Switching from tenor to Bari in Big Band

[Knight Ender]

Any suggestions for a suitable Big Band Bari mouthpiece? The one that is with the horn I am using(a school horn) is fighting me too much. I tried a Vandoren a few days ago, don't remember the facing....it was ok. The bari is an Armstrong made by Keilwerth, not in the best shape. If knowing my tenor set up helps, I use a '52 10M and a metal Rousseau 7.

Any tips for a new bari player?

[RS]

My facings chart (in the WW/BW catalogue) shows the Rousseau tenor piece with a .100" tip opening so you should probably use a bari piece with at least a .100" tip, or maybe a little bigger. Say .105" or .110". Also a bari piece with a medium high baffle will give you good power and edge. A Berg Larson with the 0 or 1 baffle might work well. RIAs also have a fair amount of baffle and are capable of good power. Some of the Runyon models have a removable baffle called a spoiler and might be worth a look. Low baffle pieces like Otto Links can be fitted with baffles to produce more power and cut. But any well made piece with a big enough tip opening to get plenty of wind into the the horn and enough baffle to give some edge and power should work pretty well.

[Knight Ender]

Thanks for the reply. It makes sense that I should get a little bigger of a tip size, with it being a larger horn. I tried to find the measurement of the one I'm using, but I didn't have here in front of me. It says H Couf with a 5 and an R I think. I couldn't bring the horn home over the weekend...working too much.

[MojoBari]

Some players who play tenor as their main horn use open set-ups on tenor (like .115-.125+) and just medium open on bari (.105-.110). Others do the opposite. Lately, I've been playing similar tips on bari and tenor (.105-.110") with med hard reeds.

I think you should play as large a tip as you can on bari that you have the lung power for. You need to be able to play decent phrases without running out of air.

High baffle pieces allow you to play larger tips than low baffle pieces.

[Mike Ruhl]

Check out the Hite bari mouthpiece: http://www.jdhite.com/mouthpieces/saxmpc.htm#baritone

[shmuelyosef]

For starting out, the Berg Larsen HR pieces are a pretty good value (lots of them on eBay) and there is lots of choice. They are identified as (facing/baffle) e.g. 110/1 is a 0.110" tip with a high baffle (baffles range from 3-no baffle to 0-paint peeler). A #1 baffle with a modest opening 100-110 would be a good place to start. The Bergs are a little more consistent (IMO) than other machine-produced pieces (less risk in buying and untried piece, with a lot of variety. Avoid the SMS facings, as they are difficult for newbiew to bari for sure. a 105/1 or even 105/2 would be my choice to start. I recently switched to Lamberson's on bari, but I'm glad I started with a couple of Bergs back when I started playing bari.

[Knight Ender]

The mouthpiece I'm using for now is a good one, it has a good sound when I play. I was wondering if anyone knew what the measurment of the H Couf 5*R would be close to, so I could have an idea on a tip size for getting my own. I don't want to borrow forever. I also found that I dig Plasticover 3's on it.

[Noel Mac]

I am a big fan of Rico Royal Metallites on bari. I was in the same boat when I first started playing bari in a big band, switched from tenor to bari. The first mouthpiece I bought was a metallite 7M, I loved it. Made the schools beat to death horn sound decent. Then I bought my own bari and I decided to get a link 7*. Then it was a berg larsen 110/2. But then I slapped the metallite on there and I sold my other mouthpieces. The metallites are cheap, and are especially good for big band because they can play any style you will play, kicks butt on funk.

I have a berg larsen grained ebonite for sale if you are interested. Check out the marketplace section :lol: .

[Randall]

Knight, I am in basically the same situation as you- I am primarily a tenor player who is now called on to play bari in a big band (latin). I use a Yanagisaawa metal ( #8 ) and I get all the power and grunt I want and it is fairly easy for me to control too. These Yanagaisawa pieces are often over looked and underrated I feel. I am playing the same make bari as you (a Keilwerth).
I have also played the Runyon Quantum in metal and it is an extremely powerful piece. I wouldn't recommend going over a #8 on that one.

[MojoBari]

I'd recommend checking out Quantums up to size 10-11 to get up to a .105" tip (some of the charts are wrong and indicate a 8 is a ~.105").

[Subtone Sam]

RPC,Runyon Jaguar.