Sop mpc suggestion

[Andrea]

I bought recently a new soprano, my first one, a Yamaha custom 875, and I'm currently using a soloist c* with 3 reed vandoren trad.

I would like to switch to a more open mpc, the c* is too close for my taste. What do you suggest?

[Mike Ruhl]

IMHO, the best mpc for the least investment is the BARI Esprit. You can order direct from BARI Assoc. ( www.bari-assoc.com ), or from www.daybreakenterprises.com

I got my first soprano about 3 years ago, and went through several higher-priced mpcs (Runyon, Vandoren, Yanagisawa), before I tried the Esprit just on a whim. This thing is a player! They go over the facing by hand to smooth it out, and I found that the .058" tip is just right.

[retread]

If you're looking to spend more, three mouthpieces have gotten enthusiastic comments on this forum. The Tenney HR Link, Selmer Super session, and SR Tech Legend and Pro (OK, so it's four). I have not tried the SR pieces, but I do have a SuperSession I obtained in a trade and a Tenney HR Link from Saxquest. The Tenney Link is, without a doubt, my preference, but the Selmer is a very nice piece. The Tenney is a 7, .065". As someone new to soprano, but experienced on clarinet and tenor, the 7 seems to be a good tip size. I know what you mean about the C*. There was one with my soprano, and thatt is one small tip.

[super20dan]

rubber yani or bari are good bets as well as rubber otto link

[FreshSax]

I have Selmer super session "I", SR Tec Pro and ......They're different but excellent pieces. I like the sound comes from gold plated metal piece like Sr Pro. Selmer SS is one of the best HR mpcs. Other choices are Vandoren S25, Morgan, Barone's vintage, Beachler HR,JodyJazz ...based on my humble experiance. IMHO.

[averageschmoe]

perhaps a more open soloist? try a C**, D or an E... see what happens.

[Andrea]

Yes of course a more opened soloist could be ok, but they are very very rare and expensive. As for what I have understood,the selmer super session is the best for amny players, right?

also I'll try to find a tenney link!

thanx to all

Andrea

[Jason]

Can anyone tell me more about the price and quality/features of BARI Espirit?
Where will it stand compared to the other ebonite 'professional' mouthpieces like selmer, vandoren etc etc...

[Mike Ruhl]

Dave Dolson has an Esprit on order. It will be interesting to hear his impression of it.

[Dave Dolson]

My Bari Esprit has been shipped . . . I was told it would arrive around the 28th of May. DAVE

[Jason]

thats great...hope to hear from u soon Dave... :D

[Ray]

Got 2 Super Sessions in yesterday to compare to the" H " I already am trying. It's a tough call between the "I " AND THE " J". The J is a little warmer but the I is a little better so far in playability. I'll play a lot this weekend but for me they are both great.

[Mike Ruhl]

As the one who prodded Dave into ordering that Esprit, I'd like to point out that I don't expect him to rave about it the way he does his Super Sessions. I just wanted someone with some experience to check it out and give their opinion.

[Dave Dolson]

Received the Esprit soprano mouthpiece yesterday, from Daybreak Enterprises. There were no markings anywhere on the piece or the container that told me it was a "Bari"-made mouthpiece. The only marking was the stamping "Esprit" in silver script on the barrel of the mouthpiece.

Today I compared it to one of my Super Session J's and an old S-80-J I used before Super Sessions came to market. I used a Rico Royal 2 and a Vandoren Java 2 1/2 reed on all of them.

I was amazed at how well the Esprit played. For $16 and change, they sent the mouthpiece, a nickel-colored ligature (similar to a metal Selmer lig but a whole lot cheaper in quality) and a black plastic mouthpiece cap.

For those who need a silver-colored sop lig, you could order the whole Esprit "kit" (as they called it). I doubt if you can find a silver-colored lig anywhere for that kind of money. Cheap or not, it worked just fine.

