Today, I am excited to review the new BetterSax Burnin’ 7 (.082) metal alto saxophone mouthpiece made through a collaboration between Jay Metcalf of BetterSax and Jody Espina of Jody Jazz saxophone mouthpieces. The BettersSax Burnin’ metal alto saxophone mouthpiece is made of brass that is beautifully gold-plated with a matte finish.
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece (with a rare Double Rainbow behind it)
Jay Metcalf has a fantastic Youtube channel on all things saxophone related entitled “BetterSax” with over 429K subscribers at the time of this review (He had 284K subscribers when I posted my review of his Burnin’ hard rubber alto saxophone mouthpiece almost four years ago). Jay’s BetterSax videos are well produced, entertaining and educational. I really loved reviewing the Bettersax Burnin’ hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpiece, the BetterSax Burnin’ metal tenor saxophone mouthpiece as well as the BetterSax Burnin’ hard rubber alto saxophone mouthpiece. When Jay Metcalf contacted me writing that he now had a new metal Bettersax Burnin’ alto saxophone mouthpiece he was releasing with the help of Jody Espina at Jody Jazz, I was excited to review this new Burnin’ metal alto saxophone mouthpiece as well.
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
Here is a description of the BetterSax Burnin’ metal alto saxophone mouthpiece from the Sweetwater website:
“BetterSax’s Burnin’ Metal alto saxophone mouthpiece gives you the versatile tonality of the company’s signature Burnin’ series, enhanced with superb projection potential from a solid brass foundation. While hard rubber mouthpieces have traditionally been the go-to for playing comfort and a rich, full sound, alto saxophone players have increasingly turned to metal alto sax mouthpieces for projection, brightness, and the ability to plow through a thick track. But the Burnin’ Metal is far from your typical power mouthpiece. It’s got nuance. Featuring a meticulously designed roll-over baffle and medium-small chamber (I would call it more of a medium-large chamber) architecture with straight side walls, the Burnin’ Metal alto saxophone mouthpiece balances brightness with warmth and depth to generate a richly complex, yet focused and centered tone with excellent dynamic expression and articulation across all registers. Available in multiple sizes to suit your playing preferences, the BetterSax Burnin’ Metal alto saxophone mouthpiece is a powerful, contemporary option for the modern sax player.
Like its hard rubber stablemate, the Burnin’ Metal alto saxophone mouthpiece is the fruit of a unique collaboration between world-class mouthpiece maker JodyJazz and BetterSax founder Jay Metcalf, one of the world’s top saxophone educators and influencers. The result is a no-compromise, free-blowing metal mouthpiece that absolutely shimmers, both sonically and visually. Crafted from solid brass using precision CNC machining and hand-finished in a gleaming matte gold plating, the BetterSax Burnin’ Metal model represents an evolution that integrates seamlessly into the Burnin’ mouthpiece family while establishing its own distinct identity. Saxophone connoisseurs at Sweetwater have found that the playing experience on the Burnin’ Metal is bolstered by a larger outer diameter, giving you a feel more akin to hard rubber without sacrificing an ounce of power. Carefully balanced for playing comfort and control, the BetterSax Burnin’ metal mouthpiece gives alto players the cross-genre versatility for everything from big-band jazz to rock, funk, fusion, progressive metal, and beyond.”-Sweetwater website
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
The BetterSax Burnin’ metal alto saxophone mouthpiece came well packaged and protected in a BetterSax box which was also protected with ample packing and cushioning around the mouthpiece. The Burnin’ mouthpiece also comes with a Rovner ligature as well as a mouthpiece cap.
My first impression of the BetterSax Burnin’ metal alto saxophone mouthpiece, as I opened the packaging, was how beautiful and perfect the mouthpiece looked. I just stared in awe of how absolutely perfect the brushed gold plating and engraving looked.
My second impression, as I took it out of the packaging, was its substantial weight. I don’t try metal mouthpieces on the alto saxophone very often, so I was genuinely surprised by how heavy the gold-plated brass BetterSax Burnin’ alto saxophone mouthpiece felt.
My third impression was that the BetterSax Burnin’ metal alto saxophone mouthpiece appeared to be exceptionally well made, with excellent machining and craftsmanship. Kudos to Jody Espina at Jody Jazz mouthpieces for producing such a stunningly perfect mouthpiece for BetterSax.
