Steve Neff Music Blog » mouthpiece poll http://www.neffmusic.com/blog website of Steve Neff Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:49:30 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Poll of 10 Alto Saxophone Mouthpieces http://www.neffmusic.com/blog/2010/10/poll-of-10-alto-saxophone-mouthpieces/ http://www.neffmusic.com/blog/2010/10/poll-of-10-alto-saxophone-mouthpieces/#comments Mon, 04 Oct 2010 20:01:37 +0000 steve http://www.neffmusic.com/blog/?p=1554 Read More...]]> I decided to run a poll of 10 alto saxophone mouthpieces that I have on my shelf.  I’m having a heck of a time deciding which ones to sell and I figured it would help me to play them side by side and record them.  On all 10 clips I’m just playing a simple slow F blues (D for alto)  I’m trying to keep it relatively simple so the clips are similar.  Each one was with the same Java 2 1/2 reed and I was standing about 2 feet from the mic. Take a listen and let me know which one you like the best and help me decide. I haven’t even listened to these yet so I haven’t made a decision myself yet. All 10 mouthpieces play great for me but they all have slightly different characteristics to their sound. I could play any of them and be happy I think (well maybe not the Yamaha 4C……..). I’m doing this as a blind poll because I think when people see a name before they listen they go into it with a pre-conceived idea of what they will like before they even listen. The mouthpieces heard here are:

Theo Wanne Gaia HR 8

Theo Wanne Gaia HR 6

Greg Weir HR .080

LAW metal .080

Aizen .076

Mouthpiece Cafe NYC Resin 6

Phil-Tone Meyer 6

Drake Ceramic Jazz .080

Vandoren V16 Medium refaced to a long 23mm facing by Brian Powell

and just for kicks a Yamaha 4C.

Obviously,  I mixed up the order so they aren’t in this order but I thought you should know the mouthpieces.


Before you  judge which mouthpiece you like the best, try to not be too influenced by what I play in the clip.  Try to just listen to the sound and tone of the piece as well as the flexibility it has.  I will post the results and which mouthpiece is which after I get 200 votes.  I’m actually very curious how this will turn out and if all of you out there can tell which mouthpiece is which.   It’s pretty darn hard for me and I played them.
Listen………

NEW COMMENTARY  (After The End of the Poll)

Here’s the results of the alto saxophone mouthpiece poll.  I’m not sure what this will prove to any of us except that some people hear no difference at all between the clips while others do.  My personal favorite right now is the Gaia 8 and the LAW MCB.  I hardly ever play the LAW piece as I find it to be on the brighter side of the spectrum but I still love it for that kind of sound.  I’ve been playing the Theo Wanne Gaia 8 almost everyday for the last month.  The tip is at .086 which is bigger than I normally like but the sound of this piece is just huge.  I was hoping that the Gaia 8 would come in first and confirm my reasons for liking it but alas it was beat out  by a few others including the Yamaha 4C!  As far as the other results are concerned, I wouldn’t base your buying decisions on this poll.  Like many have posted, there can be many reasons one mouthpiece scored high while another scored lower.  Including movement around the mic or even what I played.  Also remember that many of these mouthpiece are pieces that I have had in my collection for years.  These are mouthpiece I have thought were the best I have tried so I kept them.  One of my personal favorites is the Vandoren V16 which I played for about a year and received all sorts of compliments on.  I was surprised to see that mouthpiece at the bottom of the poll.  The Yamaha 4C which you can get for 35.00 dollars last time I checked did rather well in the polls. I do have to admit that I had a lot of trouble getting a solid clip for that one since the tip opening was so small and I felt uncomfortable on it.  I had to record it about 10 times before I accepted this clip.  Anyways, I hope you had some fun listening to the clips.  I would love to hear your thoughts and comments below.     Steve

Which alto mouthpiece clip do you like the best? (Poll Results)

  • LAW MCB 6* (22%, 33 Votes)
  • Theo Wanne HR Gaia 6 (18%, 27 Votes)
  • They all sound the same to me……….. (16%, 25 Votes)
  • Phil-Tone Meyer 6 (12%, 18 Votes)
  • Yamaha 4C (9%, 13 Votes)
  • Theo Wanne HR Gaia 8 (7%, 11 Votes)
  • Greg Wier HR 7M (5%, 7 Votes)
  • Drake Double-Ring Ceramic 5 (4%, 6 Votes)
  • Aizen HR 6 (4%, 6 Votes)
  • Mouthpiece Cafe NYC (3%, 5 Votes)
  • Vandoren V16 (Brian Powell Refaced) (0%, 2 Votes)

