I’ve got three saxophone mouthpieces to choose from. They look the same, but they’re entirely different. How can I choose? How are you going to know what they’ll sound like, and why you should choose one instead of the other?
If you’re thinking of upgrading, how should you choose a sax mouthpiece?
Get 14 Day FREE Trial of Sax School PRO
Well, I was really lucky because Jody Espina from Jody Jazz was here in my studio recently. We got to spend some time blowing through these mouthpieces, and talking about how they’re different. And hopefully that’ll help you to make a better mouthpiece choice when you are upgrading. Because to be honest with you, changing your mouthpiece is the best first thing you can do to improve your sound.
How to choose a sax mouthpiece
Nigel: So, Jody, this is a question that our students struggle with a lot – and I get it because I can remember going through this process too. How do we make a good choice when we’re upgrading a mouthpiece? Most of our members, will start with a stock mouthpiece. It will probably be a copy of this mouthpiece – the Yamaha 4C. Most generic unbranded mouthpieces that come with saxophones these days are a copy of of the 4C, would you say?
Jody: They will probably be similar. The Yamaha 4C is a very good choice because it’s consistently manufactured and it’s going to work. A lot of those copies don’t work because they might not be sealing with the reed. Right. So it feels like you have leaks in the horn, but the mouthpiece is leaking.
Nigel: So these are a brilliant starter mouthpiece. But if you’ve been playing for a year or so, then there’s a good chance that you’re ready to upgrade. And I always say to our members that upgrading the mouthpiece is the best first upgrade option because you can make the biggest change to your saxophone sound.
But the problem is when we’re going to make that upgrade, what do we choose a sax mouthpiece? Because there’s so many different options. And if you go to a shop, there are all these different brands, and then there are all these different sizes. And then there are all these different materials. Where do we even start to choose a sax mouthpiece that’s right?
So we’re going to look at the 4C, and then three of your popular hard rubber mouthpieces, which – if you don’t know much about mouthpieces – kind of look the same as a 4C. They’re black, they’re made of a similar sort of material, they’re a similar sort of shape. But they’re entirely different.
Best first upgrade
And so we’ve got the Custom Dark, we’ve got the HR* and we’ve got the Jet. So, where do we start this process?
So Jody, if you had a student coming to you, saying I’ve been playing for a year, I’m ready to upgrade – how do I start? What would you recommend.
Jody: I would start with the HR*. And depending on how much they’re practicing, probably 6* would be the most popular recommendation I would go for.
Nigel: So if I can jump in there, Jody, when you’re talking about the HR* – that’s the model. But they come in different sizes. And so the 6* is the tip opening. So what size do they start? Do you even make a 4?
Jody: Yes, we call it a C*. It’s the same as a Selmer C*, but it’s that brighter sound because it’s a smaller chamber inside. So, that could be good. If you take a Selmer C* or the Yamaha 4C, you’ll have kind of a classical sound, probably. Because it’s meant to be quieter. And you could put on the same tip opening- C* HR* – and you’ll have a brighter sound. If you’re playing music that is usually with a brighter sound, that’s what you’re going to do.
Get 14 Day FREE Trial of Sax School PRO
Nigel: So I’ll pop on this Yamaha 4C and we’ll have a listen to what it sounds like.
Listen as Nigel plays the 4C.
So I’m kind of struggling to play this because it feels very small, compared to what I normally use. And actually, this mouthpiece is pretty loose on my cork. So I don’t normally play on this mouthpiece.
Jody: But he still sounds good. He sounds good on every mouthpiece. That’s the problem!
Nigel: He’s just being polite because I’ve given him coffee!
Maybe this would help you – because maybe this is what you are thinking this about your mouthpiece upgrade. If I work at it, I can get a nice sound on this mouthpiece. But I don’t get as many colour options. I can’t make it do a big growly rock and roll thing, or a good, smooth jazz sound. I can get a great concert band sound or a classical sound.
J0dy: It’s got a lid on it. It can only go so much. And then it’s just going stop.
Why the HR*
Nigel: So let’s talk about the first upgrade alternative. So if I’ve come to your shop to choose a saxophone mouthpiece, and you’ve told me to try this HR* – what am I going to like about this mouthpiece? Why is it better than my 4C?
Jody: If you’re playing almost any music that’s not classical, you’re going to want to be able to go above the ceiling of that [4C] mouthpiece. And it’ll give you more of that jazzy sound. So it’s going to be brighter and louder. And there’s going to be this sense of freedom. You said you had a closed down feeling with the 4C. So [with the HR*] there should be this open feeling.
Nigel: Well, let’s find out. Let’s have a listen.
Listen as Nigel plays the HR*.
Jody: I’m not sure how big a difference [you can hear on the video], but in the studio there is a very big difference.
Nigel: Would you say it’s louder?
Jody: It’s louder. Yes. It’s brighter.
Nigel: And to me, it feels like I can get more variety of colours out of it. And it’s brighter. It may be even a little bit brighter than what I would normally play, but it’s certainly a lot more exciting. But what I do like about this mouthpiece though -and I bet it’s why it’s such a popular mouthpiece for you – is it’s still really easy to control even though it’s got that extra volume.
Jody: It’s an easy transition. It’s probably the easiest transition, if you’re coming from that classical style mouthpiece to a jazz mouthpiece. The HR* is probably the easiest transition.
Nigel: Interesting. Okay, cool. So so what we’re talking about here, as one option, is the HR* in a 6 star tip opening.
Jody: You know, we, we mentioned this in another video. Go to the tip opening charts under Resources [on the Jody Jazz website].
