![\"\"](\"https:\/\/public.neffmusic.com\/V16.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nVandoren V16 .080 refaced by Brian Powell<\/strong><\/p>\n Fat spread sound with smooth articulation<\/em>.<\/strong> Kind of fuzzy around the edges of the tone.<\/em>
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The most common question I get asked on this blog and in emails is\u00a0 “Steve, which mouthpiece is the best?”\u00a0 “Which one should I buy”. \u00a0 I probably get 3-4 emails a week asking that question. \u00a0 I always feel bad because I wish there was a simple answer to that.\u00a0 The truth is that many of the mouthpieces I review are great.\u00a0 Any of them would sound amazing if I played them for awhile.\u00a0 I haven’t found one that blows the others away.\u00a0 Even if I did……….each person is different and one I think is the best for me, you might totally hate.\u00a0 As an example, all 9 of the mouthpieces below are great playing alto mouthpieces.\u00a0 I would have no problem playing any of them.\u00a0 All of them are different in there own way but all of them play well and are in tune.\u00a0 Some are brighter, some are darker, some are louder, some prettier sounding, some are fatter sounding, some are more focused,\u00a0 some remind me of Cannonball, some of Phil Woods, some of Sanborn……………\u00a0 The mouthpiece you like the sound of best and that you can play comfortably is the best one for you.<\/p>\n
The mouthpieces I like the best are the ones that I form a connection with.\u00a0 It’s more than just feeling comfortable with it.\u00a0 It’s like I feel like the mouthpiece is just an extension of me.\u00a0 What ever I think of and try to play just happens on the mouthpiece.\u00a0 When I have that kind of connection I love it.\u00a0 I feel like I can play 10 times better than I usually do.\u00a0 That connection very rarely happens the minute I play a mouthpiece (Although once in awhile it does……) but it can happen hours or days later as I play it over and over.<\/p>\n
OK,\u00a0 So here is a side by side clip comparison of 9 alto mouthpieces that I have on my shelf right now.\u00a0 I have a V16 refaced by Brian Powell with a super long 23 MM facing curve, an Aizen Jazz Master 6, a Ted Klum Acoustimax .080, an Aizen NY Jazz 6, a Mouthpiece Cafe NYC 6,\u00a0 a modern Meyer refaced by the late Jon Van Wie,\u00a0 a Theo Wanne Gaia 6 and a Aizen SO 6.\u00a0 I have played all of these mouthpieces for many hours.\u00a0 The Aizens are the latest that I just received last week.<\/p>\n
In each clip, I’m playing a similar idea.\u00a0 The D Major scale, a little blues riff and some bebop lines from my “Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale” book.\u00a0 Nothing fancy just a simple line so perhaps you can hear better how the mouthpieces sound next to each other.\u00a0 I’m using a 2 1\/2 Ishimori Woodstone reed on all the mouthpieces and a Vandoren Optimum ligature.\u00a0 I’m trying really hard to play the same from clip to clip so you can judge by the sound and not just by what I’m playing.<\/p>\n
I’m hoping this series of clips will help some of you better decide which mouthpiece is for you.\u00a0\u00a0 Of course……..you never know until you get it and try it.\u00a0 I’ve written some of my initial thought below each mouthpiece.\u00a0 I will add to those or change them as I listen to the clips more. \u00a0 Please feel free to write any comments or questions you might have below.\u00a0\u00a0 Thanks,\u00a0\u00a0 Steve<\/p>\n