[Dixielandjazz] Soprano mouth piece.

Tue Aug 22 09:43:12 PDT 2006

I use a BARI 68 N with a 2 1/2 Rico royal reed.  Don't be fooled by the 
strength of the reed.  This mouthpiece takes some chops.  I start getting 
tired on a four hour job. My horn is a Yamaha Custom.

This mouthpiece was recommended by a friend of mine who is an impressive 
player who just got out of the AF band.  The overall response is excellent.

My previous mouthpiece required a 3.5 reed and I was considering going to a 
4 but that mouthpiece which came with the horn (Winston) just didn't work 
with the Yamaha.  By the way I think Yamaha mouthpieces really suck so I 
can't recommend them.  A mouthpiece that works good on one horn may not work 
good on another so there aren't any general rules.  The same goes for reeds. 
Its a combination, reed, mouthpiece and horn.  Unfortunately it takes 
experimentation.  I have a box of the Rico Royal Jazz reeds and I just can't 
find any difference at all and they may even be slightly worse than the Rico 
Royal.

On the Bari mouthpiece if the reed starts getting soft the high register 
intonation starts becoming problematical.  That is of course true of any 
reed so I try to keep ahead of the curve and change fairly often.  Cracking 
notes can also happen but this mouthpiece is better with this but the horn 
is also better too.

The Meyer is a good choice and a middle of the road mouthpiece, both playing 
and price, but I haven't played a Meyer soprano.

One time I was having a custom mouthpiece (modified Vandoren) made for my 
alto and I was told that you can outgrow a mouthpiece.  That's true.  I play 
a Meyer 6 on my alto and it just isn't cutting it any more and the custom 
mouthpiece I had is just no longer adequate.  It fit me then but doesn't any 
longer. The Meyer just doesn't have the power and projection I need but in 
all other ways is good.

Personally I hate buying mouthpieces.  It takes a month or more to get used 
to a mouthpiece and you can spend an awful lot of money trying mouthpieces.

If you are thinking about changing get a copy of the  Woodwind Brasswind 
catalog. www.wwbw.com  In the mouthpiece section there are some great charts 
for all the woodwind mouthpieces.  Find your old mouthpiece on the chart and 
order accordingly.  If you liked the old one just get another but if you 
think you need more mouthpiece try a few different ones.  The company will 
send you up to three mouthpieces to try with a (about $3) re stock fee.on 
each.

Let me know what you end up with and how it plays.
Larry
St. Louis

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <LRG4003 at aol.com>
To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 9:25 AM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Soprano mouth piece.

> Just dropped and cracked mine.  Any recommendations for a good  specific
> mouthpiece or brand I should consider.  I primarily play clarinet 
> (Leblanc Big
> Easy model) and do a mix of trad and swing.  My soprano is a  25-year old
> Yanagisawa that came with a Meyer mouthpiece.  Thanks, in  advance, for 
> the input.
> K.C. Clarinet
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