[bb]

Hi, I'm trying some different mouthpieces in this period to understand my needs...anyway I like this B9.
This is a live clip from my concert at teatro arciliuto with intro and final cadenza, I'm playing on a keilwerth sx90 low Bb bari and I'm using vandoren blue box 2,5 reeds+saxass ligature.
You're listening to the original sound in the teatre room, I'm not using any mic. (the mic you see was there to say something to the public)
Any comment is appreciated, bye
Fabrizio

 

[vbluesman]

You have a very nice website, I couldn't find the Bari clip. I just got an older Keilwerth low Bb Bari this weekend myself. I just ordered a Metalite M9 mouthpiece because I need something right now to use. I've tried the V16 on a King Zephyr, a lot of people really like it because it captures the sound of a really good HR Berg Larsen mouthpiece. I'll be trying one again on the Keilwerth this weekend but I'm going to try some other pieces myself before I settle on something. I'll follow this thread with interest and share with you my findings.

 

[KeithL]

Sounds great. What else are you trying out and what mouthpiece were you playing previously?

 

[newktrane]

Agreed with KeithL, you have a great tone and the mouthpiece sounds like it's very comfortable for you to play. I'm not sure what else you're trying at the moment, but to me this sounds like a setup that really works for you. Had you not mentioned you were just trying it out, I would have thought you played this setup for a long time!

 

[dexdex]

Very nice and balanced tone. By balanced, I mainly think of whether too bright nor too dark. Nice "grain" in the low range, and without sounding thin in the higher range.

 

[mrzel]

I agree with all of those above. You're tone is fantastic and sound quite comfortable. The V16 B9 is one of my current pieces (other is JJ DV) and it's just a great all around jazz mouthpiece. I wish they had made V16's when GAS first got the better of me. Would have saved me a bundle.

 

[ggmiller]

lovely playing and tone!

 

[bb]

thank you for the nice comments.
@vbluesman my website is a bit not updated..I'll update it as soon as I have enough time! I've attached the clip in this message on sotw.

I tried some mouthpieces in the past 2 months

berg larsen 120/2
absolute slim 110
vandoren B9,B7 and B95

I discovered that i prefer to play a 120 tip.
The berg is good but I find it a bit too aggressive in the upper range a and the sound become a bit thinner than the rest of the horn range. (it was a stock berg)
The B9 is more balanced and is better on altissimo too.
I'm going back and forth from the B9 to the absolute, a mouthpiece made my Marco Pozzo, an italian artisan.
The absolute is darker, both the vandoren and the absolute are based upon bergs.
To me the B9 is the most versatile and I like the sound and thee subtone.
The absolute is great, but sometimes because to its darker nature is a bit more difficult to hear yourself.
Anyway I don't know, I'm experimenting, even the reeds make a huge difference, I found I like the blue box vandoren and 2,5 is the perfect reed strenght.
Sometimes I found a reed that is too soft in a box for me, but I use a reed cutter to harden it a bit.
It's very difficult to try bari mouthpieces in a store, they have lots of mouthpieces for alto and tenor and almost nothing for baritone.
I'm a hard rubber guy, so I'm not interested in metal mouthpieces.
What are the best ones on the market in your opinion?

 

[KeithL]

I play metal mouthpieces on bari but for HR pieces outside of what you have or have tried, I'd say; RPC and Drake are the ones that come to mind. There aren't a lot of really nice HR mouthpieces out there for bari.

 

[bb]

Thanks keithl , I would try the rollover baffle RPC, I'm not a fan of high baffle mouthpieces, which model is? the red or blue letter?

 

[KeithL]

The RPC I have is a Red letter and it is a rollover with a long low baffle that runs almost all the way to the chamber. I don't know that the color tells you what the model is but I could be wrong. Since Ron makes almost everything to order you can't be totally sure what you are going to get unless you order it directly from him. My piece is a .110 and compared to the rest of the bari pieces I have (way too many) I would say it is "medium" on the bright/dark scale. I keep it because it is so versatile. I don't play it a lot because much of the bari playing I do right now is with funk/dance/rock style bands and that type of playing is a stretch for the RPC. You may want to call or E-mail Ron and tell him what you're playing and what you want. All things considered, around $300 for a custom bari piece is not that bad a price.

 

[bb]

Thanks, I'll sure try ron's mouthpieces