If the issue is really rapid build up of saliva or condensate, then you'll just have to occasionally remove the mouthpiece and blow through its bore (from the neck end of the mouthpiece) to clear out the build-up.

However, I've noticed that often when students have problems with a spitty sound, it's because they are placing the reed tip too low on the mouthpiece facing (i.e., below the tip rail). If this is the case, it might explain why you sometimes have the issue and sometimes don't. Make sure your reed is lined up to the very tip of the tip rail, so that you can't see any mouthpiece beyond the tip of the reed.

Edit: In case you need definitions of the technical terms for different parts of the mouthpiece, this is a good link:

Mouthpiece Glossary - Theo Wanne

DEFINITIONS Baffle - The portion of the mouthpiece directly behind the tip rail. The shape of the baffle determines the brightness or darkness of the mouthpiece, as well as its "buzz". Body - The Middle portion of the mouthpiece that the ligature fits over; the widest & largest part of the...

theowanne.com

 

That is not uncommon (well, every minute would be). You just suck the extra spit out. It can vary with the temperature of the room/horn, your embouchure and level of support, etc.

 

I've always had that problem on both sax and clarinet. Both suggestions above are good advice. Either suck it or blow it out. Very common.

 

Agreed. Good suggestions above. I recommend pulling the mouthpiece off the neck and either blowing out the excess moisture or tapping it out gently against a cloth . Having seen the nasty buildup of gunk inside of several mouthpieces of students who don't remove and swab after playing, I cringe at the thought of sucking this fluid back into the mouth. (Also, it can quickly become a habit. I know one person who gives an audible suck to the mouthpiece EVERY time it is put in the mouth.)

 

You literally need to draw saliva back into your mouth like a vacuum after each time that you wet the reed with your tongue and at regular intervals while practicing or performing. Also, you may be simply wetting or soaking your reeds too much before playing. They don’t need to be totally saturated. Me, all I do is moisten in my mouth very briefly - like a couple of seconds - and then put them back in the reed guard until they’re nice and flat. Then take one on and play.

 

You literally need to draw saliva back into your mouth like a vacuum after each time that you wet the reed with your tongue and at regular intervals while practicing or performing. Also, you may be simply wetting or soaking your reeds too much before playing. They don't need to be totally saturated. Me, all I do is moisten in my mouth very briefly - like a couple of seconds - and then put them back in the reed guard until they're nice and flat. Then take one on and play.

That might actually be my issue. I usually wet the reed until it is completely saturated. I'll have to experiment with it.

 

Just blow into the mouthpiece to blow the water off the tip of the reed, and you don't have to take your mouthpiece off to do it. You have to be careful if you do this during a performance because if you blow hard enough the reed will actually squawk. Also, a frequent cause of the water not draining on into the neck is poor posture with the sax resulting in the mouthpiece being horizontal or even draining back to the player instead of always draining toward the sax. This would usually be more of a problem on tenor than alto but its not impossible on alto. You also want to keep the mouthpiece and reed clean and free of any build-up that tends to hold water.
Generally speaking, this effect is heard on records by the greatest names in the sax world, so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

Some people are just 'wet' players.
As soon as anything enters their oral cavity the salivary glands kick in and voila, lots of spit.
Not much can be done about that.
Thankfully I'm a 'dry' player.

 

I’m not sure if mouthpiece tip opening has anything to do with this but I always had an issue when playing classic sax on a classical mouthpiece, but never when I played a more open jazz mouthpiece. Could be a coincidence.

 

I'm not sure if mouthpiece tip opening has anything to do with this but I always had an issue when playing classic sax on a classical mouthpiece, but never when I played a more open jazz mouthpiece. Could be a coincidence.

I think you're right. On my alto I have a hard rubber mouthpiece that I don't have this issue with. But my vintage Selmer C metal scroll shank gets spitty in a minute every time. C is a pretty small tip opening.

 

You say yourself that your embouchure is tight. That may be part of the problem. Combined with not enough breath support?

 

Line up your reed correctly as posted in post #2. Also, for some people, having milk or coffee with milk increases saliva production.

 

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I do try and suck/blow spit out when it happens, but it just seems to come back really quickly. The mouthpiece I use is a Selmer c* I'm pretty sure. I will try to adjust my posture and mess with my embouchure, and see if that works. It's just odd because I remember that before, I used to see a small puddle of spit collect in the saxophone itself when I swab it, but now it seems to collect all at the mouthpiece and neck. I may also try cleaning the neck or mouthpiece, and replacing the cork, because my cork is in pretty bad shape as well.

 

I’ve had this problem from time to time and I attribute it to simple condensation, but sometimes it’s because the tip opening is too big for you or you are using too hard of a reed. Also, as some have mentioned, soaking the reed too long will also do this

 

Short facing curve combined w/ a small tip opening makes this worse (relates to "surface tension" fluid dynamics)...you can use the suction approach as mentioned above (but I hate that, haven't done that since I was just starting out & playing in orchestral ensembles, plus if not careful, you can draw that stuff into your lungs & make yourself choke a bit, not good, hard to play well when you're choking/coughing!). But to get past it...put some steam behind your airstream...unless you're playing lots of classical/quiet "ppp" passages all the time, esp. in ensembles, give it some gas, step on it a little more, even though you may feel you're playing "too loud" at first. In the end, even if some wetness is in the mix, you'll literally blow the spit right out the other side...just drown it out w/ the wonderful sound of your horn, problem solved. Life is too short to play softly all the time...let it rip w/ a high velocity/efficient/focused powerful airstream (think firehose), get that reed vibrating like mad...the spit won't stand a chance Here's a great example of drowning that sound out...in the first few phrases you may wonder how this guy could get a record deal w/ a "spitty" sound like that...but listen further into the tune as he "warms up the engine"...pushes more...I really think he wanted this to be a contrast in this tune, to capture the beauty of acoustic sax (he's a bit older, & I don't think he gives a damn about what people think, lol):

 

Short facing curve combined w/ a small tip opening makes this worse (relates to "surface tension" fluid dynamics)

This makes sense. My Selmer C metal scroll shank alto mp has a facing length of 22mm and an opening of 63 if I recall correctly.

 

I just accept the fact that I'm a wet player. Goop all over the mouthpiece and horn. I try to stay on top of it by soaking the mouthpiece once per week, and cleaning the horn with a microfiber cloth and Pledge polish. As far as sound goes, I don't notice much of a difference, but I tip the horn often just to let the good stuff hit the floor.