[ZephyrSax]

I've got a Rousseau Classic 4R, and I'm wondering how it would compare to a Rascher or R. Caravan piece...any opinions? Which is the most focused? Which has the largest dynamic range? Best response? Any reviews are welcome! Thanks!

Oh, and if anyone's wondering, I'm just looking at mouthpieces with which I can throttle my beast of a Zephyr (and turn it into a classical machine ), which needs some more control before I dare take it to an orchestra. The Rousseau works well, but...if either of these other options are better...

EDIT: Feel free to suggest alternatives outside those listed, such as Selmers and what-not! I'm open!

 

[ChuBerry47]

Didn't someone post a thread like this, or the same one a day or two ago?

 

[ZephyrSax]

I didn't see anything when I searched. I guess I'll look around and see if you're right.

 

[ChuBerry47]

Sorry I didn't meen to be rude. My teacher actually switched from Rascher to Caravn, because Caraans, a re actually the darkest model that you can find. They are great. I play two, and I love them. I know classical players who play them, numerous professors, who play them, professors, who wanted to know what sound that was. They are the very best.

 

[ThunderWhale]

The Rousseau will be by far the the most focus and be the loudest. It is (in my experience) a very bright piece for legit work. If you are looking for a darker sound, either the Rascher, Caravan, or an old Buescher would work wonders.

 

[ChuBerry47]

Go to davidwrightsaxophone.com, and listen to the music on the main page. He plays the same intruments, and the same mouthpiece as me, (We found out what works best!).

 

[asaxman]

There's a GREAT post somewhere here on SOTW comparing all the classical mouthpieces. Try searching : classical alto mouthpieces, or something like that! It is one of the most informative threads I have ever read! Somebody help me here!

 

[wmclean]

I agree with Thunderwhale with the additional comment that you will find the Rascher darker than the Caravan and that the Caravan has a bit more of what I would define is "focus"

W.

 

[Martinman]

There's a GREAT post somewhere here on SOTW comparing all the classical mouthpieces. Try searching : classical alto mouthpieces, or something like that! It is one of the most informative threads I have ever read! Somebody help me here!

That would be J.Max's "Index of Classical Mouthpieces" thread found in the Classical section.

 

[asaxman]

Martinman, Thanks- That's what I looking for!

 

[J.Max]

Thanks for the compliment on that...it took a lot of work so I really appreciate it.

Now, for the subject. You're really talking about two different animals: a French style mouthpiece (Rousseau) vs a Rascher-style piece (Rascher and Caravan). French style mouthpieces will be brighter and more focused, and the Rascher pieces will be darker and more spread - that's not to say that they won't have a good tonal center, but they aren't going to be as focused. It's going to be very difficult to get a Zephyr to be a great classical horn though...they just aren't built for it. I'm not super familiar with King horns, but I would suspect that they are similar to a Buescher, which would probably mean that the bore would match up best with a Rascher-style piece. If you want a little more brightness, you should try a Caravan Medium chamber.

 

[altosaxguy1]

J.Max's thread is wonderful it has every classical mouthpiece that you could think of.

 

[ZephyrSax]

Sorry I didn't meen to be rude. My teacher actually switched from Rascher to Caravn, because Caraans, a re actually the darkest model that you can find. They are great. I play two, and I love them. I know classical players who play them, numerous professors, who play them, professors, who wanted to know what sound that was. They are the very best.

Oh, no worries. I didn't take offense or anything. I just didn't see anything when I looked.

Thanks for finding that thread for me. I recalled reading it a long time ago, but couldn't find it when I needed it!

Hmm...I do hope I can tame this Zephyr, that's why I'm thinking about darker pieces to control it better, and give it that classical sound. Will that really not work?