I got my custom MBII mouthpiece for the Alto :)

[Michael]

😎 I got my custom-made Guardala MBII today….and it is just fabulous. It produces a sound that is very full and edgy on the Alto and it was like nothing to play the notes in the Altissimo range. The MP the guys locally gave me, very nice of them to do that, was very “jazzy” but this MP I got blows it away completely. Not only is it full/edgy, but it’s very versatile–perfect for more “soothing” types of music too. This is a very positive step for me 🙂

[img]https://howtoplaysaxophone.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/zo581-DSC01556.JPG[/img]
[img]https://howtoplaysaxophone.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/7l87d-DSC01555.JPG[/img]
[img]https://howtoplaysaxophone.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/h839s-DSC01557.JPG[/img]

[john]

that looks absolutely gorgeous! don’t drop it now!
let us hear how it sounds soon as you get a little use to it.

[Michael]

I will very soon, I’m almost done with a few songs of yours for the Alto and will be playing Altissimo in them…..I’m still in “disbelief” that I’m playing in this range! I started working on the last lesson you posted in the Altissimo course and it’s really helping me to play these high-screaming notes instantly from the lower octaves; going straight up to them and playing them with full control……what a great feeling! 🙂 The high F# that you helped me out with in our private lesson some months ago now feels like a very low note LOL. I do have “Use me” done for the Tenor with some Altissimo in it and will upload it soon. But first…..Jake and I are getting ready to do our duet with your song “And I Love Her”. He’s just “polishing” up his Tenor lines. We think you’ll like what we’ve done with your song. I’m guessing it will be this coming week sometime that we’ll upload it.

[jake]

wow, nice looking piece. dave does good work. i love what he did to my tenor pieces! boy they play easy after he does his magic to them. LOL

[Dazza]

Fancy looking piece mate! Tell us what the specs are….opening etc. Johnny, does the finish of a metal MP make a difference to the sound. ie Gold vs Silver. I see a lot of alto players with silver MP’s on gold horns. Must be a reason??

[john]

Not in my experience. some makers have just silver mp’s, some have gold some have both.
maybe if there was a computer program that may tell the difference in the finish but for our human ears I don’t think so!
what we look for primarily is the shape of the mp and mostly on the inside; bore, chamber, width, etc.
the more open it is the better the possbility of you having a bigger sound… but also the harder it will be to blow into so there’s a line there we need to balance over time.

[Michael]

Johnny says it very well here…… that whether it’s Silver platted or gold plated it makes no difference at all. The MP maker, who built this for me, told me he gets asked that same question all the time. This is a custom built, for my Alto, Guardala MBII model of Mouthpiece and the chamber, bore, etc.. was built accordingly. We all know that the Guardala MBII is used for the Tenor and there are Guardala MPs that have been made for the Alto like the Studio model of Guardala (which I was I have for the Tenor) and the King Curtis model….but not the MBII 🙂 The average Alto MP has a tip opening of around 0.72 and he built this with a tip opening of 0.80 to allot for a more fuller/bigger sound, as Johnny brought out in his comment above, and it resulted in an absolutely terrific Mouthpiece. I have not had the slightest difficulties in playing it at all. I would be lying if I were to say that I’m not interested in getting one done for my Tenor too LOL. If I decide to have him do one for the Tenor, he agreed to give me a discount because of having him build 2 of them for me, cool of him to offer that. I will upload a song of Johnny’s with it very soon…..after Jake and I do our duet I’m uploading something of Johnny’s with the Tenor first though. Speaking of our duet Jake………you just about ready? 🙂

[Anonymous]

if you cut different metals into identical
shapes my guess is they would all vibrate
differently due to their different weights.
While they are vibrating they must affect
the sound waves around them differently.
Some ligatures are designed to have the
reed held in place by a solid metal strip,
which can be made of copper, silver, gold etc..
these manufactures claim a differen sound
for each metal – i’ve tried this out and they do
sound slightly different.
So based on that i would guess that mouthpieces
that are plated with different metals aren’t going
to sound much different as its only on the surface.
But i would expect a solid gold mouthpiece to sound
different to a solid brass mouth piece,Just like a rubber
mouthpiece sounds different to a metal mouthpiece.
I guess the same thing applies to microphones?

[Anonymous]

This is a great topic. I am looking into them as well and I believe my search is over. This is a big step for me. Never had a metal piece and been playing close to a year now and still cant play well lol. Vinny

[Anonymous]

nice one vinny!
What ever happens – don’t stress yourself out!
I have a few awkward notes that tend to jump
an octave higher & i have to remember to adjust
my embouchure for them.
The other problem with playing the Sax is
if you start waving it around you have to
move your head with it otherwise you start
changing the mouthpiece positions which
has a knock on effect of altering the note.
Some notes need a bigger supply of air.
Johnny’s daily practice routine – using the long
tone chromatic scale exercises is brilliant!
for this!
Other than that – find a note on the sax
that you think sounds awesome.
Play that note several times for a couple of minutes.
Memorise that nice feeling when you play that note.
Then start on the semitone note below and
work on that one until it sounds perfect!
Then repeat on a note a semitone above.
Basically extend your range higher & lower.
Write down any notes – that still play up.
Then work more on those ones!

[Author]

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