[trippr]

I have been playing for almost four years now, getting lessons from a great teacher, practice regularly, and I'm now looking for a mouthpiece that will give me more of a smooth jazz type tone. Currently, I have a Yamaha Custom Z alto sax (I know not the best sax for smooth jazz), a Rousseau NC4 mouthpiece, and a G Meyer 6 facing mouthpiece. I'm looking for the tone of some players like Eric Darius and Dave Koz. I read that Eric Darius uses a Yanagisawa Metal Alto Mouthpiece. Would buying this mouthpiece help me get the tone I'm looking for or should I look for a different sax (or maybe stop worrying about my equipment and practice )? Is my current setup good enough?

 

[maestroelite]

There's nothing wrong with the horn, definately keep that.. I don't know where you got the idea that it was "bad" for contemporary music. If anything the fact that they tend to be brighter would be better, unless I'm missing something here.

Personally I'd just keep what you have unless you can find a quality high baffle piece for not too much cash. You're going to sound like you no matter what you play on, which is something I'm still coming to grips with. A Meyer should be fine for a while, if you want to experiment buy some dental wax and add a small baffle yourself. Sort of a personal plug, but I have a Bionix I'm selling for cheap. Don't know if this would be something interesting for you. It is a pretty bright piece though, might help you get closer without spending too much money.

 

[jmm1713]

get a beechler "Custom " not a " Bellite " or get a guardala if you have the $

 

[Andrew]

I just use my NY Meyer for everything ... it's just all about being able to mold your tone. If you can do that with just one mouthpiece, you won't ever have to use more than one mouthpiece. It's a nice feeling Dan Higgins does it. I saw him do it at a clinic, and that motivated me to just practice harder and learn to do everything with one mouthpiece. I found that it GREATLY improved my control over the saxophone...not to mention improving my tone as well.

Long story short, I'm always a big fan of just practicing. PM me if you want ... I can send you clips of me playing different styles on the same NY Meyer. It can be done!

 

[jmm1713]

I just use my NY Meyer for everything ... it's just all about being able to mold your tone. If you can do that with just one mouthpiece, you won't ever have to use more than one mouthpiece. It's a nice feeling Dan Higgins does it. I saw him do it at a clinic, and that motivated me to just practice harder and learn to do everything with one mouthpiece. I found that it GREATLY improved my control over the saxophone...not to mention improving my tone as well.

Long story short, I'm always a big fan of just practicing. PM me if you want ... I can send you clips of me playing different styles on the same NY Meyer. It can be done!

I second that ... Dan higgins is F****** Amazing

 

[JonF992]

I play a Yanagisawa metal on my alto, and I find it great - smooth, but powerful, and adaptable too. Try one. Just don't expect to sound the same as another player. If you got two different players to play identical saxes, mouthpieces and reeds, you can bet they'll sound different. The only way to really get the tone you want is to go to a good store and blow as many mouthpieces as you can until you find the one you like. Then, when you've bought it, play and play every day. You still won't sound exactly the same as your heroes, but you'll have something more valuable - YOUR sound.

 

[trippr]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll just stick with what I have and practice more.

 

[LeftySaxDude]

I have a Yanagisawa metal 7 mouthpiece for auction on ebay. It plays very nice and is versatile enough to play smooth jazz, straight-ahead jazz, lead alto, anything you want. The neat thing about the yani metals is that they seem to help you develop your own personal sound; i.e. they make you sound more like YOU.

 

[playitfunky]

jody jazz dv

 

[ColdBuffet]

What's wrong with a Beechler Bellite? Is custom better? Custom is metal right?

 

[nitrosax]

Anyone know what measurement a yani metal alto 9 piece is? I've seen several facing charts that list different measurements... .97, .105 etc...That was for the alto metal piece man! My link 7* is about .105!!!

 

[luispa]

I'm selling a metal Yani 5in the marketplace. Take a look at my posts.