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
The Burnin’ metal alto saxophone mouthpiece is made of brushed brass with a gold plating over it that is clean and about as perfect a mouthpiece as I have ever seen. There is not one imperfection or flaw.
The shape and size of the BetterSax Burnin’ metal alto saxophone mouthpiece looks to be the same size and shape as the hard rubber version of the BetterSax Burnin’ mouthpiece. Many times, alto saxophone mouthpiece makers make metal mouthpieces a lot thinner compared to hard rubber alto sax mouthpieces. I have always felt a bit uncomfortable playing these thinner metal mouthpieces on the alto saxophone so I am glad the BetterSax Burnin’ metal alto sax mouthpiece is similar in size to the hard rubber version.
The engraving on the gold mouthpiece is clean and crisp. The side of the Burnin’ alto mouthpiece has “BetterSax” engraved into the gold-plated brass and the other side of the mouthpiece has the tip opening of 7 engraved next to the table. The top of the Burnin’ alto saxophone mouthpiece has a sax logo and “Burnin’” engraved in black. There are two black rings around the shank of the mouthpiece. The mouthpiece comes with a BetterSax mouthpiece patch already on the beak of the mouthpiece.
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
I was curious if the BetterSax Burnin’ gold-plated alto saxophone mouthpiece was an exact copy of the hard rubber version I had reviewed four years ago so I sent Jay Metcalf an email asking if that were the case. This was Jay’s response:
“I went into designing the BetterSax Burnin’ metal alto saxophone mouthpiece with certain expectations. In my experience, metal alto sax mouthpieces have mostly been for a particular sound and style. However, as we were prototyping, I was very pleasantly surprised. By keeping a very similar sound profile to the original Burnin’ hard rubber alto saxophone mouthpiece, the metal model ended up delivering added projection, power and resonance while maintaining the warmth and ease of play that we love about the original. As a player who loves a good metal mouthpiece on tenor but who has typically played hard rubber on alto, the BetterSax Burnin’ metal for the alto saxophone has converted me. It gives me the best of both worlds. I expect many other alto sax players will have a similar experience with it.”-Jay Metcalf
Although I appreciate the quick response back from Jay, he really didn’t answer my question. From what I gathered from this informative BetterSax video below on the making and choosing of the prototype for the BetterSax Burnin’ metal alto saxophone mouthpiece, the new metal Burnin’ alto mouthpiece was created with the same design as the hard rubber Burnin’ alto mouthpiece but then Jody Espina made some slight alterations and tweaks to the design that Jay Metcalf had to choose from for the final version of the Burnin’ metal alto saxophone mouthpiece.
Watch this video of Jay Metcalf trying the prototypes with Jody Espina. It is quite interesting.
BetterSax Burnin’ Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Video by Jay Metcalf at BetterSax
The BetterSax Burnin’ metal alto saxophone mouthpiece has a perfect looking table, rails, tip and baffle profile. All these elements look smooth, even, symmetrical and beautifully machined. The tip rail is nice and thin as are the side rails as they head towards the tip.
The Burnin’ alto mouthpiece looks like the little brother to the Burnin’ tenor mouthpiece I already reviewed. The design of the mouthpiece looks very similar to the Burnin’ tenor mouthpiece but just on a smaller scale for the alto saxophone.
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
The baffle is what I would describe as a medium high long gentle rollover baffle. The beginning of the medium high baffle extends about 1/2 an inch into the mouthpiece before it slopes down into a steeper decline that is scooped from side to side. The baffle terminates underneath where the window of the mouthpiece ends.
The roof of the chamber is thin and the side walls are straight as they travel from the tip to the chamber and through it. The bore of the mouthpiece looks to be larger in diameter than the chamber area. After the straight sidewalls terminate, the round bore begins.
I would describe the chamber as a medium-large sized chamber because of the straight side walls and the deep bottom to the chamber. The chamber is described as a “deep chamber” on the BetterSax website.
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
The BetterSax Burnin’ alto saxophone mouthpiece played great with BetterSax 2.5 and 3 Jazz Cut alto saxophone reeds that Jay Metcalf sent me to try out as well. For the sound clips below, I used a BetterSax #2.5 Jazz Cut alto saxophone reed on the first clip (one version has reverb added and one version is dry). About a week later, I tried a BetterSax #3 Jazz Cut alto saxophone reed as well which I recorded the other clips on. Both reeds performed well on the mouthpiece with the BetterSax Jazz Cut 2.5 reed feeling softer and the 3 reed feeling a bit stronger as would be expected.
