MPC for 1927 Conn Straight Neck C Melody

[tophatsax]

I'm preparing to overhaul a Conn Straight Neck C Melody, but will need a mouthpiece for it. I know that the right one is critical for a C Melody, so what do I need?

I know that Runyon has one. Ralph Morgan apparently makes one too, but it's a bit pricey for me right now.

What have you found to work best for intonation with this vintage of Conn C Melody?

Thanks

TopHatSax

[cmelodysax]

To save initially investing in a specific C-Mel mpc, most 'large chambered' alto mpcs may well work happily enough whilst you're overhauling it. I've used a Berg Larsen HR alto mpc with sucess. You may experience a bit of bubbling on the bottom few notes tho'.

Most stock tenor mpcs won't go on far enough to tune properly, unless you have a 'short-shank' selmer kicking around, because of the micro-tuner mechanism.

Once the sax is working well, you may then want to take it somewhere that you can try a few mpcs, or look for mail order 'on approval'.

If you haven't already been there, check out the C-Mel forum at

http://boards.eesite.com/board.cgi?boardset=cmelody

All the answers (and more) are there, good luck - Alan.

[tophatsax]

tinminer,

Thanks for the reply, I'll see if any of the alto pieces I have laying around will work.

Anybody else have ideas.

TopHatSax

[Dave Dolson]

Tophatsax: It has been my experience that C-Melody mouthpieces are not readily available. Oh, through web-searches, catalogs, etc., one can find them available, but it isn't like walking into a neighborhood store and finding a selection of alto, tenor or clarinet pieces for testing.

So I had to go with what I could find. I have two C-Mel pieces, one from Bill Street (which I purchased mail-order years ago) and a new Beechler I recently bought from a noted repair-tech in L.A., Rhueben Allen. While I don't play a straight-neck Conn (mine is a curved neck Buescher TT), I found the Beechler to be best for me - much more presence, power, good intonation, and cleaner sound.

Based on my experiences with other saxophones, I'd guess the Beechler would work on any C-Mel I wanted to play - when I find a good playing mouthpiece, it will play on anything I put it on, new or vintage. DAVE

[rrex54]

Do go to the C Melody forum site. Roger Aldridge has an extensive discussion of the Morgan C mpcs that sound like THE mouthpieces to have for C Mels. Roger's comments -- and many other good ones -- were here on SOTW as well, but darned if I can find them!

[Roger Aldridge]

Tophatsax,

One of the cool things about a c-melody is that, depending upon the type of mouthpiece you use, it's possible to get a wider than usual range of tonal possibilities. After all, most alto players don't use tenor mouthpieces on their alto and most tenor players don't use alto pieces on their tenor. Whereas, with a c-melody it can be possible -- depending on the make and year of your horn -- to use an alto, tenor, or c-melody mouthpiece.

The important thing to remember about this is that the different types of mouthpieces will give you considerably different sounds. Just today I was shedding my c-mel. My mouthpiece of choice is a Morgan c-melody mpc. However, for a few minutes I got out a Morgan EL Excalibur tenor mouthpiece and used it on my c-melody. The sound was considerably different with the tenor piece. I'd describe it has much darker and thicker. Switching back to the c-mel piece, my sound immediately became brighter, with much more projection, and the sound filled up the room in a way that it didn't with the tenor mouthpiece. It was like playing on two different horns! Using an alto mouthpiece will give you an even different type of sound on c-melody.

In my experience the best thing is to try out a selection of mouthpieces and find the ones that give you the best intonation on your particular horn. One size doesn't fit all in this respect. I've gotten the impression that Buescher c-melodies can have good intonation with a wider selection of mouthpieces than Conns -- at least speaking about my early model Conn. A few months ago I tried a Buescher stencil and was extremely impressed with it's intonation. However, I didn't like it's sound as well as my curved neck Conn. It sounded more tenor-like to my ears. Whereas, a Conn c-melody has some really interesting tonal qualities that I haven't heard with any other type of saxophone. Thus, while I'm a huge Buescher fan -- I LOVE my Buescher alto and soprano!!! -- I prefer a Conn c-melody for it's sound. Once you have some mouthpieces that work on your horn intonation-wise then you can select the one that you like best for it's sound and response.

Yes, the Morgan c-melody mouthpiece is more expensive than other c-melody pieces. But, I found that it plays rings around the others that I've tried. Ralph really did a good thing in developing this mouthpiece. He did his homework in learning the ins and outs of the c-melody. It brings the sound of my c-melody to life with a richness that no other mouthpiece has matched. For me, it's worth every penny.

[tophatsax]

Thanks!

tophatsax