The piece itself is a bit longer than my Super Session and the opening for the neck was a little too big for my horn's cork (a Buescher TT), so it was loose on the neck (yes, I know how to fix that). My SS and the S-80 are short enough to allow me to play sharp on my vinatge sops. The S-80 was cut-off for me years ago to shorten the barrel.

That means that on vintage sopranos with the high octave key mechanism and rib near the top of the neck, one can just barely come to pitch before the Esprit mouthpiece stops going further on the neck.

But the piece plays, albeit not to the level of my open Selmer pieces, but if it was the only mouthpiece available, it would work. For sure, it plays better than my stock Yana, Yamaha, and C* pieces. It was a bit darker than my favorite Selmer pieces, and lacked their robustness; but having said that, for the price, the Esprit may be a good choice for someone looking to upgrade from a "stock" piece at an extremely low price.

Thanks, Mike, for pushing me to buy one. Will I use it? I doubt it, but now I know (and I have a back-up silver-colored metal lig!!). DAVE

[Mike Ruhl]

Thanks for trying it, Dave. It helps me to know that an experienced soprano player sees the same postive things in it that I do. Your assessment is exactly the same as mine. One of these days I might even try a Super Session! :wink:

[Jason]

hey Dave, may i know how good is the ligature that comes with the 'Bari Espirit' mouthpiece? By the way, any knows if there is any website that allows shipping of the 'Bari Espirit' mouthpiece all the way to Singapore? I wanna get my hands on it too~ :)

[Dave Dolson]

Jason: The ligature that came with the Esprit mouthpiece was a cheap version of a Selmer metal lig. It is silver-colored (probably nickel), not silver-plated like a Selmer lig I have for soprano (that came with a new Serie III silver sop I recently bought - then sold).

The Esprit lig is obviously made of softer and thinner metal, but once properly tightened, the Esprit ligature works just like a Selmer (or any other two-screw/two-band metal ligature) . . . it holds the reed on the mouthpiece table and the sound is the same.

I found it difficult to buy silver or silver-colored metal ligs lately, so was pleased to see this one come with the Esprit mouthpiece. I believe Bonade still offers silver-colored metal ligs, but I prefer the simple Selmer-style without the interior ridges of a Bonade (although that system works okay). DAVE

[Jason]

Thanks for the infomation Dave. However i still can't find it anywhere right here in singapore... :?

[BrianG]

I just ordered an Esprit on a whim from Daybreak after reading meruhl and Dave's reviews of it. The only sop mouthpiece I have as of right now is my Vandoren S35. I've been looking for a decent, slightly more closed mouthpiece so for the price I figured I'd give it a try. What's the design of the inside of the Esprit like? S80-ish?

[Mike Ruhl]

BrianG - I also had an S35, and bought my Esprit "on a whim" for exactly the same reason.

The Esprit is pretty much just like the Vandoren, except the window is a little bigger and it has a nice little rollover baffle just behind the tip rail. I was amazed at how much better it played for me than that S35. I ended selling the S35.

If you're looking for a good mpc in a closer tip, also consider the Hite soprano mpc ( www.jdhite.com ). I have one of their tenor mpcs and love it.

Mike R.

[retread]

I too am a fan of the Hite tenor mouthpiece. But for me the the Hite soprano piece sounds "oboish" compared to the Tenney Link and the Selmer SS. The Hite plays nicely, but has a somewhat nasal sound.

[Mike Ruhl]

I should have said that I have not tried the Hite soprano yet. But's it's interesting to hear from someone who has.

[super20dan]

i have the hite sop mpc. its very dark but extremly easy to play. i wouldnt use it for pop or rock music . just right for legit and you can play it a long time before getting tired.

[zan]

nobody quoted lakey ; I'd like to read experiences with these mouthpieces , supposing someone gets one :?:

[Dave Dolson]

zan: Claude Lakey lived and worked out of his house in Arleta, CA (that's a community in the San Fernando Valley) several years ago. I was a police lieutenant and later a captain in that area and visited with him and his wife often. He had a re-built Selmer BA alto that was to die for.

