Soprano Sax Mouthpieces: Which is Best?

[@pawelkaminskimusic]

I liked the "A" mouthpiece the most and was surprised to find it was a Yanagisawa. Nice playing🎷

[@dustinhellen]

Yes I liked the Yanagisawa too. I feel it sounds great on many genres

[@leerobertarzt3555]

C A B in that order. It might be dependent on the horn. I have a Serie III sop and I’m not fond of the sound of the Concept on it. I never use it. I love my Selmer Super Session for everything. I was surprised by the Yani sound. It was very good.

[@dustinhellen]

Indeed! The Yani mouthpiece sounded better than I thought it would too, and that surprised me. Interesting that you don't like the concept with your series III.

[@kerrycaldwell5703]

The Selmer Concept is my choice. I like the sound and versatility. I play one myself. The only mouthpiece I ever liked better is a Rovner Steve Wilkerson model. It has an amazing tone, but is extremely difficult to play.

[@dustinhellen]

That's interesting. I've played a lot of soprano mouthpieces but I've never heard of the Rovner Steve Wilkerson model. Maybe I'll have to check that out for myself. Thanks for watching!

[@amyebert5824]

My favorite mouthpiece is C. It sounds the best and works for all genres.

[@audreythebaud9625]

Which one was easier to blow and to control ? Thx.

[@thesaxexpert]

The thing about soprano sax is, the horn chooses the mouthpiece, not the player. A particular mouthpiece may work great with a particular horn, but it can be a total mismatch with another horn.

[@JaegerDives]

Good point, Adrian, and I agree in part, but sometimes the mouthpiece chooses the player too. I play large chamber mouthpieces that work for me on a vintage sopranos and some modern horns as well. I spent 40 years playing large chambers and a small chamber mouthpiece takes some major practice work to get used to on any horn.

[@robertnoblitt518]

I like my Selmer Concept mouthpiece. I like a classical sound on sax and this mouthpiece works great for me.

[@dustinhellen]

I agree it's a great mouthpiece. It works well for a variety of genres, not just classical.

[@ffdrk90]

I like the "B" and I think that's the Missing Link?

[@dustinhellen]

Yes it is! I like B a lot too

[@BitSax]

Curved is the best❤ I prefer c

[@dustinhellen]

Yes I agree! What do you like most about the curved?

[@BitSax]

@@dustinhellen I like curved,because it has more warm sound. Feel more comfortable when I played. But the pitch not easy on tune

[@dustinhellen]

Yes I agree completely. I love a warmer sound on soprano, but you're right about it being difficult to keep in tune, that's for sure. Yanagisawa makes this a bit easier though!@@BitSax

[@dustinhellen]

Yes the curved is definitely more comfortable to play, but all sopranos are difficult to keep in tune, that's for sure!@@BitSax

[@toly2688]

B sounds fuller in my opinion .

[@dustinhellen]

Interesting! So that is your favorite of the 3?

[@keithcarter1970]

What reeds are you using?

[@dustinhellen]

I use Hemke 3's

[@zangsax]

Tuning on B not good. C sounds best. I’ve use an original Ralph Morgan 7 for the last 25 yrs after 15 yrs of SelmerWolf Tane and Bari a few on a berg rubber too.

[@dustinhellen]

Thanks for the comment. Yes, tuning on B is sharper for sure.

[@stefanogortaldi3156]

The second sounded warmer to my ears and wrongly assumed it was the Selmer Concept - which instead was the C and the one I preferred.... This is rather surprising...if I find it at discounted price I'd give it a go.

[@dustinhellen]

@@stefanogortaldi3156 interesting. So you’re going to get a concept?

[@stefanogortaldi3156]

@@dustinhellen I've seen many used Concept on Ebay and dismissed as a "classic"...but if I spot it at the right price there is now a chance I'll give it a go. Better still if I find it on a shop to test it first....like with the Selmer S80 F - it was love at the very first blow and bought it without any doubt. Then the Selmer Super Session I...another great soprano mouthpiece. Selmer saxes are overrated in my view (never owned one....with the money for a Mark VI I'd I'd rather have 5-6 other saxes and have a broader view about saxes in general) but Selmer mouthpieces are well worth it.

[@manostsakelaris7221]

I have a yamaha 4C

[@vipinled4591]

Thank you sir ❤

[@dustinhellen]

You're welcome :) Hope you enjoyed the video.

[@OscarMoly]

La B para mi es la mejor… tiene un timbre bello y muy lleno

[@dustinhellen]

¡Gracias por el comentario!

[@Joseph124269]

thank you for the review. Which one is the brightest in your opinion?

[@dustinhellen]

I think the Yanagisawa is the brightest. Which one did you prefer?

[@Joseph124269]

@@dustinhellen yea, I think the Yanagisawa too. But I don’t think it has any baffle on it. I never had one but planning to try it. Thanks for your reply and the video, it really helps.

[@jimm4905]

I like the Retro Revival Shorty. With the stock Yanagisawa mouthpiece I had a "gurgle" problem on the low E and D notes.

[@dustinhellen]

Was the gurgling happening only on that mouthpiece?

[@jimm4905]

I donated a bunch of stuff to my local high school band, and that mpc was one of the items, so I never tried it again after having such good success with the RR Shorty mpc.

[@dustinhellen]

Ah I see. Nice of you to donate your gear!@@jimm4905

[@jimm4905]

@dustinhellen3443 Yeah, it was nice to see my donations put to use. I went to a fundraiser where the high school jazz band performed and saw the baritone sax player using the metal otto link mpc I donated. I went up after the show and asked him how he liked it, and he thanked me profusely because before that, he was using an old inferior mpc the school had in their inventory. I recently bought a Jody Jazz DVNY for my bari and the Otto Link was just sitting around never to be played by me again. Sure, I could have sold it and the other mpcs I donated, but I live in a smaller mountain community and decided to "pay it forward".

[@Arrwmkr]

Should try a Meyer.

[@dustinhellen]

If I get the chance to track one down I will try it out, but don't have one at the moment.

[@trobson9952]

B for me !

[@dustinhellen]

Cool!

[@AbigailSantander-o6m]

No. 2

[@dustinhellen]

What did you like best about No. 2?

[@SAXMOLOGY]

Which one do you like to play the most, regardless of genre?

[@dustinhellen]

I prefer the Missing Link for everything except classical, on which I play the Concept. Thanks for asking! Now what's your favorite?

[@SAXMOLOGY]

I liked them all to be honest.@@dustinhellen

[@martyg374]

I have to play it, not listen.

[@dustinhellen]

Yes it depends on what you think of it while you play, I agree!

[@thesaxexpert]

A: this one sounds restrictive. It sounds closed. And you seem to push a lot for this mouthpiece. B: a very open nice warm sound. My favourite amongst the 3. I like my soprano to sound ethereal. This one does it. C: another closed sounding piece. But this one is sweeter and more resonant than A. Soprano mouthpieces don't really restrict themselves to certain genres, although the bigger the tip opening ones than to favour the jazz players.

[@dustinhellen]

Interesting comments about all 3. The “restricted “ sound of A makes sense, as I felt that if i push it there was a wall in front of me. I like B too. C definitely sounds sweet as you say probably because it is a classical piece

[@Arrwmkr]

I agree, I did this blind and also liked B best.