Product reviews are done by Johnny Ferreira –
Professional Saxophonist, Musician, Recording Artist,
Author and Instructor.
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Myself, along with many other instructors will recommend the Selmer S80 – C* mouthpiece to students that are just starting or have been playing for a little while. This mouthpiece is very good and a great improvement on the usually cheap mouthpiece that came with a new sax or even a rented one.

Mouthpieces that are included with the instrument are usually an after-thought and no company will normally include any mouthpiece of real value. These are usually very cheap plastic ones and a beginner will outgrow them quickly.

Probably the most recommended is the Selmer C star, (Selmer C*) because of it’s medium size (opening, see below for explanation).

It’s been many years since I’ve played on a Selmer C Star but a beginner moving up to one of these from a cheap one will instantly notice a difference in their sound and the way it feels… a noticeable step up.

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If you’ve been around a saxophone for any amount of time you’ll know that Selmer is one of the top names in the world for their quality saxophones, and yes, mouthpiece’s too.

I’ve always said that your mouthpiece and reed setup is even more important than your saxophone. Obviously we all look for a beautiful feeling, top quality horn we can afford but as you’re coming up to your pro model you can still have big success developing your tone with a good mouthpiece and reed combination even if you don’t have a great saxophone. The opposite is not true… you can’t play a top quality pro sax with a cheap plastic mouthpiece and get a great sound.

Spending a little more on upgrading a saxophone mouthpiece is a great idea because this alone will give you the biggest bang for your money. This alone can make the most improvement in a student’s sound. It’s how and where you connect to your saxophone and a mouthpiece can make the biggest impact on your saxophone tone.

The Selmer mouthpiece measuring system uses letters instead of numbers to rate the size of the mouthpiece:

Letters A through H. A being the more closed, the smallest distance from the reed to the mouthpiece. H is the most opened. The C is a medium to medium closed making it a good choice for beginners to get a good, full and warm sound. A closed mouthpiece will give a darker tone and a really opened one will produce a brighter tone.

Of course the player can still get different types of tones from any mouthpiece with the embouchure, reed size, air etc but the mouthpiece can be the difference maker to this being easy or hard.

What some users thought about the Selmer C:

“.. No matter what style you’re aiming for, this is either the only piece you need, or at least one of two you keep in the case”

“… this mouth piece really sings”

“… definitely beats my generic mouth piece that came with the alto”

“… Wow, what a big difference it makes when you upgrade to a new mouth piece”

“… It plays with great tone and is full of beauty”

“… stable and easy to control”

If you’re buying the Selmer C Star online you probably won’t find it anywhere cheaper than at Amazon. These mouthpieces are not very expensive and can normally be found for well under $200 at Amazon. The alto will generally be 30-40$ less than the tenor mouthpiece.

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And yes, you can get the Selmer S80 for soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones.