Bari Espirit mouthpiece

[danm]

I just got a Bari Espirit soprano mouthpiece at home. This mouthpiece was under $10.00. I played it against my Bari .68 and this Espirit sounded pretty good. Any one tried one of these and what did you think of it?

[Dave Dolson]

danm: I bought an Esprit last year (as I recall). For $15, it came with a silver-colored metal lig and a non-descript cap. I think the lig/cap was worth the $15 alone. The piece played okay with harder reeds - better than some of the stock pieces I'd received with new-saxophone purchases. Still, my more open Selmer pieces (S-80s and Super Sessions) are my pieces-of-choice on soprano. DAVE

[danm]

Dave, what I found interesting is that out of all of my soprano mouthpieces on my Antigua 586-LQ soprano the Bari Espirit was the best with intonation. I also polled the people that were musicians listening to me when I was trying the different mouthpieces and they all said that the Espirit sounded the best. I thought that my Bari 64 or my Selmer Soloist sounded better but they did not like that sound from the soprano. I do not know what the Espirit tip opening is but the one that I have is more open that my Bari .64 is. I thought that this was supposed to be the same tip opening as my .64 or even less. You are right about the cap and ligature. They were worth the $10.00 alone. I think I am going to play with this piece and try to make it better. If I mess it up I am only out a few dollars for sure. I think that it has some potential in the future. Any one else tried one of these?

[Dave Dolson]

danm: I don't know what the tip-opening is on my Bari Esprit, but it felt really closed (somewhat like my stock pieces and some C*s I have).

As to intonation on the Antigua, I believe the Antiguas come with some pretty thick neck corks, thus preventing some pieces from pushing on far enough for good intonation. Could it be that your Esprit has a larger barrel - enough to allow it to shove on further than your other pieces? Barrel-size is not consistent among mouthpieces, I've learned.

It has been my experience that most of my favored pieces will play on most everything I put them on (I know, ending a sentence with a preposition!!). I can take my Super Sessions or S-80s (or Link or JJ or whatever) off my Antigua and put them on my '23 Conn and the intonation is similar (given the horns' variances, of course - but that isn't the mouthpieces' fault). Poor intonation will really influence listeners - and make them conclude the tone is poor when in fact it is the intonation, not the tone that is awful.

Finally, I think variations in reeds can have a significant effect on a mouthpiece's playability. There is an area where you can concentrate to improve the Esprit's playability. DAVE

[CosmicSax]

For my soprano -- I love this mouthpiece. I must have tried a 20-30 different pieces. Contrary to what everyone says - I purchased the "H" (it has a fairly closed opening) and use a fibracil reed - it sounds incredible, intonation, projection, etc. I sometimes alter the way the reed is placed by placing a tiny piece of cardboard under the base of the reed. It may be more closed than most players like, but the sound is amazing.

I also own a bari for my sop which has a "cooler" breathier sound - but does not have nearly the projection, and is much more difficult hitting anything above high D. Really nice lows though.

[Mike Ruhl]

According to the BARI Associates website ( www.bari-assoc.com ), the tip opening of the soprano Esprit is supposed to be .058". It's also supposed to be hand-finished. They have a nice little rollover baffle just behind the tip rail, a little more pronounced than on other mpcs I've seen, and I think this really helps the sound a lot.

I've been one playing one as my main mpc on soprano for about a year now, and really enjoying it. I had tried several other name-brand rubber mpcs in a variety of tip openings, and nothing worked out as well. For my purposes on soprano (church orchestra and soloing), it works perfectly.

The only reason I bought mine in the first place was to try out something with a tip opening in that range.

[danm]

Mike, I play a Bari .64 so I can compare them side by side. The openings under the reed on both pieces are identical. The rail widths are also the same. The length and overall outside dimensions are the same. The round chamber hole in the Bari 64 is slightly smaller than the Espirit. On my particular mouthpiece the tip openings and curve of the facing are also so close that I can’t tell any difference. The Espirit has that rollover baffle but my Bari 64 does not have that. The Espirit looks much more refined and smoother in the inside than the Bari 64 looks. The difference in price between the two is better than $80.00. The interesting part is everyone that hears the Espirit likes it better than the Bari 64. Along with the Antigua soprano, which I feel is one of the better bargains that I have ever gotten this Espirit is a bargain in its own right. Dave, I have a Selmer Sa80 C* and mine is much more closed than the Bari 64 or the Espirit. I can really tell if I put on a 3.5 Plasticover and try to play them. I have to drop to a 3.0 on the Bari pieces where the Selmer is quite playable with the 3.5 on it. I also get a nice buzz from the Espirit if I use cane reeds in the 2.5 range. I will play the Espirit in practice tomorrow and see if I can control the dynamics enough to not get on the nerves of our guitar player. I’ll let you know…DAN

[Mike Ruhl]

Dan - the only "flaw" that I noticed in my Esprit was that the table was not completely flat. I easily corrected that myself. I think that material takes some of the edge off the tone, and gives it a nice mellow sound. That's why I use it for church playing.

But yes, I think this is hands-down the best bargain in soprano mpcs.

[danm]

Mike, I also play my soprano in Church most of the time. That mellow sound is what I needed to "blend" with everyone else. My table on mine was pretty flat so It did not need any more work. I would use the Runyon Custom in the Jazz band for sure as this piece is not loud enough and a bit to closed for that type of playing. Really a nice bargain.

[Mike Ruhl]

I had a #8 Runyon Custom that played extremely well, but I just couldn't get used to the teensy weensy bite, so I sold it on ebay last year. Kinda wish I had that one back...

Since I flattened the table on my Esprit, I find it to be very reed-friendly. I use mostly Vandorens (either #3 V16s or #3 Traditionals) and Fibracells.

[otomah]

I've followed this discussion with some interest. I think I'll order one of these mouthpieces. The next question is what strength reedd to pair with it. Would I be correct to assume that a vandorn 3 would be about correct, or would 2.5 be more in the ball park?

thanks
otomah

[danm]

otomah, I play mine with Rico Plasticover #3, Vandoren #2.5 if I want a little buzz in my sound, Fibercell med if I'm in a hurry or the horn is on stage and I have to pick it right now and play a solo on it. Seems to work for me with anything from a 2.5 to a 3.5 for me. They all have a different sound though. I guess it would be what you prefer.

[Dave Dolson]

Yesterday I was going through a bunch of my sop pieces and came across my Esprit. I tried it on my new Antigua straight sop and it was a good 1/2-tone flat (when played against my tuned piano). The chamber is so short that it would not shove on far enough to come to pitch. Most of my other pieces were able to go on far enough to play sharp, but not the Esprit. DAVE

[bruce bailey]

After reading what you guys have said, I ordered some of these Esprits (I am a dealer). I think they are about as good as you will find for the money or even 3X the money. The Soprano is the best playing mpc I have found for my C soprano and here is what I can figure out by playing them and talking to Wolf Tayne at the company here in Florida. the Soprano plays close to a Yana R5 and is about a Selmer E opening. The Alto is almost a C* and seems to play like a cross between a C* and Meyer 5. The Tenor is my favorite and plays the same as a Link HR 5* but the tone quality is not as good mainly due to the plastic vs. rubber. I sell a lot of vintage horns and these will be give aways as they are a no nonsense item that is OK on any horn. I get them in a box with the lig and cap for a couple of $$$ more. I think they will be pretty good for school bands as they are about right for the average player. I wouldn't take one on a job instead of my old Link, but still it is better than most of the $35 things out there.