My Guardala MP arrived, the studio model is JUST right for me :)

[john]

Exactly, the high F# key should be ignored at this point. It’s the lazy way of getting the note and the best way to get to the G is from the fork position as explained in the altissimo lesson. Jake, do what you do from F# to G as you do from the F to F#.
Work backwards; you can go from E to F right? Then F to F# (fork) right? Then F# to G. Same half step, same feeling… keep at it like that and you’ll get it. Ignore the F# key at this point!

[john]

Awesome mouthpiece Michael! I love to hear a recording now and the same recording in a weeks time, as my instructor says after a week less of the overtones can be heard when playing different pitches – whether or not its true i don’t know?

[Michael Bishop]

Hey Sxpoe, just put up a recording–it’s what I call “Part 1 of a 3-Part Reed Experimentation” LOL I’m experimenting between the Juno Cane reed I’ve been using and the Vandoreen Java Cane Reed on the Guardala. The first recording “Tequila” is done with the Juno reed; as you will see in my description and at the end of my playing you will see that I’ve been dealing with congestion due to the relentless Allergy season that’s hitting us here in Arkansas–definately not normal for us. Part 2 coming on Saturday and Part 3 on Sunday. Check it out and stay tuned; looking for insights from members as to contrasting both reeds. I am not a fan of synthetic reeds.

[john]

Hi Michael – i’m looking into getting a guardala mouthpiece for my Alto, i want a metal mouthpiece, so that i’ll have a metal and a rubber mouthpiece as my setup (don’t intend to get rid of my Kali rubber). So in terms of the Guardala , and to save me browsing all through the forums & blogs, what sort of ligature should i be getting to complement a guardala Alto mouthpiece?

[Michael Bishop]

Hi Sxpoe–I didn’t even know that Guardala Mouthpieces were available for Alto Sax, but sure enough they do. I included the link below where I found them, looks like they make them in a wide array of models too. The Ligature I used, which really allows the reed to vibrate like crazy; helps to get a real edgy sound- is the “Ultimate Ligature” Francois Louis ligature in the model of “SAB”. There’s a pic of it I put at the beginning of this post. But remember that this was for the Guardala Studio for Tenor Sax, I have no idea if it’s compatible for Alto Sax MP. Check out Johnny’s review of the Claude Lakey line of MPs that he did in the Trevor James Alto Sax review in the blog. He speaks very highly of them.
Also, I would STRONGLY recommend that you have a good, strong tone before even thinking about attempting to play a Guardala. If a player can’t play the full range of the Saxophone, at will, with a mouthpiece like a hard-rubber Yamaha, it’s going to be very difficult to do so on a Guardala.
http://www.thomann.de/gb/dave_guardala_alto_saxophone_mouthpieces_metal.html

[john]

Thanks for the info Michael. The rubber mouth piece i use is a theo wanne kali tip 0.086″, so hopefully i shouldn’t have problems playing one.
The guardala ships with a rovner style lig – which i presume is s basic lig.

[Michael Bishop]

Be mindful that the ligature that they will send with the MP is not the greatest in the world–which is why I bought a ligature on the side.

[john]

I’ll have to find out the equivalent alto lig for the gaurdala.

[Michael Bishop]

The SAB model of Francois Louis ligature I have may even be the same one you need for Guardala Alto Mouthpiece, depending on the diameter of the Mouthpiece itself. The folks at Woodwind and Brass would know http://www.wwbw.com Just type on the “Search” option “Francois Louis” ligature and you’ll be taken to a page that shows you the different models of ligatures they have/the mouthpieces they are compatible with. You can also call them and tell them what you need and they can help you.

[john]

Thanks Michael – will look into that!

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