The BetterSax Burnin’ alto saxophone mouthpiece comes with a Rovner Dark ligature. While it’s a nice inclusion, I’ve never been a big fan of Rovner Dark ligatures because I feel they tend to dampen some of the higher overtones in the sound. They’re an excellent choice if you’re using a mouthpiece that you find just a little too bright, as they can help mellow the tone. However, I didn’t find the BetterSax Burnin’ metal alto mouthpiece to be overly bright in the first place, so I preferred using a different ligature that allowed the mouthpiece’s full range of overtones to come through. I decided to try a Rovner Versa X ligature I had that seemed to not restrict those higher overtones and that is the ligature I used for the sound clips.
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
The BetterSax Burnin’ 7 metal alto saxophone mouthpiece was great to play! My first impression of the metal Burnin’ mouthpiece compared to the hard rubber version was that the BetterSax metal Burnin’ alto saxophone mouthpiece seemed a tad brighter, a bit edgier, more focused, and more powerful sounding to me. It had a more aggressive and “in-your-face” kind of presence to the sound when I compare it to my memory of the hard rubber BetterSax Burnin’ version of this same mouthpiece.
It’s important to note that the hard rubber BetterSax Burnin’ alto sax mouthpiece I reviewed was a 6 tip opening (.078) and this metal Burnin’ alto saxophone mouthpiece is a 7 tip opening (.082) so some of these perceived differences could be due to the change in tip opening as well.
The medium-high rollover baffle of the Burnin’ alto sax mouthpiece gives it a nice brightness, power and punch when pushed. The straight sidewalls gives the tone a nice focus and core. Finally, the medium-large chamber gives the tone a full and round alto saxophone sound. These characteristics put together make the Burnin’ alto sax mouthpiece very enjoyable to play but also to listen to.
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
I have to be honest, because of my preconceived mindset on metal alto saxophone mouthpieces, I expected the BetterSax Burnin’ metal alto saxophone mouthpiece to be overly bright. This was not the case at all. I thought the tone of the BetterSax Burnin’ metal mouthpiece was beautiful and expressive sounding. As I was playing some of the ballads for the sound clips, beautiful and expressive are the words that came to mind.
The tone of the BetterSax Burnin’ metal alto saxophone mouthpiece had a thick body to the sound with just enough crispness and highs in the sound to really make the tone ring and resonate beautifully.
The tone could be light and sweet like where I play a little of “On the Sunny Side of the Street”, or more heavy and thick sounding like when I push it a little more on some the blues lines that I demonstrate. I really enjoyed how the tone was easy to bend and shape as I tried to demonstrate in the sound clips.
The tone was smooth and even throughout the range of the saxophone which really makes the Burnin’ mouthpiece fun to play fast lines with. The “smooth evenness” of tone give a quality to the lines where the notes just whip by really fast but seem so smooth and connected. This smooth quality really shines during fast bebop lines.
The intonation on the Burnin’ alto sax mouthpiece was excellent and within the normal parameters on my Selmer Reference 54 alto saxophone.
I described the hard rubber BetterSax Burnin’ 6 alto saxophone mouthpiece as reminding me of a Meyer type alto sax sound but with a bit more focused core to the sound than a typical Meyer alto sax mouthpiece has. I also got the impression that the hard rubber Burnin’ alto mouthpiece gave a wider range from dark to bright tone when compared with a typical Meyer alto saxophone mouthpiece that seems to sit more in the middle of that dark to bright tone spectrum.
I didn’t find that same connection to the Meyer line with the BetterSax Burnin’ 7 metal alto saxophone mouthpiece. Instead, the BetterSax Burnin’ mouthpiece strikes me as having its own distinct voice that sets it apart from the Meyer mouthpieces I’ve played over the years.
It’s difficult for me to pinpoint exactly why I hear it that way. Some of that impression may simply come from the perceived difference in feel and response between a metal mouthpiece and a hard rubber Meyer. Whatever the reason, the BetterSax Burnin’ metal mouthpiece strikes me as it’s own unique sounding alto saxophone mouthpiece that is very different than the Meyer mouthpieces I have played.
