Playing a tenor mouthpiece on bari????

[saxmanic]

I have been messing with some mouthpieces on my Couf Superba I Low Bb and Mark VI low A baris and not satisfied (I tried some Lawton's, an RIA, etc). I then noticed that my Rico Jazz Select bari reed fit and sealed quite well on the Java tenor T95 I just bought from Mojobari. I then tried to see if it would fit the neck and it went right on. I then played it and have never had a better sound out of these baris. I can't push the mouthpiece as far in on the cork to play in tune, but it is amazing and sings in the altissimo better than any bari piece I have ever tried (and I am mainly a bari player). Does this make sense? I know the Javas are much longer than many HR tenor pieces and the reed seats quite well. What are any of your thjoughts? Do you know others that play a tenor piece on bari? Thanks for your time.

[Riff]

Mouthpieces are made with a specific internal volume to complement the bore of the saxophone. In fact, the mouthpiece itself actually is part of the bore. Since tenor mouthpieces are smaller than baritone mouthpieces you have essentially shortened the bore of your baritone. This is bound to have an effect on intonation and it is probably why you can't push the mouthpiece on as far as you would like.

I don't doubt that it plays, or that you like what you hear, but play with it awhile and you'll probably start to notice other problems creeping up that will eventually lead you to conclude that you need a bari mouthpiece.


There is a similar situation with C-melody saxes. C-melodies have a reputation for having poor intonation, but this problem is really mouthpiece related. People tend to buy an old C-melody and then use either an alto or a tenor mouthpiece on it. In reality, if they were to use a real C-melody mouthpiece the intonation problems would go away. (except for the usual saxophone intonation quirks. :wink: )