Tenor reeds on alto?

[sopsax]

I've been using tenor reeds on alto forever. I wanted a dark vintage sound, needed to play low-range rhythm parts, and hell, just always craved to play tenor (but stuck to alto and soprano).

I've always been happy with tenor reeds on alto. They kick butt in the low register with deep, macho tones. High notes can be a bit unreliable, but one can compensate. I just never bother with the altissimo range.

Some players I've met are horrified by this secret vice. "You play WHAT on WHAT?!" Yet I know there are others of my kind out there. And I want to hear from you. When did you start? Do you switch-hit? What are your results with various reeds, ligs, and mouthpieces?

The late Jon Van Wie once declined to reface a Meyer 7M for me, saying "I don't like to set an alto piece up for a tenor reed. I think the width and length of the alto reed reflects the notes the alto sax is capable of making. TENOR reeds are for tenor!"

As I experiment with various setups, I'm beginning to think maybe the man was right. I've used some alto reeds on my alto (a Couf Superba II) lately, and by gosh they sing righteously up there in the high notes. I sound like an actual alto player again instead of a tenor wannabe. But oh, man, am I still addicted to those tenor-reed low notes that rumble right through you like thunder. Tell me what you know, people.

[morgan]

Sounds like you already know the whole story. Amazing that you can keep the beast in tune though.

[sopsax]

morgan: In tune? What's that? Don't the notes just play OK automatically when you finger the right key combination?

[pknight]

C'mon now. You must have done it. Come clean. How does the soprano sound with the tenor reed?

[Jeff Foster]

I never met John Van Wie. Too bad. I'm sure I would have liked him. He was obviously a very wise man.

[Morry]

So, will I get more low end out of my little Eb sopranino if I use bari reeds?

[Jazzophone]

hah, I was just going to start a topic like this one. I play an Otto Link 4* on bari right now, and it's (VERY surprisingly) one of our school's mouthpieces. I love it to death -- but there was one small problem. There's no ligature for it. And the other two bari 'pieces we have are gigantic compared to this sleek little job, so I couldn't very well use one of their ligs.

I couldn't even use the lig off of my sax (tenor) -- but having found an alto that wasn't in use during pit band, I stole the ligature and tried that out. Not only did it fit perfectly with the Link but it plays really well! Go figure. I've been using a Selmer alto ligature on it ever since.

[MojoBari]

I've dabbled, but I think you give up more than you gain by using the "wrong" size reed. For a fat tenor-like sound on alto, I find open high baffle pieces with alto reeds will get you there. Try a Vandoren Jumbo Java in a A55 (or larger).

[sopsax]

MojoBari: You being a refacer as well as a player, I'm sure you know what you're talking about. Care to recommend any other suitable alto mouthpieces for that tenor-style gravitas? Currently I play on a JodyJazz 8. The JJ is a tad bright, but I like it. If I were to switch, I'd gravitate toward a dark retro sound rather than a bright contemporary sound.

I'm still hoping to hear from happy, unrepentant tenor-reed-blowing altoists -- cats who went over to the Dark Side and never came back. Or am I the last holdout?

[MojoBari]

For the tenor sound on alto, I think you want to explore wide tips and softer reeds. Like .100" on alto with 2.5 reeds if you have a high baffle, softer if there is less baffle. A .090"/2.5 reed with no baffle may work too.

Just realize that this is not a sound/set-up that is easy to make work in all alto performance situations. Intonation is harder to control and it is not a good sax section lead sound (in my opinion). But for small combos, anything goes.

[Razzy]

I tried this for a while, dug the nice fat sound and all, but my upper range suffered, tone quality went down drastically, and intonation suffered a bit as well. I since then switched to a closed mouthpiece with hard alto reed and have made much improvement, I also like the sound better now.

[Thomas]

Don't worry Sopsax you are not alone. I too am an unrepentent,confirmed user of tenor reeds on alto-always have been and will not be convinced otherwise. I've always used Selmer soloist mpcs D_E_F with RR#3 on alto be they vintage or modern and though there may be slight intonational issues I think they're so insignificant I don't worry about it. Of course I think intonation issues are highly overrated and of little signifigance anyway. I appreciate the raw and visceral tone the alto sings with the manly reed. When I want a feminine sound I play the flute or clarinet........or put on an alto reed.

[paulwl]

Back around 1936, when Dick Stabile was writing the Sax Advice column in Metronome, someone wrote in asking if C melody reeds would work on alto. Dick said he didn't see any reason why not. (He played both.)

Just try getting C reeds today, but maybe if tenors were cut down a little, they'd work. I suspect from using tenor reeds on Cs that a lot of vibration goes out the long butt end, and is wasted for resonance purposes.

[sopsax]

To resolve this issue once and for all, I played long and furious today on three alto mouthpieces (Jody Jazz 8, Jody Jazz ESP 8*, Meyer 7M), two ligs (Rovner Dark, Vandoren Optimum), and a raft of reeds both alto and tenor (Fibracell, Charpen, Rico, Daniel's, Java) in dang near every possible permutation. And the winner is... tenor reeds.

OK, so high E and F sound kinda bleatish. But everything below that just purrrrrrs like a mighty tiger. I'm gone for good, people. The devil has my soul. Alto reeds are a conspiracy to make alto players sound wimpy.

But hey, that's just me. Your results may vary.

Thomas: I, like you, have played the flute. Maybe that's why I dig the volcanic rumblings of the sax. And yeah, I'm eager to try out the new Selmer Soloist alto pieces. Selmers (old and new) have always brought me luck.

paulwl: You really think the butt end of the tenor reed vibrates? I'd imagine it's too far from the action to make any difference -- but what do I know. I'd be willing to experiment with cutting, say, 3/8 inch off the butt end to see whether high note response improved. Any suggestions on how to cut a reed cleanly without making hash of the fibers?

[MojoBari]

One other thing you have to be aware of is if the reed overhangs off the sides of the rails. If so, and you blow real loud, you get a lot of chaffing on your bottom lip and it can blister and/or bleed. Many mouthpieces are wide enough to use wide reeds. If not, you can sand the reeds thinner. f they get too soft for you, trim them up or start with a stiffer reed.

[OLDAIR]

You might try bass clarinet reeds on your alto. The theory being that some people recommend these reeds as replacements for the nearly unobtainable C-Melody reeds. I used them on an old C-melody for a while but when I got rid of the vintage mouthpiece and went with a tenor mouthpiece, I eschewed the bass clarinet reeds as well

[Jazzophone]

Has anyone tried bari reeds on tenor? I've been wondering what the effect of that would be. I'm going to try in a few hours, but just wondering if anyone had experience with that

[MojoBari]

I think that combo is more common than the tenor on alto combo. RPC even makes a .150" tip tenor that is intended to take bari reeds.

[Jazzophone]

wow, that's cool. I tried out the bari reeds on tenor -- I had a Yamaha 4C stock mpc from my 52 and a Rico Royal 3.5 bari reed -- and if you get used to the slight overhang of the reed on the sides of the mouthpiece it's pretty great. pretty dark sound. :P I'll be doing that more often.

[dingfelder]

a bari mouthpiece does very cool things on a tuba... sorta sounds like a plane taking off...