Total Voters: 152

Yamaha 4C

Aizen 6

Mouthpiece Cafe NYC 6

Drake Double-Ring Ceramic 5

Theo Wanne HR Gaia 6

Theo Wanne HR Gaia 8

Greg Wier HR 7M

LAW MCB 6*

Phil-Tone Meyer 6

Vandoren V16 (Brian Powell refaced)

]]> http://www.neffmusic.com/blog/2010/10/poll-of-10-alto-saxophone-mouthpieces/feed/ 22 Poll of 9 Tenor Mouthpieces http://www.neffmusic.com/blog/2008/10/poll-of-my-9-current-mouthpieces/ http://www.neffmusic.com/blog/2008/10/poll-of-my-9-current-mouthpieces/#comments Tue, 21 Oct 2008 02:11:59 +0000 steve http://www.neffmusic.com/blog/&p=214 Read More...]]> I decided to run a poll for 9 sound clips I just made of my last 9 tenor mouthpieces.  I’m having a heck of a time deciding which ones to sell and I figured it would help me to play them side by side and record them.  On all 9 clips I’m just playing a simple Bb blues( C for tenor) I’m trying to keep it relatively simple so the clips are similar.  Each one was with the same Java 2 1/2 reed and I was standing about 2 feet from the mic. Take a listen and let me know which one you like the best and help me decide. I haven’t even listened to these yet so i haven’t made a decision myself yet. All 9 pieces play great for me but they all have slightly different characteristics to their sound. I could play any of them and be happy I think. I’m doing this as a blind poll because I think when people see a name before they listen they go into it with a pre-conceived idea of what they will like before they even listen. The mouthpieces heard here are a Lamberson J7, Jon Van Wie STM Link with baffle, Brian Powell Modern STM .108, Early Babbit HR Link .110, Phil Tone HR .105, Ponzol SS M2 .110, Modern NY Link Brian Powell refaced to .108(with my own baffle in it), Metal Florida Link Brian Powell refaced to .105, SP HR Link refaced to .110 by Brian Powell
Update: I added 9 more clips of me playing as loud as i can on the pieces. I’d say around 95% so you can hear how they sound playing all out. Obviously, some are better loud and some are better soft I think. I also added 9 clips that were recorded from across the room about 6-7 feet away so you can hear the difference if any from across the room.
Listen………

Which tenor mouthpiece clip do you like the best? (Poll Results)

  • Florida STM Otto Link .105 (22%, 74 Votes)
  • Phil-Tone Hard Rubber .105 (13%, 45 Votes)
  • Ponzol SS M2 .110 (12%, 41 Votes)
  • JVW STM Otto Link .110 (10%, 35 Votes)
  • EB Hard Rubber Otto Link .110 (10%, 34 Votes)
  • Lamberson J7 .110 (9%, 30 Votes)
  • They all sound the same to me……….. (7%, 23 Votes)
  • SP Hard Rubber Link .110 (7%, 22 Votes)
  • Modern NY Link .108 (5%, 17 Votes)
  • Modern STM Otto Link .105 (5%, 15 Votes)

Total Voters: 336

Modern NY Link (BP .108 with my own baffle)

    Laid Back Blues
   Loud Blues
   Across the Room

Lamberson J7

    Laid Back Blues
   Loud Blues
    Across the Room

SP Link (BP refaced to .110)

    Laid Back Blues
   Loud Blues
   Across the Room

JVW STM Link .110 (JVW baffle)

    Laid Back Blues
   Loud Blues
   Across the Room

EB HR Link (BP reface to .110)

    Laid Back Blues
    Loud Blues
    Across the Room

Ponzol SS M2 .110

     Laid Back Blues
   Loud Blues
    Across the Room

Florida STM 8 (refaced to .105 by BP)

    Laid Back Blues
   Loud Blues
    Across the Room

Modern STM

    Laid Back Blues
   Loud Blues
   Across the Room

Phil-Tone HR .105

    Laid Back Blues
   Loud Blues
   Across the Room
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