{"id":1554,"date":"2010-10-04T15:01:37","date_gmt":"2010-10-04T20:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/?p=1554"},"modified":"2011-01-24T08:41:16","modified_gmt":"2011-01-24T13:41:16","slug":"poll-of-10-alto-saxophone-mouthpieces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/2010\/10\/poll-of-10-alto-saxophone-mouthpieces\/","title":{"rendered":"Poll of 10 Alto Saxophone Mouthpieces"},"content":{"rendered":"

I decided to run a poll of 10 alto saxophone mouthpieces that I have on my shelf.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 On all 10 clips I’m just playing a simple slow F blues (D for alto)\u00a0 I’m trying to keep it relatively simple so the clips are similar.\u00a0 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:<\/p>\n

Theo Wanne Gaia HR 8<\/p>\n

Theo Wanne Gaia HR 6<\/p>\n

Greg Weir HR .080<\/p>\n

LAW metal .080<\/p>\n

Aizen .076<\/p>\n

Mouthpiece Cafe NYC Resin 6<\/p>\n

Phil-Tone Meyer 6<\/p>\n

Drake Ceramic Jazz .080<\/p>\n

Vandoren V16 Medium refaced to a long 23mm facing by Brian Powell<\/p>\n

and just for kicks a Yamaha 4C.<\/p>\n

Obviously, \u00a0I mixed up the order so they aren’t in this order but I thought you should know the mouthpieces.<\/p>\n


\nBefore you\u00a0 judge which mouthpiece you like the best, try to not be too influenced by what I play in the clip.\u00a0 Try to just listen to the sound and tone of the piece as well as the flexibility it has.\u00a0 I will post the results and which mouthpiece is which after I get 200 votes.\u00a0 I’m actually very curious how this will turn out and if all of you out there can tell which mouthpiece is which.\u00a0\u00a0 It’s pretty darn hard for me and I played them.
\nListen………<\/p>\n

NEW COMMENTARY\u00a0 (After The End of the Poll)
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Here’s the results of the alto saxophone mouthpiece poll.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 My personal favorite right now is the Gaia 8 and the LAW MCB.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 I’ve been playing the Theo Wanne Gaia 8 almost everyday for the last month.\u00a0 The tip is at .086 which is bigger than I normally like but the sound of this piece is just huge.\u00a0 I was hoping that the Gaia 8 would come in first and confirm my reasons for liking it but alas it was beat out\u00a0 by a few others including the Yamaha 4C<\/strong>!\u00a0 As far as the other results are concerned, I wouldn’t base your buying decisions on this poll.\u00a0 Like many have posted, there can be many reasons one mouthpiece scored high while another scored lower.\u00a0 Including movement around the mic or even what I played.\u00a0 Also remember that many of these mouthpiece are pieces that I have had in my collection for years.\u00a0 These are mouthpiece I have thought were the best I have tried so I kept them.\u00a0 One of my personal favorites is the Vandoren V16 which I played for about a year and received all sorts of compliments on.\u00a0 I was surprised to see that mouthpiece at the bottom of the poll.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 I had to record it about 10 times before I accepted this clip.\u00a0 Anyways, I hope you had some fun listening to the clips.\u00a0 I would love to hear your thoughts and comments below.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Steve<\/em><\/p>\n

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