Lots of people forget or perhaps don’t know that the reason Brecker started playing the high baffle pieces is because he blew out his throat and couldn’t push anymore so he needed something easy to play and busted his ass filling out the low end of the sound. Now everyone wants/ plays pea shooters because MB did...almost none of those folks have throat injuries 🤷‍♂️ Sure they’re easy to blow, the high end cuts a little better, and they sound louder to the player, but they don’t project and they make it hard to have a really happening sound full of all the frequencies. Most people sound bad on them because they think they’re chops in a box with a reed that’s most often too hard because they don’t have control. I love Phil Barone’s rants on people moving to high baffle pieces.

 

What do I want?

I want a piece that gives me something to push against up high but is freer blowing in the lower register. Or at least one that has a very uniform feel across the horn.

 

Is this an alto mouthpiece question?

 

I feel the same way, when you're playing in a small, quiet room at home, breaking out a loud mouthpiece can sometimes feel like just... too much. I recently got a Jodyjazz Jet and it hasn't gotten that much attention from me because it's very intense for just practice.

That said, I think it's a misconception that a darker or quieter mouthpiece has to be resistant. I have an Otto Link which is very dark, and it is not resistant. My main mouthpiece, the one I pick up 6 days of 7, is a Philtone Orion which is middle of the road tending towards a classic jazz sound, and it's very easy to play and not resistant. I can MAKE it resistant by using harder reeds, but it's not inherent to the mouthpiece by any means. I have one mouthpiece which is a little "resistant" and frankly, it sits in the drawer mostly for that reason. I am not gonna waste my breath fighting a mouthpiece.

I would experiment with reeds on the Reso, when you get it. I found my sound really opened up when I started using softer reeds on the Otto Link (before I switched over to the Orion). I can fine tune the brightness and resistance of the Orion easily by changing reeds. This without it being as overbearing as the Jet can be.

 

You bring up a very interesting point. Playing at home in a quiet room; practicing. I would love to have a mouthpiece just for that scenario and not play my louder one. Would I then have to look for a "resistant" one in order to do that? Or just harder reeds or smaller facing?

 

I never understood the concept of resistance. Is it the horn or is it the mouthpiece that creates this? I guess a horn or mouthpiece that gives you too much resistance is so one can push against it and control the tone? Every horn and mouthpiece I have ever played just played I guess I never gave much thought about it.

 

Yeah, I often times don't grasp this concept. Does resistance mean it feels harder to blow through? That you have to push more air? That you get a more airy sound from the reed rather than clear?
I switch between two different mouthpieces on just about all my horns. One on each the mouthpiece just seems more open, because it is, and it plays louder and tone can be brighter. The others more closed bc they literally are and seem more warmer tone.
Now as far as resistance goes, the mouthpiece being more open chamber or closed or the reed strengths are the only two variables I equate getting resistance to or from.

 

I love resistance I feel that's where I'm able to shape my sound. I like something to push against, something that I feel I'm dynamically connected to. To me it's like sculpting do you want to sculpt with granite or sculpt with wood? Both are equally wonderful choices, the feel is very different. Getz, Lovano, Rollins, Ben Webster, with each of them I can hear the resistance I can hear the breathand that's what makes me love their sound so much.

 

Regardless of how loud or raucous it may be at home/recording, you make a mistake when you change mouthpieces for that reason alone. I recently went through a little exercise where I tried a different piece to take a little edge off my sound. After couple weeks of trying to make it with a pretty good piece, I tried my old one and it was so great I just gave up. I'm old but still gigging. I reckon if I do this for ten more years that will pretty much be 'it', so what the hell is actually the point in changing ANYTHING now? If somebody thinks my sound is too abrasive they can KMA! Its my sound, the sound I've always had, and its the only sound I will have. I will use a darker lig to soften it a tad, but its a lig I have used before for many years.
Bottom line, you have to practice like you play. If you start changing your set-up to play quieter/darker just for practice/whatever, you might as well just leave it that way because you are playing tricks on your embouchure, etc. when you start changing back and forth.

 

My embouchure from piece to piece doesn't change. I don't do anything different. Whether it be switch from soprano to Bari, I don't think about any of that. I have been playing for 33yrs so I don't question where the mouthpiece is, lips, teeth, any of that junk anymore because like you after playing for so long, my features and bones and jaw and all that are already shaped and trained to do what they do. It would be too late to try to teach and old dog new tricks so to speak...So if I switch a piece from an open to a closed nothing changes except the mouthpiece and it pretty much does all the sound changes, not me...I play the same through both of them. That's why it's nice. I don't have to change what I'm doing. Now, I may have to use a different reed on each mouthpiece to get it to play but other than that, my style or blowing or any of that doesn't change. The mouthpiece alone can do all that and that's why I sometimes like changing it up. And the thing that makes the least difference for me is the lig. I've never found a "dark" or "light" or bright or anything ligature. As long as it can hold the reed on properly without it moving, only changing the mouthpiece and reed make a difference for me, not the lig.

I was just trying to figure out what people's concept of resistance was. I guess, like Beauberry was saying...it's that breathing sound, the air you can hear against the reed when they play. I call that reediness..I never cared for that type of sound. I like to hear the notes and tones clearly and not the Phuhf sound at the same time coming out from the mouthpiece / horn. So put me down on the least resistance poll.

 

You mostly dial in the resistance with reed choice. Can you play low notes softly? Can you play high notes loudly without them closing off? Balance the reed strength for these two extremes. You need a leak free sax and a good embouchure. So adjust those too as needed.

Then you compare mouthpieces and facings to see how they matter to you after they are matched with the proper strength reed. A facing that has irregularities will sacrifice some response on each end. A good facing will get both ends. Some players are willing to sacrifice one of the ends (high or low note response) to get gains in the other.

Classical sax players tend to prefer shorter facings, resistant curves, closed tips and hard reeds. This gives up soft low note ease a bit in favor of fast and clean articulations.

Layed back jazz players (foof-foof) want long free blowing set ups that favor low notes and sub tones. Maybe also a wide tip opening to bend notes a lot.

Elliptical curves are more resistant than radial curves at the same tip opening and facing length. But a long elliptical curve can have better response high and low compared to a medium radial curve with a similar resistance.

Parabolic and power curves are used too. To me, these give more resistance down low and less up high. The opposite of what sax players need. I don’t get it but they are in use. Maybe a legacy from clarinet facings and copies of vintage mouthpieces that were popular for their sound. Maybe there is something in that facing curve that translates into a different sound too. But I think it is a better strategy to dial in sound with baffle shape and chamber design. Dial in response with the facing.

 

Thanks MojoBari for those insights into mouthpiece designs. I find this to be an interesting topic. In my experience with mouthpieces it is a trade off between quick response and free blowing and something that makes me work harder with the air but rewards me for the effort with a richer, fuller tone. I didn't realize how much difference there is in different brands of saxophones until I played and tried to make an evaluation of ten different professional model altos the music store owner I worked for put together for me to try. The first time through I favored those that seemed more lively and responsive over those that required a bit more effort and on my part. As I went through them again and again, my preferences changed to the ones that took more breath support, but gave me a sound that I preferred compared to the free blowing ones. Of course they were all played using the same set up. Another player with a different tonal concept and style (and set-up) may have made choices the opposite of mine.

 

I agree with mojo on the baffle issue. If you have more resistance on a rollover baffle that baffle is too high. You are cutting power, resonance and clarity by way of poor execution. Its like deciding to make a crooked facing to increase resistance. Then reeds, response, and altissimo will be a nightmare. Instead use a different curve but mostly heavier reeds or a more open tip.