I owned a Rousseau before I ever owned a bari, but I sold it off once I got the Caravan I really wanted (I'm a planner.) While I can't speak for the Rousseau or the Fobes, the Caravan is great, and plays very well in tune. Because of the large chamber it has to be pushed in past the end of the cork, or at least in my 62 it does, but that doesn't matter. It's fractionally brighter and louder than my Rascher. Your bass clarinet neighbor will love it, too. I keep waiting for Mana to release their bari piece, which should be very nice as well.

 

How is the intonation on your Rascher? It turns out that one of their retail locations is, surprisingly, local-ish (well, 43 miles away, but I guess that's local enough). They will allow me to playtest it, so I may go give it a try...

Edit: Well, call me surprised. They're made an hour away from me in Buffalo, NY. Definitely going to give it a try now.

 

Get a Morgan, albeit more expensive. However, you have a lot of money in that YBS-480 and you cannot go wrong with Morgan and their trial option.

 

I've always wanted to try a Morgan, but could never justify the price. I'd especially like to try the GM model. Despite all the mouthpieces I've played through the years, I've only spent more than $250 on one, a pristine silver-plated early Lawton alto. Kinda wish I'd kept it.

That's interesting (re: 2 comments above), I owned a Caravan for a while, and I liked it, but it blew dark as all heck, Arguably the darkest contemporary bighborn mouthpiece I have ever played...

I really like the darkness (I prefer the Rascher,) but i think the inherent brightness of the Yamaha keeps large chamber pieces from getting too murky or tubby. I get nice cello tones, but can still add a little grit if necessary. I've been curious about the Bundy -- heard good things.

 

That's interesting (re: 2 comments above), I owned a Caravan for a while, and I liked it, but it blew dark as all heck, Arguably the darkest contemporary bighborn mouthpiece I have ever played...

In the cheap realm, the George M Bundy Signature mouthpiece is quite smooth and dark, and tends to work well with both vintage and modern horns. Another option, albeit a tad more expensive but still quite reasonable, are the JD Hites.

 

There is a bari mouthpiece review on youtube from sax.co.uk. It might give you a good idea on what is out there. However, it does not include the 3 pieces you are looking for. A Yanagisawa mpc is not overly bright and shows up used for reasonable money sometimes.

Alphorn

 

Good luck in your hunt. I wish I had the lungs to handle a large chamber piece on baritone. As a result I generally stick to smaller chambers.

 

the rouesseau is your best bet on a yamaha i feel. another good mpc for this is the tried and true selmer s80. thats what i used in comunity band . i play bass clarinet now in community band and i assure you i give as good as i get to the bari player beside me but he is a very timid player. lol

 

I ended up getting a Rousseau NC4, but it's an old stock version from before Jody Espina took over. It was only $90, with an additional 10% off on top of that, so I figured it's a relatively low-risk purchase. I'll still be trying a Rascher at some point, also, but the Rousseau seemed like a steal at that price (unless I get unlucky and it's a really terrible example).

 

I love my George Bundy Riffault its a perfect match for my vintage Bb bari and its very dark and warm.

 

i say you made an execellent choice . i never saw a rouesseau mpc that didnt play well. i have the bari jdx model and its tame enough it could be used for community band

 

It plays very nicely. Lots of control, and the middle and low notes sound especially nice. Been experimenting with the reeds so far, but a La Voz medium and a Hemke 4 both were nice with it. The Hemke was a little cleaner sound, but I might prefer the La Voz... If anyone has any other suggestions of reeds that might play nice with it, I'm all ears!

 

I use a Rousseau 5R on my old Buescher 400 bari.
Hemke or RICO Orange box in a 3 are my personal favorites.