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What reed to use on C melody

34K views 31 replies 17 participants last post by  Peter66 
#1 ·
I don't think i've seen c melody sax reeds for sale anywhere.
soo...what kind of reed do you use? alto? tenor?

Thanks
 
#3 ·
Many C-Melody players use bass clarinet reeds. They fit quite well. Otherwise, a few companies are still making reeds for the c-melody, and although most music stores don't carry them, they are often available on special order. Several companies also make modern C-Melody mouthpieces that will take alto or tenor reeds.

The common consensus is that original C-Melody mouthpieces are often stuffy sounding, and that most of us are better off going with a modern piece, or using an alto or tenor mouthpiece. Experiment!
 
#5 ·
wow C melody sounds soo interesting

I better put mine together as soon as possible and try different combos. I seem to have gotten Conn eagle C melody mouthpiece with conn stencil C melody.

Oh yeah... Mine doesn't have any resonators on pads. Is that normal for C melody or is mine weird?
 
#8 ·
Unless it's a Buescher...;)

Bueschers had small resonators (well, washers...) built into the 'snaps' in the mid-late 20's.

Otherwise if you've plain dirty white pads, it's probably original. Brown pads with just a rivet normally means it's had a 50's repad (give or take a decade ?)
 
#9 ·
ohh then I guess mine's 50s repad.

just finished pretty much rebuilding Concertone (conn stencil) C mel and played it and I'm just lovin it!!

Sounds sorta like tenor but somehow different.

I used the conn eagle mpc tha came with it with my tenor reed and it sounds pretty good :D

darnn I was gonna sell it but I think it's gonna stick with me~ haha my dad's starting to learn to play sax on that
 
#12 ·
It depends on the mouthpiece that you are using. Most players use a tenor mp because it is likely to tune better on the CMel, so you would use a tenor reed. If you have a CMel mouthpiece, I'd still use a tenor reed if it fits. Clarinet reeds have a different cut that adds to their "woody" sound, which a CMel doesn't need.

I would probably buy a Hartmann carbon fiber tenor reed. Sure, one Hartmann cost a few dollars more than a box of 5 cane reeds, but it lasts longer than 5 boxes of cane reeds. The only way I've killed one is by careless handling. As a bonus, you can just pick up the CMel and play (which is also the down side to synth reeds. Pick up your sax, toot for two minutes, put it down and don't bother to swab it out!! Synth reeds can be hard on pads that way.)

Although carbon fiber reeds can sound harsh on a mp like a Jumbo Java, it won't sound harsh on a CMel. It will make a CMel sound almost modern (if that's what you're going for).

Mark
 
#13 ·
Anybody here in a position to compare the Hartmann and Legere?

I haven't found the Legere unacceptably mellow and lesteryoungoid, but that description of the Hartmann sounds good - the kind of sound I like is Garbarek or Surman: cold, bright and flute-like. Maybe the Hartmann would help get me nearer there? (Not that mouthpieces or reeds make anywhere near the difference the player does, of course...)
 
#14 ·
There are about half a dozen types of modern CMel mpcs available today - all designed to use tenor sax reeds. With that said, I use the same kind of reed I use on tenor: Légère Signature.
 
#16 ·
I use a Faxx mpc on my Martin. I don't understand the physics of what's going on. The Legere Signature bass clarinet 2.5 works fine, dead in tune across the whole range. So does a very old transparent orange plastic "Arpeggio" tenor reed I got in a car boot sale, though the tone colour is not what I want at all (sorta like Stan Getz or Lester Young, bleurgh). But either cane or Fibracell reeds of comparable strength go nearly a quartertone sharp in the whole upper octave, and are much less stable in pitch - and I don't regard the ability to blow the thing across nearly a tone as much of an asset.

Anyone know why this is happening, in terms of reed cut, stiffness and density?
 
#17 ·
hrmm....so...an Alto Mouthpiece being much smaller and a Tenor MPC being much larger....I wouldn't recommend any of those.

If you have a 1920s C-Mel mouthpiece, through it away and get a modern correct size C-Mel mouthpiece available on Fleabay for around $35. Then, since your local store won't know what you are talking about when you inquire for a reed, buy some Bass Clarinet reeds. The are wide enough but they are a bit longer. I've compared all kinds of reeds from the 20s on up and the new Bass Clarinet reeds sound very very nice. I even made a video



Have no clue what that clicking sound was.....

You'll see me go through three MPC all with modern reeds and you can clearly see the difference in tone from MPC to MPC and none of them are Tenor or Alto manipulated to sound somewhat normal.
 
#26 ·
I got two mpc's that I use different reeds on:

- C-melody reeds #3 bought on ebay together with a Faxx C-melody, it had a .71" tip opening but I refaced it to a .092" opening.

- Vandoren tenor green java #3 reeds together with a Riffault tenor mpc that I have refacet to .104", and I also have shrunk the chamber so it is something between and alto and tenor chamber.

The Riffault is my favorite:
 
#28 ·
Ya know, I dunno....but watch my video and you tell me....

And...I would say that I am not measuring it correctly except the Fleabay ad has the same number.......but you can clearly see a massive difference in the sounds from MPC to MPC.

And the tip opening versus the barrel size INSIDE may be more responsible for the difference. Let me see if I can give you specifics on the shape and ID of the two MPCs
 
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