[MM]

Are they are radically small in chamber as the ones for alto and tenor? Does anyone use one? What facing? How do they tune? Yeah, I know the facings may not be good but they are cheap enough that a refacing won't break the bank.

I'm looking for more volume and edge than I get with my SS H.

 

[davevillajr]

I have a 7* and it's a pretty small chamber - as compared to the "quality" Geo. M Bundy 3 piece that's in the case with the horn - I don't have my Lakey alto pieces to compare with my Selmer E, so no help on that front.

I can play in tune really well with the Lakey, I'm not using really hard reeds, so it's flexible but not unstable.

It can push and be edgy without sounding brittle or unpleasant.

hope this helps

dv

 

[super20dan]

i have a 5 that works amazing well on an old vintage king i have . it dosnt work well on any of my others though. flexable but not unstable is a good discription for it. there are many better choices for soprano .i only keep mine for use on my old king

 

[MM]

So nobody else try one of these? I remember being told these are not as different from others than the alto and tenor models are.

Also, I've seen different versions of a facing chart, so can anyone comment on the openings of his soprano models? Ditto clarinet models if you know!

Thanks.

 

[Dave Dolson]

Hi Mike: I have three Lakey soprano saxophone mouthpieces - two 5* and one 7*. I don't know what those markings mean except that obviously one is more open than the other two. Mine came from Claude himself when he lived at his shop in Arleta, CA maybe 25 years ago. I also have some Lakey clarinet mouthpieces from him. My daughter played his alto piece all through her school years.

I don't who makes Lakey pieces now, nor do I know how they compare to the originals. Claude hand-finished his pieces when he was alive - I watched him do it. I don't know any of the tip-opening measurements.

In looking inside my Lakey soprano pieces, they have a small round opening to the throat much like my Super Sessions. My Morgan Vintage has a tad bigger throat opening, but hard to measure - eyeball, only. The b arrels' interior diameter is larger than Selmers', hence I have to shim up the cork with a piece of paper to fit them properly. They are even larger in the barrel than my Morgan Vintage pieces.

The Lakey sopranos have a huge, very spread sound when I play them - way TOO spread for my tastes now.

I don't play these Lakeys - I once did a tour to israel with George Segal's band (called the Hot Frogs Jumping Jazz Band) and used the Lakey 7* on my MKVI soprano. Huge mistake - I shoulda brought along a back-up piece, but that was years ago when I wasn't quite as experienced with these things. I suppose the audiences didn't care, but I struggled with its lack of focus.

I tried my daughter's alto piece years ago and did not like it. As I recall, it was spread to the max, much like the soprano pieces, but were still very harsh and loud. She liked it - different strokes, etc.

His clarinet pieces are very focused - and sharp in pitch. He told me he made them to tune at A-443 for players who play flat AND for the sharp tuning environments that were popular then (and maybe still today). DAVE

 

[MM]

Dave,

Thanks. I am guessing that to you spread and focused mean different things than to some others...or maybe it is a taste thing. These terms were new to me until reading lots of SOTW posts! I gather focused to most means sticking out in the mix, not blending, so an edgy, piercing tone such as David Sanborn's is considered focused. I know that is not what you aspire to. In fact, I would be suprised that anyone would consider a Lakey to have a spread as in "blending into the ensemble" tone. But maybe that's what you think they are like. If I'm totally off base here let me know.

Whichever...it is clear you think the Lakey clarinet mpcs are on the opposite extreme of the alto and soprano mpcs, which is interesting. I know from hearing people play them that the clarinet mpcs are seriously LOUD, like his others.

 

[Dave Dolson]

Mike: I often avoid mouthpiece postings just because of the semantics and subjectiveness of it all. But for a guy who abhors any amplification, I strive to project - like one experienced player told me once: when you practice, pick out a point far across the room and play to fill that corner. That's what I do, in practice at home and public gigs.

The Lakeys make it very difficult for me to "fill that corner across the room". Oh I know - from out front, the audience can probably hear the horn just fine. It is just that from behind it, that "spread" and "warmth" become buried in the mix and I end up pushing it too hard. Some recordings I've heard of myself corroborated my opinion.

With my favorite mouthpieces (SS-J, Morgan Vintage 6 or 7), I can lay back and still FEEL that projection. I don't have to work as hard AND I walk away knowing (thinking?) that I've done what I needed to do to blend in the ensemble.

And yes, the clarinet pieces respond differently for me than do the sop and alto pieces. I also don't know what the Lakey pieces are like that were issued after his death. DAVE

 

[super20dan]

the lakey clarinet mpc i have is the loudest clarinet mpc i have ever played(and i have several extremly loud models in my collection like metalite -runyon etc) its for extreme conditions only like dave says it excels when no amplification is avalible. it is a force to be reconnened with on my metal selmer using a plasticover reed and bonade lig

 

[MM]

Thanks for the comments, Dave. I know it is frustrating when you can't hear yourself very well.

The folks I've heard play on Lakey mpcs on sax do not get buried in the mix. Here, the Lakey seems most common on alto sax.

 

[super20dan]

the tenor 8*3 model is a real screamer. as loud as any tenor mpc ever made but few have tried one