I bought several of his mouthpieces (clarinet, soprano, and alto). After struggling with them I finally gave up on Lakeys. He was a wonderful old man (and his wife was a peach, too), but I could not play his mouthpieces. For me, they lacked a center in the tone. My sound was too spread with a Lakey piece on soprano. I used it on a tour I took to Israel in 1982 with George Segal's band.

The clarinet pieces were made a bit shorter than usual - Claude explained that he pitched them at A-443 to assist players in reaching the higher tuning pitches commonly found in orchestras and bands.

My daughter used an open Lakey piece on her alto all through school (she still uses it as an adult) and it plays well for her. While I'm not familiar with current production, I did not care for Lakey's mouthpieces. DAVE

[Mike Ruhl]

My sound was too spread with a Lakey piece on soprano. I used it on a tour I took to Israel in 1982 with George Segal's band.George Segal, the actor? I knew he played banjo, but I didn't realize he had a touring band. Sounds like fun.

[Mike Ruhl]

I just ordered an Esprit on a whim from Daybreak after reading meruhl and Dave's reviews of it.
Brian - did you receive your Esprit mpc yet?

[Dave Dolson]

Meruhl: Yes, the actor. He's buddies with several Dixielanders who play(ed) in L.A. (e.g., Conrad Janis and The Beverly Hills Unlisted JB; the old Hot Frogs Jumpin' Jazz Band, etc.).

He asked a local banjo player to put together a band for a 10-day tour of Israel and I was asked to join them under the Hot Frogs' name. He (and the band) was a big hit over there. George let the band warm up the crowd, then he came on stage and did his thing with the band's backing, and then we did some band features with him on banjo as well as the band's other banjo player.

The first evening we did a radio show with no rehearsal, then jammed back stage for a few hours with Yitzak Perlman and Zubin Mehta. Those two guys can "get down" when they want to. It was great fun. DAVE

[BrianG]

I just ordered an Esprit on a whim from Daybreak after reading meruhl and Dave's reviews of it.
Brian - did you receive your Esprit mpc yet?

Yes, I received it the other day but I just now got around to really trying it, because I didnt have any fresh reeds. It's quite a surprising little piece for the money. The sound is pretty similar to my S35, maybe a little darker, but it comes much easier than it did with the S35. I like the S35 because I can control the pitch more, but the Esprit makes playing a much less tiring experience. If I were comparing them side by side in a store trying to decide which one to buy, I'd be hard pressed to find any reason not to take the Esprit over the S35, especially after price is figured in. It was well worth my $16.

[Mike Ruhl]

Aha! Another positive review. Now I don't feel so bad about recommending the Esprit.

Brian, what you describe is exactly the same as my experience and conclusions after comparing it to my S35. Thanks for taking "The Esprit Challenge". :lol:

[super20dan]

the lakey sop mpc i have is awful! a real dog

[Paul Coats]

Players that do play the Soloists, and have tried other facings, invariably like the D and E facings. Most players are uncomfortable with the tiny C*. I think Selmer gets rid of C*'s by putting them in the cases of new saxes. The tenor and bari sax C*'s are also way too small even by classical standards, and like the soprano, are NOT proportional to the alto C*, which I think is a good facing for classical alto.

Most, no, nearly all soprano players prefer mouthpieces at least .055" or larger. I would say that about 75% play mouthpieces around .058"-.060".

In the Selmers do try the metal classical model in the E facing. It is an excellent classical piece. Yes, METAL. These have the round chambers like the old 1960's-early 1970's soprano Soloists.

I use the Runyon Custom #7, like Grover Washington, Jr. played, for general playing, from classical to R&B to Dixieland and Ragtime. Yes, I use soprano sax in place of clarinet for playing Dixieland. My setup is the Custom 7, with Rovner #1RXS ligature and Fibracell #2 1/2. For combo jazz I use the Runyon Metal Quantum #7, same reed and ligature. It has a warm, though slightly brighter tone. I know, sounds contradictory, but that is how it sounds.