If you’re practicing for 5 hours or less, go to the pink zone.
If you’re practicing 5 to 8 hours, go to the green zone. That’s the most popular tip opening, which would be a 7-star.
But if you’re not getting that much practice in, be honest. Some weeks it might be one hour, the next week might be three. Because when the tip opening’s too big, you have to use too much muscle. You don’t have the conditioning and you get [tired].
Nigel: And there’s no shame in having a small tip opening.
Jody: Ben Webster played like a four-star or three-star. All those guys played a very small mouthpiece and they had a huge sound.
Get 14 Day FREE Trial of Sax School PRO
It’s totally possible. It’s finding that comfort zone. In a perfect world, you would have all the tips, and you would just blow them and you’d pop on one of them. So, but. If you don’t practice enough, play a five-star, or six-star.
Nigel: Interesting. That’s good. It’s tough for all of us blokes. Because the testosterone gets going. We want big, because bigger is better. Right?
JODY: When I do my job, right, the sound doesn’t change much. The bigger tip opening gives a little more sound. But in old-style moulded mouthpieces, they didn’t change them inside. So it got darker, the bigger you got. But everybody thinks big tip opening is going to get a big sound. It’s not exactly true.
Choosing a darker sax mouthpiece
Nigel: Okay, great. So let’s say that I want something a bit darker than this. Let’s say that I want to upgrade my mouthpiece. But I still play in a concert band, or I like real standard straight-ahead jazz. I want to choose a sax mouthpiece that’s a bit darker than this. Which of the three mouthpieces that we’re looking at here is a good option?
Jody: The HR*Custom Dark. It has a big, open, rounded chamber with rounded sidewalls. This Chedeville® rubber is nice and soft. It’s a little darker. It’s real pretty.
Nigel: And the same logic applies to the tip openings for this as well?
Jody: Yes. And as there’s a bigger chamber, it could be a half a size even smaller because you’re going to be putting more air into a big chamber.
Listen as Nigel tests the HR* Custom Dark
Nigel: I like how with this mouthpiece I can play down the bottom end of the sax and get a nice sort of smooth, warm sound. And doesn’t sound the volume sound lower to you?
Jody: A little bit. But this is what happens with a great player. You’ll put any mouthpiece on, and they’re going immediately mould it somewhat to their tone conception. So if we put these mouthpieces to an intermediate player, it’s going to sound like night and day on each piece. And you just can’t help it. Yo’ve got to sound good, to what you think. And so you make every mouthpiece more similar, than dissimilar.
Nigel: That’s interesting. So, what about if you were that intermediate player that wants the darker sounds? What if every other weekend you play in a rock band. Will this mouthpiece limit you so that you can’t get that bright sound?
Jody: Well, I would say, if you’re on the rock band, the singer’s got all the monitors. The keyboard player is playing loud. T they have knobs. You don’t have any knobs. You just have your mouthpiece, you have yourself and you feel buried. It’s no fun to play and not hear yourself. So in that rock band, I would say, go with the Jet.
Get 14 Day FREE Trial of Sax School PRO
Choosing a brighter sax mouthpiece
Nigel: Okay. So this is the third option of these three mouthpieces that we’re talking about today. What makes the Jet different? (apart from the fact that it’s got this cool thing on the side, which makes it look a bit dangerous!)
Jody: Well, if we looked inside, we would see a very small chamber. It’s like the hose where the water’s coming out. When you make that opening small with your thumb, [the water] goes fast and hard. So with that air it gives you a louder, brighter sound.
So this is quite a small chamber, right? It looks so small. But this mouthpiece can have a real full tone, but it can blast. And that’s the cool thing about that. So maybe blast on it, but then play pretty and see how it sounds too.
Nigel: All right. So I’ll see if I can get a range of sounds out of it.
Listen as Nigel tests the Jet.
So it’s got a lot more edge to it. And to me, it sounds a lot louder. Does it sound loud to you?
Jody: My ears started going [ringing] so I know it’s louder that way!
Nigel: You can push this. I bet if you were playing in a rock band or a pop band, or something like that, you could cut through with this mouthpiece.
Jody: But you sounded perfectly fine at the end. Very pretty. So it’s not like it’s a ‘paint-peeler’ that you can’t tame. And did they each feel different?
Nigel: Oh, they felt so different to me. Absolutely, from my point of view, they do feel very, very different. And I think getting back to the original question, that’s the most important thing when you are upgrading your mouthpiece. Because when you upgrade to a better design mouthpiece. It makes playing so much more fun. And you’re going to want to pick up your saxophone and play because you’ll be so excited about the different sounds that you can get out of the instrument.
Jody: That’s the thing, when you don’t even want to stop playing. Or you go against the wall and listen, because you love the sound.
Now for me, I would be playing three different reeds, or four different reeds on those mouthpieces, to optimise for each. I like a softer reed on the Jet. Medium reed on the HR*. And I like a little harder to bring out the fuzziness or the airiness of the Custom Dark. But that’s just me, trying to optimise what that mouthpiece is made for.
What you’re saying, about that feeling when you fall in love with the mouthpiece, that’s, why this thing is a worthy pursuit – finding that mouthpiece. It’s no gimmick. It’s like when you get a reed that you love. You’re so sorry it’s going to wear out someday. It’s like that.
Nigel: But even better – because your mouthpiece doesn’t wear out!
I hope this helps you when you come to choose a sax mouthpiece upgrade.
Learn more about Jody Jazz mouthpieces here.
Find out more about how learning with Sax School can super-charge your saxophone progress, Get started with Sax School!