[ving]

Okay, curious what tips people prefer for a medium chamber piece like a meyer. In the past I played larger tips, around .85 or larger and .115 on tenor, but in the last year I've gone to a .110 for tenor when playing a similar type piece. Anyhow, checking out alto pieces around .85 and actually I am finding them a bit too open--going to check out some slightly smaller tips, wondering what most people prefer. (Those who happen to play, like a .105 or something can remain the exception here...) I have a feeling I would prefer something around an .80....



ving

 

[playitfunky]

Doesn't really matter what other people like. Sounds like you know what you prefer by playing the pieces yourself. I do think players should try and play as open a piece as they can handle. Since the sax is powered by air and more air can travel through a bigger tip it makes since. There is a trade off though because the bigger the tip the more are you have to push to get the stream up to speed and fill up the horn etc.

I would think that around .85 is what you should shoot for.

 

[jmm1713]

I have a meyer 10mm on alto and I was actually looking for something more open when I bought this one

 

[hakukani]

I think a 90 on alto on a low baffle alto piece is about as open as I care to go. The open tip starts to make the tone dark.

I am still experimenting with a .125 on tenor. With a high baffle I've been playing a .115, but I have a .145 that's really dark. Lots of work to play on, though.

 

[bfoster64]

I've recently moved to slightly smaller tips than I used to play. I played a nice Morgan 8M for a while on alto but after going to a 7E my intonation and articulation are better and I can use a harder reed. The sound is more focused and any loss in volume is compensated for by the increased projection of the harder reed. The Morgan 7E has about an 80 tip opening I believe. The change from 8 to 7 really made a big difference in the response.

 

[playitfunky]

I think a 90 on alto on a low baffle alto piece is about as open as I care to go. The open tip starts to make the tone dark.

I am still experimenting with a .125 on tenor. With a high baffle I've been playing a .115, but I have a .145 that's really dark. Lots of work to play on, though.

.145 would kill my chops, I just can't handle it.

 

[hakukani]

.145 would kill my chops, I just can't handle it.

It is kind of like running with weights on your legs.

Sure does make my .125 seem closed.

 

[ving]

I like the trade off with the tenor rollover piece at .110--I never played with 3M earlier to this on tenor, but I like the result. On alto I have always found even at .85 sometimes 3S reeds can get a little stiff. On the piece I am checking out right now, the .85 actually gets a bit tiring to play--but I like the sound. In my more youthful days I would just muscle on through, but I really don't want to work as hard now---I am hoping .80 or so with a slightly stiffer reed achieves the same result I have had as on tenor....

On a related note, does anyone ever notice that a particular horn might respond better with a particular opening? And by horn I mean brand/model...sure seems like my VI opens up more with certain openings just under .85...

 

[hakukani]

The larger the tip, the more beak I take. That seems to help a lot on the playability of more open tips.

 

[Martinman]

The larger the tip, the more beak I take. That seems to help a lot on the playability of more open tips.

Taking in more mouthpiece also helps you play harder reeds. I have been told it has to do with the reed vibrating easier with more mouthpiece in the mouth.

I prefer a Meyer 7.

 

[playitfunky]

It is kind of like running with weights on your legs.

Sure does make my .125 seem closed.

There might be something to that. Like swinging the heavy bat before you go up to hit in baseball. Makes real bat seem lighter and quicker. By keeping a piece around that is to open for you I would imagine playing on it once a week could be a good method to increase your embouchure strength. Then of course steriod injections followed by rubbing "THE CLEAR" all over your face and tounge.

 

[playitfunky]

Larger tip also gives you a wider range of pitches to each note. IE you can bend notes further. It also increases the need for a good ear to play in tune because each note has a wider range of pitches. I'm not expert but this is how it seems to me.

 

[Martinman]

There might be something to that. Like swinging the heavy bat before you go up to hit in baseball. Makes real bat seem lighter and quicker. By keeping a piece around that is to open for you I would imagine playing on it once a week could be a good method to increase your embouchure strength. Then of course steriod injections followed by rubbing "THE CLEAR" all over your face and tounge.

I believe Phil Barone reccomends buying a HUGE Link (if you can afford it) and doing his tone producing exercises on it if the person can play the piece without biting.

 

[ving]

I think thats actually a silly idea to play on something so huge and then expect to go back to your normal set up and be comfortable. (Not necessarily you, Hakukani, as I have had a larger RPC baffle piece and could switch between than and a smaller RPC piece also). To me, I want to train my embouchure to be as relaxed as possible on my normal piece, and I would find it hard not to develop bad habits if I were to play on a piece so much larger and then switch back to my normal piece. But even on the larger tipped RPC, I found it uncomfortable and a switch to go back to a smaller RPC piece, in spite of the fact they blew somewhat the same...

 

[MM]

FWIW, Morgan Excaliburs have been running about .005" more open than their chart claims. Anyway, nothing wrong with .080 or even .070. I like .080 for a darker Meyer with less of a baffle and and .085" if it is brighter with more baffle. I find .090" too big.

 

[Tonehole]

I think thats actually a silly idea to play on something so huge and then expect to go back to your normal set up and be comfortable. (Not necessarily you, Hakukani, as I have had a larger RPC baffle piece and could switch between than and a smaller RPC piece also). To me, I want to train my embouchure to be as relaxed as possible on my normal piece, and I would find it hard not to develop bad habits if I were to play on a piece so much larger and then switch back to my normal piece. But even on the larger tipped RPC, I found it uncomfortable and a switch to go back to a smaller RPC piece, in spite of the fact they blew somewhat the same...

I play a NY MeYer 8 MM on alto I checked and it seems to be a .085 on the charts.

I honk on a 130 berg for bari and after a work out on that playing on alto seems like blowing through a straw even if it is a 085.
Makes playing tenor easier as well but use a .105 metal tonemaster which takes a bit of air to support.

If you really want to improve your chops take up trumpet you won't believe what it does for air support.

 

[hakukani]

I guess I should add that I spend YEARS on a meyer 5 and an S80 C* on alto and bari, not to mention junior high and high school on oboe. When I bought my first jazz tenor piece (a 7* STM), I thought it was incredibly open.

The only mouthpieces that I've found that I can't play very well so far are Runyons and Lakeys.

 

[EZ]

I feel Meyers start to sing around .072 - the sweet spot for the design in the .076-.082 range.

 

[captain blowhard]

I like 72 - 75 on alto meyer, on tenor I like 105.

I tried 85 on an vandoren V16 - it felt to open for me, extra effort for not much additional benefit or volume.

However, a very personal choice!

 

[SaxyJ]

I recently purchased a Meyer 5 (large chamber) and love it. At first, I found its small tip of .0071 very limiting in terms of volume. However, after practicing much more with it, I have been able to play just as loud as the larger-tipped pieces I normally use. In addition, the smaller tip gives me extra control, which I find extremely useful.