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
I have posted three sets of sound clips of the BetterSax Burnin’ alto saxophone mouthpiece below.
The first set is with the BetterSax #2.5 Jazz Cut alto sax reed with reverb added and then the same clip dry (without effects). The BetterSax 2.5 Jazz Cut reed gives the tone a bit more brightness and buzz when compared to the #3 Jazz Cut reed clips that seems less bright and more locked in and focused sounding.
The second set of sound clips are with the BetterSax #3 Jazz Cut alto saxophone reed. There are four clips:
- A clip of my random lines I play on many of my sound clips with a slight reverb added.
- The same sound clip with no reverb so you can hear how the BetterSax Burnin’ metal alto saxophone mouthpiece might sound in a dry room.
- The melody of “You Don’t Know what Love Is” with a slight reverb added.
- Lastly, this clip is made up of a few bluesy lines with a slight reverb added that reminded me of Grover Washington Jr. while I was playing.
The third set of sound clips are of “On the Sunny Side of the Street” and “The Summer Knows” so you can hear a little of how the BetterSax Burnin’ 7 metal alto sax mouthpiece compares to the BetterSax Burnin’ 6 hard rubber alto saxophone mouthpiece I reviewed 4 years ago. It really isn’t a fair comparison because of the difference in tip openings but if you are curious, you can check out the differences between these clips.
To my ear, the BetterSax Burnin’ 7 alto sax mouthpiece has more volume and “oomph” in the sound whereas the BetterSax Burnin’ 6 alto mouthpiece seems more polite and constrained. Again, this might be totally related to the fact that I could push a bit more air through the metal 7 tip opening than I could with the hard rubber 6 tip opening of the hard rubber Burnin’ mouthpiece.
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
In my opinion, the BetterSax Burnin’ metal alto saxophone mouthpiece is a terrific alto saxophone mouthpiece for those looking for a versatile alto saxophone mouthpiece that can sound great on jazz standards or in a big band, while also providing the option of pushing the sound to a more powerful, aggressive and brighter tone when needed for more modern genres of music like rock, pop, R&B or contemporary and smooth jazz.
The tone does seem to lean slightly more to the brighter side compared to the Burnin’ hard rubber alto saxophone version but please don’t get me wrong in thinking I am describing the BetterSax Burnin’ as a bright alto saxophone mouthpiece. I still consider the metal Burnin’ alto saxophone mouthpiece to be in that tonal range of sound that makes it highly adaptable and versatile for all kinds of music and I would never describe a bright alto saxophone mouthpiece like that.
While metal alto saxophone mouthpieces have traditionally earned a reputation for being overly bright and abrasive, often making band directors wary because they can be difficult to blend within an ensemble, Jay Metcalf and Jody Espina have challenged that perception with the creation of the Burnin’ metal alto saxophone mouthpiece.
The BetterSax Burnin’ delivers the power and projection players expect from a metal mouthpiece while maintaining a warm, balanced tone that blends beautifully in section playing and sounds great over jazz standards. Whether you’re performing traditional jazz, funk, pop or smooth jazz, this mouthpiece adapts effortlessly to a wide variety of musical situations.
Check out the sound clips below to hear the BetterSax Burnin’ alto saxophone mouthpiece in action.
If you like the sound and look of the Burnin’ metal alto saxophone mouthpiece by BetterSax, you can find them for sale at Sweetwater. I have agreed to be an affiliate for Sweetwater so if you purchase a BetterSax Burnin’ metal alto saxophone mouthpiece from this link, neffmusic will receive a small commission on the sale without increasing your cost. (This helps to support my site and keep the saxophone related reviews, articles and transcriptions coming to you). Sweetwater even offers the option to pay in three installments as well which is nice.
