Sax on the Web Forum banner

a different C melody mouthpiece question

4K views 19 replies 12 participants last post by  jnobianchi 
#1 ·
I'm planning on ordering a tenor mouthpiece for my C melody. This particular mouthpiece comes in small, medium and large. From my research, small should be the best choice. But it also comes in four rails lengths (and thus tip openings). Here I'm at a loss. Should I go with the longest rail / widest top opening - shortest - something in between? Does it matter? If it figures into the question, I prefer reeds on the softer side. Any thoughts?
 
#5 ·
If I had to guess (and it looks like you do have to), the Small or Medium is more likely to be a good fit than the Large. That has been my experience when it comes to C-mels, tenor pieces, and intonation -- smaller chambered tenor pieces, or larger chambered alto pieces, provide the best intonation and evenness of response.
 
#11 ·
Best not to even have a top opening. They leak too much air. :D

Srsly tho...tip openings: I personally find my preferences in line with bruce's, maybe even a little wider progression. Say .075 A, .090 C, .105 T.
 
#13 ·
A tenor should work on about everything except the straight neck Conns with the Microtuner where some just won't go on far enough. When using an alto or tenor mouthpiece I find that the tip is not as important as the overall makeup of the mouthpiece, facing length, chamber, etc. I had good luck with a Selmer S-90 alto.
 
#15 ·
I haven't played my Buescher TT C-Mel in quite a while, but when I did, I used a Kessler tenor piece on it - worked fine. I have three C-Mel mouthpieces, none of which played as well as the Kessler tenor - for me. If I ever were to get serious about C-Mel I'd probably pop for a Morgan C-Mel piece, but at this stage, I don't want to invest more money into something I don't play.

I don't recall where I had to site the mouthpiece on the neck to come to pitch but it wasn't radical. For vintage sopranos, I've had a couple of Selmer S-80 pieces cut down (shortening the barrel) so they'd shove on far enough and not be hampered by the upper octave vent and/or its ribbing. That process worked fine, too. DAVE
 
#17 ·
On visiting the Beechler facility about 20 years ago, in the San Fernando Valley, Elmer Beechler sold me two metal C melody mouthpieces that had not yet been faced for about $10 each. I refaced them and found that they were good. Could they have been prototypes, or did he ever have a C melody line of mouthpieces? They are smaller versions of Beechler tenor mouthpieces.
 
#18 ·
Several years ago whilest on my MPC search, I did buy a Rico Metalite and modify it by cutting off 10mm from the shank so it would work with my Conn Microtuner. BTW, tuning was horrible when in tune on middle A or C or so, D2 would be 30cents sharp, palm keys were all over the place.

I bought an Aquila widebody metal dedicated C piece and intonation was spot on across the range but later starting using a FAXX branded HR C piece and still like it the best.

On a side note, what has happened with the Morgan C piece? Out of stock at the big online retailers and not seen on fleabay any longer...I thought someday I throw some cash away on it but maybe not
 
#19 ·
I got my Buescher C-Mel out today just for kicks. Haven't played it for quite a while as I've been messing mainly with my 400 tenor. Put on my M9 tenor metalite with a V16 #3 red and I was quite surprised with how nice it sounded. Did a quick check with the tuner, and there was nothing so out of line I couldn't adjust to bring it back into tune. This has not been my experience in the past. So maybe I'm just getting used to the metalite, or maybe my ear for pitch is getting better. Maybe a little of both. But I really like the sound I'm getting right now.
 
#20 ·
I have a couple of c-melodies, but my everyday gigging horn is a Bruno Perfection - Pan American stencil. I've played it for the last two years with a Runyon c-mel mouthpiece, with facing 7. I have a Morgan, which was good, but I don't use it much anymore as the Runyon has just given me a superior tone. I have used several tenor, alto and old c-melody mouthpieces (Conn Eagles and some brand x) in the past and I agree with Bruce Bailey that none have been as good as the new, dedicated c-mel mouthpieces. But, of the alto and tenor mouthpieces I used, the Meyer hard rubber tenor 5m gave better tone, and had less intonation problems than the others I used, which included Selmer S80, Vandoren V16 and the Jody Jazz HR model 5, and an old Rico with a model # lost to wear. I felt the Meyer and Selmer alto mouthpieces gave better tone but with more intonation problems, which could not be fully compensated for.

I've had this horn since 1988 and been wrestling with finding the right mouthpiece for years. Morgan and Runyon are so much easier on the player, I can't recommend alto or tenor MPs.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top