What's wrong with my Dukoff soprano mpc?

[Stencilman]

I bought a Dukoff D5 from Ebay and have had nothing but trouble with it but the seller won't take it back. The general tone is what I expect but I get lots of chirps and squeaks from middle C on up. Sometimes it breaks into an all-out screech.

Running my finger down the right rail I can feel the slightest bump at the start of the break. Also, the tip does not meet the reed uniformly - the right side of the tip is shorter than the left. It does not look like the mouthpiece was dropped but that it was manufactured this way (a defect).

Should I try to repair this myself? Anyone experienced refacers who could take this on? It may be very hard to find someone nowadays. I sent Dukoff an email to see if they could help me.

Also, I am coming back to soprano after being away for some 10 years of playing only tenor and alto, but I do have an ancient Selmer C* that I can play without trouble thoughout the entire range on my Martin Soprano.

[Ritchie]

There are some pretty lousy Dukoffs out there. I bought a used D6 where I also had some serious chirp problems, although there were no visible faults with the facing. I could not return it, so I sold it with some loss. I did not like its tone anyway (in these days I played a Dukoff on tenor, so I thought it might be a good choice for soprano, too).

Do not try to fix the facing yourself, unless you want to throw away the piece anyway (or unless you have some experience in refacing). Any refacer should accept work on a Dukoff, the metal is very soft.

On some old sopranos like your Martin you might also run into intonation problems using a small chambered modern mouthpiece. They usually have been designed to use with big chambers!

[Stencilman]

Thanks for the response. Yes, I've experienced other bad Dukoffs in years past but bought from a store that replaced them.

These Martin sopranos seem to fairly compatble with modern mouthpieces. Like I said, a borrowed Dukoff D7 works very well with my horn.

Any suggestions for a mouthpiece reface expert that doesn't have weeks of work queued up?

[sessionsax]

Yeah, I have had the same problems with a couple of Dukoff soprano pieces -- an D chamber and an M chamber.

I know a little about refacing, so I was able to even up the rails a bit and solve the problem.

Dukoff are notorious about this kind of thing. Its sad that you have to purchase a Dukoff expecting to have it refaced, but he sells enough that I don't think he cares about the shabby manufacturing.

Luckily they are soft enough to have refaced relatively easy.

Don't throw it away, have it refaced.

Mojobari from this forum comes recommended by many.

[super20dan]

dave spiegethal at spiegelthal.dave@orbiltal.com does very good work fast and cheap .usually 35$

[Stencilman]

I was shocked to find a local store that had a soprano Dukoff D8 (nobody stocks soprano mpcs anymore). I tried it, loved it and bought it. It's got that ever so slight buzz that my tenor D8 has. It adds a little extra character to the sound without being too obvious.

I showed my defective mouthpiece to a couple of folks in the store who couldn't believe that such an obvious defect could have made it out the of the factory. Obviously, the defective mouthpiece was not play-tested. You'd think that every mouthpiece would be inspected and played before making it out the door.

So, the lesson I've learned is that a Dukoff mouthpiece can be awesome or a doorstop. I may still have a refacer look at the new D8 to see if it is the best it can be. I'm glad I didn't give up on Dukoff.

[Stencilman]

dave spiegethal at spiegelthal.dave@orbiltal.com does very good work fast and cheap .usually 35$
Email bounced to this address. Is it a typo? Or maybe he's changed his ISP.

[MonchMan]

Looks like a typo

spiegelthal.dave@orbital.com

[Paul Coats]

Yes, metal Dukoffs can be refaced, but the metal is so soft, that the slightest bump will ding it. The metal is so soft, that merely MEASURING the facing curve with glass gauge and feelers will damage the table and facing. The metal is not much harder than lead solder. I will not waste my time refacing metal Dukoffs, as the work will be wasted the first time the mouthpiece is bumped against something in the case during transport, the music or mic stand while onstage.

The squeeking problem with these mouthpiece can sometimes be fixed by changing to another brand and cut of reed. For example, Vandoren (blue box) Traditional reeds do not work well with these mouthpieces. Other reeds will.

[SAXBUM]

I hate to hear people complain about my favorite mouthpiece, Dukoff. I have owned two D6's and get and got a really good sound out of them. I say "get and got" because I'm on my second mpc used with the same sax. I had to replace the first one because I accidently bumped the tip and put a dent in it. They are soft. But, if it had been a hard rubber piece, I would of chipped the tip. My fault for not putting on the cap. Yeah you have to treat them gently. Their soft metal is the only complaint I have with Dukoff. I think they are to soft to use as a door stop. Fishing sinker? Maybe.

[michaelbaird]

I would try a Rico. I can't use Lavoz reeds. I play a Dukoff M7 on a trutone. If I get the setup right it plays great, otherwise I sound like a kazoo. Try 400 grit sand paper on the back lightly to get a seal. www.saxgourmet.com has great tips on adjusting reeds.