If you are lucky enough to play a BetterSax Burnin’ gold-plated brass alto saxophone mouthpiece or have any other thoughts or comments, I would love to hear what you think in the comments below. Thanks, Steve
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece – BetterSax 2.5 Jazz Cut Reed
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece – Random Lines-BetterSax 2.5 Jazz Cut Reed-Reverb Added
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece – BetterSax 2.5 Jazz Cut Reed-Same Clip as Above-No Reverb
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece – BetterSax 3 Jazz Cut Reed
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece – BetterSax 3 Jazz Cut Reed-Random Lines-Reverb Added
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece – BetterSax 3 Jazz Cut Reed-Same Clip as Above-No Reverb
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece – BetterSax 3 Jazz Cut Reed-You Don’t Know What Love is-Reverb Added
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece – BetterSax 3 Jazz Cut Reed-Blues Lines like Grover-Reverb Added
Comparing the BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Gold Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece to the BetterSax Burnin’ 6 Hard Rubber Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
On the Sunny Side of the Street
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece – BetterSax 2.5 Jazz Cut Reed-On the Sunny Side of the Street-Reverb Added
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece – BetterSax 3 Jazz Cut Reed-On the Sunny Side of the Street-Reverb Added
BetterSax Burnin’ 6 Hard Rubber Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece – BSS 3 Black Label Reed-On the Sunny Side of the Street-Reverb Added
The Summer Knows
BetterSax Burnin’ 7 Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece – BetterSax 2.5 Jazz Cut Reed-The Summer Knows-Reverb Added
BetterSax Burnin’ 6 Hard Rubber Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece – BSS 3 Black Label Reed-The Summer Knows-Reverb Added
About 1 year ago I switched all 3 my Metal Yanagisawa Mouthpieces (Tenor, Alto, Soprano) for Better Sax mouthpieces. Lovin’ it! Right now I am using the Burnin Metal on Tenor, and HR on Alto and Soprano. It’s hard to predict whether I will prefer Metal or HR on the Alto. When I got the Metal for Tenor, I also bought the HR Tenor. The decision was obvious for me, the HR went back, and I kept the Metal. I love your reviews and I wish I had your connections so people could send me a bunch of mouthpieces just to try them and review them! Envy emoji.
Hey Steve, longtime listener first time responder.
I got to say first and foremost this website that you have provided us all is by far the best website for those of us wanting to hear what a mouthpiece might sound like prior to buying. Granted you could slap any mouthpiece on a 2 x 4 and make it sound brilliant but it’s still a great help.
I have a quick question. I anticipated that the number six would’ve been brighter bc of the smaller tip opening allowing both the airstream and reed being closer to the baffle, however my ears told a slightly different story. I found the seven to be quite a bit brighter but in a good way.
It wasn’t until further investigation when I realized that you were using two different reed set ups; Which is the basis of my question. In your opinion, do you find that the Better Sax reeds are brighter than the BSS Black label?
The black label are my all-time favorites as of now at least however I’ve never tried any other other cuts and I’m interested in the silver box as I know a lot of people really like those. With that said I gotta admit I was absolutely blown away by the Better Sax 2.5s you were rocking out on. I don’t know why I guess it’s the packaging or maybe just the stamping but I always found them to look cheaper in a cheesy type of way so I never even gave them a second look. But now I’m really interested in them.
Would you say that they are indeed brighter than the black label and if so, how do they compare to the silver or red label? Thank you in advance assuming you made it through this novel lol.
Hi Sean,
I would say that the BSS Black and Silver Label reeds are my two favorites. I really love the consistency between those two boxes of reeds. I really wish they came in sizing of 3rds like Rigotti Gold reeds come in (Light, Medium and Strong). The Red BSS are great as well but a bit too bright for my tastes although it really depends on the mouthpiece as well. If I had a darker mouthpiece I was trying to brighten up for a gig I would try the BSS Red label reeds on it for sure. For now, the BSS Silver label gets me all the brightness I need and the BSS Black Label darkens things up for me.
I’m still figuring out the BetterSax reeds. I received a bunch of boxes when they first came out and I really didn’t like those at all. I just couldn’t get a reed to work for me. Jay sent me another batch of reeds about a year later and these were much better. He says there was no difference between the batches but the second batch was much better for me. I don’t like working on reeds or breaking them in, I wet them, put them on and play. The second batch is really great. I do notice more variations from reed to reed than I do with the BSS reeds but I have found quite a few great players in the BetterSax reeds as well. Good Luck on your reed adventures. Steve
Wow what an Amaaaazing response I didn’t expect you to really delve into such nuance and detail but Im sooo happy and blessed that you did that was an awesome read Thank you Steve You rock buddy Someday I hope to become recognized enough that you will want to try one of my mouthpieces 🙏🎷🤣 Thanks again
Sincerely,
Sean Mullins
No problem. Keep at it! I have only heard good things about your work so far!