Tip opening vs. reed strength. Any suggestions?

Hello -

I have purchased a Meyer 7m mouthpiece for my Bari, and was wondering if anyone could help me with a problem. I bought a Legere plastic reed to save some dough in the long run by not buying cane reeds, but when I put it on the Meyer I struggled to get a sound for the first three minutes. I was playing in my high school band and had to find a solution (I foolishly had no cane reeds on me), and found it in sliding the ligature way up on the reed. I had to put it WAY past the cut to get control of the horn. I have tried 2 strength Rico reeds on the piece with no major problems, and came to the conclusion that the plastic reed was too hard for such a large (for me) mouthpiece tip opening. So what should I do, get a 6m or a 5m mouthpiece Meyer and use my regular reed strength, or use a softer reed strength on the 7m?

Another thing, I have been looking at the Charles Bay Gerry Mulligan model mouthpiece recently, and I am tempted to take the Meyer back a buy this mouthpiece. Does anyone know anything about how it plays? Would it be a good investment?

Thanks for any help you can give