[dorph31]

I am looking into purchasing a set of jazz mouthpieces for my high school jazz band. As a trombone player I have a very limited knowledge of where to go, so I cam here! I would consider my high school group to be accomplished both in the big band setting and combo setting, so I'm not looking for a beginner line. Any suggestions would be absolutely wonderful, thanks ahead of time!

 

[Dr G]

Just to get the ball rolling... Thanks for asking. I doubt that you'll nail the tip openings appropriate to each player's development. That aside, there are some classic combinations and many of those classic designs are now captured by other manufacturers.

Alto - Meyer 6MM
Tenor - Otto Link "Super Tone Master" 7*
Bari - ... (I don't know the best of the currently available intermediate pieces)

Please don't do what my high school teacher did - a matching set of Brilhart LevelAires (1970). A high school sax section on high baffle mouthpieces is not healthy on so many levels.

 

[A Greene]

When I was in High School (1980's) and neighboring high school had all the sax players on metal Bergs. I think the 5MM or 6MM meyers are great. Links are perfect - I like a 7 personally but 7* are good. Some kids don't like the feel of metal - Tone Edge may work but can be very dull. Maybe a set of Jody Jazz Hard Rubber pieces. Good Luck.

 

[bandmommy]

Oh brother.....

Are all of you sax players on the same make/model saxophones?
What are they using for mouthpieces now that you don't like?
Do you think that having them all on the same piece will help identify issues with individual players?
Just curious before I say something 'stupid'.

 

[dorph31]

bandmommy:

1) My altos are on their personal horns, my tenors & bari all match, as they are good quality school horns.
2) They are using their own personal mouthpieces of which do not match. I am going for a more unified, cutting sound in the ensemble.
3) No, I fully realize that putting them all on the same mouthpiece will not help ID current issues, heck it'll even probably bring up new issues, but with those issues I can move forward and work toward the sound I want.

Dr. G:

Thank you for the start, my initial thought was going towards Meyers, but across the section.

 

[Dr G]

2) They are using their own personal mouthpieces of which do not match. I am going for a more unified, cutting sound in the ensemble.
3) No, I fully realize that putting them all on the same mouthpiece will not help ID current issues, heck it'll even probably bring up new issues, but with those issues I can move forward and work toward the sound I want.

Thank you for the start, my initial thought was going towards Meyers, but across the section.

You may be best served bringing a clinician to help the sax section learn how best to blow whatever they end up using - airstream, embouchure, and support will make more drastic changes toward a good ensemble sound. If your players are motivated, I should think they would thrive with a few hours instruction over the course of a month to start to develop their personal sound on the instrument.

I find Meyers to be incredibly stuffy on tenor - there's a reason that Meyer made a name for themselves on alto sax but not tenor. Similarly, Otto Link seems more prevalent on tenor, less so on the other horns.

 

[Atonal]

The Hard Rubber Vandoren V-16 line is excellent and affordable. The alto V-16 is a high quality take on the Meyer design. The tenor HR V-16 is a quality take on the Link design and the Bari V-16 is a nicely finished bullet chamber design similar to a Berg Larsen. Vandoren has done a good job using some of the best classic designs into their V-16 line of mouthpieces. I would recommend the smaller tips offered A5 or A6, T6 and B5.

Good Luck!

 

[mike713]

When I was in High School, the sax section was: Alto - Meyer 6; Tenor - Otto Link Tone Edge 6* or 7; Bari - Meyer 6

which seemed to work pretty well. If you go with Meyers and Links though, get a sax playing friend to test some out and pick out the good ones...

 

[Atonal]

If you go with Meyers and Links though, get a sax playing friend to test some out and pick out the good ones...

This is why I recommend Vandoren V-16 to my students. They are nicely finished and quite consistent off the shelf. Meyers and Links are not so consistent in their quality of finish off the shelf.

 

[martinm5862]

Just to get the ball rolling... Thanks for asking. I doubt that you'll nail the tip openings appropriate to each player's development. That aside, there are some classic combinations and many of those classic designs are now captured by other manufacturers.

Alto - Meyer 6MM
Tenor - Otto Link "Super Tone Master" 7*
Bari - ... (I don't know the best of the currently available intermediate pieces)

Please don't do what my high school teacher did - a matching set of Brilhart LevelAires (1970). A high school sax section on high baffle mouthpieces is not healthy on so many levels.

I agree with the alto and tenor choices. For baritone Otto Link Hard Rubber 6* seems to suit many intermediate players.

 

[Martin Williams]

If you're going to get a line, I agree with Atonal, the Vandorens are fantastic pieces off the shelf, with a good design. The other pieces I would look at are the Jody Jazz Classics, equally good, quality finish, etc.

On the other hand, I'm personally not a fan of a whole section on the same mpc. They are not a 'one size fits all' kind of thing, and what works for one does nothing for another. Are there trombone mpcs that you dont play well on but your peers love? I bet there are, and sax mpcs are the same way, with the added issue of reeds being all different.

Overall, I agree with the good Dr. G. He knows exactly what hes talking about knowing his background and what he does daily. You would be well served to have a clinician to spend time with the saxes working on tone production, air support etc.