is much louder than the Vandoren, and much more open. I thought the Vandoran was open-sounding, but the Bellite adds several dimensions of sound. I would have to work quite a bit, though, to sustain quiet lows. I feel I can be quite legato-expressive (at mp) with the Bellite, or put out some funk grunts, so I like the versatility. (It is not sickly sweet sounding.)
I suppose I am wondering whether I should stick with the Vandoren V5, which I like, or keep the Bellite, which I feel has a lot of potential (if I could catch up to it, and teach myself to play it quietly), or if I should look to, say, a Berg Larsen HR or metal, which I've never tried, to see if it's more comfortable in my mouth, and if I can more readily control the bottom. (I am thinking the Berg will have the more open sound that I am drawn to, but I'm not sure. I have yet to try a meyer or one of the jody jazz pieces, and I don't really know if they have a characteristic sound. Maybe I should try one of the Beechler Hard rubber pieces? I admit I am drawn to the stainless steel because it matches the color of the sax, but that can only get us so far, right?)
Some say that my vintage horn needs a large-chambered mouthpiece; perhaps I should start with that; the bellite is not large-chambered, quite the opposite, but it doesn't sound like the small chamber is throwing the horn out of tune. I suppose I should actually check against a tuner. Perhaps there is a larger chambered mouthpiece I should be looking for?
Thanks for listening!
I play in a community Klezmer band and want a sound that projects, can be punchy, holds the bottom, but can also be warm and woody when we play under singers.
I play my great-grandfather's 1904 Buffet Evette-Schaeffer, recently overhauled. A nice horn with tricky double keys for the upper register.
I have been playing the ebay game looking for relatively inexpensive mouthpieces so I can gain some experience as to what I am looking for. I have picked up the following mouthpieces:
Rousseau 4R
Metalite (on the recommendation of MartinMusicMan)
Dolce by Wansley (http://www.dolcemp.com/)
Selmer S-90
Vandoren V5 B35
Of these five, the Vandoren plays with the biggest and most complex sound, both penetrating and restrained. I loved the Rousseau until I got the Selmer and Vandoren; in comparison the Rousseau sounds dull, although it can be pushed. (The Metalite simply would not be tamed.) I have read on SOTW that the Selmer piece is favored by classical players, but I feel like my horn forces the Selmer to play Klezmer, whether it likes it or not.
I just received in the mail three Beechler metal Bellites, sizes 5,6,7 to try out from Weinermusic. I am wondering whether this is the piece or not. (I've got 13 days left to decide.) All three of these are a larger tip opening than the largest of the hard rubber pieces I have, and I am wondering what size tip opening might suit me.
As someone who doesn't play full-time, my chops are not what they could be. I'm a little perplexed though. I figured the 5,6,7 would be harder for me to play in that order, with the larger tip opening giving me more trouble with control. I don't find that the case. The tip opening doesn't seem to be the issue. I am getting the best sound with the 6, but I suspect this is because the 6 is just a better mouthpiece (although to the eye each one looks flawless).
In any event, the Beechler Bellite physically is extremely narrow. I have a small mouth, so I thought this would be okay, but it's really very narrow, no wider than the reed itself. Perhaps I could be able to get used to the small size.
The sound I get from the Bellite is much louder than the Vandoren, and much more open. I thought the Vandoran was open-sounding, but the Bellite adds several dimensions of sound. I would have to work quite a bit, though, to sustain quiet lows. I feel I can be quite legato-expressive (at mp) with the Bellite, or put out some funk grunts, so I like the versatility. (It is not sickly sweet sounding.)
I suppose I am wondering whether I should stick with the Vandoren V5, which I like, or keep the Bellite, which I feel has a lot of potential (if I could catch up to it, and teach myself to play it quietly), or if I should look to, say, a Berg Larsen HR or metal, which I've never tried, to see if it's more comfortable in my mouth, and if I can more readily control the bottom. (I am thinking the Berg will have the more open sound that I am drawn to, but I'm not sure. I have yet to try a meyer or one of the jody jazz pieces, and I don't really know if they have a characteristic sound. Maybe I should try one of the Beechler Hard rubber pieces? I admit I am drawn to the stainless steel because it matches the color of the sax, but that can only get us so far, right?)
Some say that my vintage horn needs a large-chambered mouthpiece; perhaps I should start with that; the bellite is not large-chambered, quite the opposite, but it doesn't sound like the small chamber is throwing the horn out of tune. I suppose I should actually check against a tuner. Perhaps there is a larger chambered mouthpiece I should be looking for?
Thanks for listening!