The Mouthpiece.

This Chart is by far not complete. Numbers in ()'s are actual sizes. Contact us if you have more, or better information! Tip Openings are measured in 1/1000 of an inch. The below articles are mostly referring to Baritone Saxophone mouthpieces.
Feel free to post your thoughts in the new Forum!

Brands

Alto players have the Meyer, Tenor players have the metal Link, but baritone players don't have a single mouthpiece that is sought after by everyone. (Not that I recommend using the most common mouthpiece - makes it hard to have a unique voice). However the most common brands I see are Berg Larsen (metal and rubber), Meyer, and Otto Links (usually metal).

Pepper Adams used a metal Berg Larsen, Gary Smulyan uses a vintage metal Link, Scott Robinson uses a hard rubber Vandoren, and Ronnie Cuber uses a custom made metal Francois Louis. Gerry Mulligan and Harry Carney generally used rubber mouthpieces. You can find out what your favorite players used and use that, although there is no guarantee that their type of mouthpiece will work for you or sound at all like it did when they played it. Everyone's mouth, throat, teeth etc. are all different.

The time honored "beginner's" mouthpiece is the Selmer C*. This is also a very common mouthpiece with classical saxophonists, however playing anything other than strict classical music might benefit from a more open piece.

New vs. Vintage

There are both new and vintage mouthpieces out there. A large difference between the two is that vintage mouthpieces were always hand crafted. Many mouthpieces are hand finished today as well however. Newer mouthpieces tend to be far more consistent from one mouthpiece to another of the same model, because most of the work is done with precision machinery. This is a blessing and curse. It means that if you find a new mouthpiece you love and you lose it or break it, you can buy another and easliy replace it. However, with vintage mouthpieces you have the chance that it will be unique (or flawed) and that this might give the mouthpiece a better or at least special sound, and be nearly irreplaceable.

Unlike horns, I believe that some of the newer mouthpieces can definitely hold their own against vintage ones. Vintage mouthpieces are far more fragile (especially rubber ones) and usually far more expensive. The bottom line of course, is that it really doesn't matter if it sounds good.

Trying Them Out

There are a few things to remember when trying out mouthpieces. First, if possible, try and keep the conditions the same between all mouthpieces to give a fair comparison (same horn, reeds, room etc). This is tricky as a more open mouthpiece will need a softer reed and if you try them in different stores the rooms are different. Do the best you can, and bringing a small recording device is not a terrible idea.

Bring a tuner! See how the mouthpiece plays in tune on your horn. It also may not be a bad idea to use alcohol swabs to clean the mouthpieces before and after use. And most importantly: Try out as many as possible! Many online sites will send you a few (after you pay for them) and allow you to try them for an extended period and send them back for a full refund if you do not like them.

Tip Openings

Tip opening is the distance between the reed and the tip of the top of the mouthpiece. A good starting place for baritone is around .090. But everyone's mouth, teeth, tongue, palate, etc. are all different. A wider tip opening generally requires a softer reed, while a smaller, or more closed opening, will require a harder reed. A medium set up would be a .110 opening with a 3 or so reed. Its a good idea to try many different tip opening to see what you can handle and what you like. If the tip opening is too large it will seem very hard to blow the mouthpiece and it may squeak quite a bit.

It is important to note that using a harder reed as opposed to a larger tip opening are not exactly the same. Both provide more resistance, but a small tip opening with a really hard reed will have a different sound, timbre, and feel than a wide tip opening with a soft reed even though they may have similar resistances.

Metal vs. Rubber

There are several basic materials used for mouthpieces metal, plastic, glass, wood, and hard rubber (ebonite). Plastic mouthpieces are usually worthless and just for students, or are cheap mouthpieces that come with a new saxophone. Glass mouthpieces are extremely rare, especially among baritone mouthpieces, they are much more common among clarinet mouthpieces. Wood mouthpieces are somewhat rare as well, and can sound great, but are hard to keep in shape and may be expensive. Metal and hard rubber (ebonite) are by far the most common.

There are a few basic differences between hard rubber mouthpieces and metal ones. Metal mouthpieces are much less fragile as they can be washed with anything, they wont crack, and wont shatter if dropped.

The difference in sound depends mostly on the chamber and tip opening etc, as opposed to the material. However metal mouthpieces can often have a brighter tone and may have larger tip openings available (after a certain opening rubber mouthpieces become too fragile).

Baffles + Chambers

For a complete list of the parts of the mouthpiece check this page out.

Baffles and different chamber sizes are used to alter the speed of the air as it travels through the mouthpiece, thus changing the sound. A baffle is when material is put in the inside of the material below the tip opening in a variety of shapes and sizes. This generally creates a smaller opening which forces the air through faster, and creates a brighter sound. High baffles are fantastic for when you need punch in your sound or to play extremely loud. Highly recommended for rock gigs. There are a few mouthpieces out there with a movable baffle, although none of these have been hailed as more than novelties.

Different chamber sizes have similar effects. A large chamber will usually cause a much darker sound, and a small chamber a brighter one. A large chamber may provide more resistance as well. When you see two numbers in the size of the mouthpiece (e.g. 100/2) the second number (2 in this case) is the size of the tone chamber (inside of the mouthpiece). The larger the number the larger the chamber, and darker the sound.

Mouthpiece Care

Mouthpieces, especially metal ones, don't need much care, but they definitely need to be looked after from time to time. It is a really good idea to swab out your mouthpiece every other time you use it, if not every time. If saliva is left on the mouthpiece, over a period of months it can form into calcium (carbonate) deposits which looks like a crusty white substance that is extremely hard to remove. Scraping these deposits off can harm the mouthpiece and if untreated they can eventually build up to the point where they will interfere with the mouthpiece's performance. The best solution is to not let them build up. There are some people that swear by soaking a mouthpiece in liquids such as vinegar and other things, but this is best avoided. Some people prefer to leave their reed on the mouthpiece, this is a very sure way to build up the calcium deposits and can ruin a good piece.

It is also best to wash your mouthpiece occasionally. However if you mouthpiece is a vintage rubber mouthpiece, wash it only as often as you need, and never with really cold, or really warm water, and only water, no soap. Hot water can cause certain materials in the rubber to leech out. You may notice that it turns green after you wash it in warm water - this is not a good thing. Metal mouthpieces are much less fragile and can be washed with soap and warm water. It is even possible to scrape out calcium deposits in a metal mouthpiece without too much harm. Here's a site with more information about this malady.

Often, especially on thin rubber baritone pieces, the most fragile place is the shaft where the mouthpiece fits onto the neck. It is very important not to force a rubber piece onto a neck that is too thick. Always use cork grease and use a twisting motion, and Don't force it! If the shaft does crack it can sometimes be repaired and have a ring placed on the end of it. Mouthpieces with this kind of damage rarely are useable however. Some new mouthpieces come with a ring already on the end to protect against this. If a mouthpiece is dropped and chipped it can often be repaired by a skilled mouthpiece repairman using different materials.

Refacing

As your embouchure progresses you may find that your mouthpiece is restrictive. The reed seems to clamp shut when you try to put your full air through it, and all reeds seem too soft. It may be time to get a mouthpiece with a larger tip opening. However, if you love your mouthpiece and can not find anything as good, you can have a skilled mouthpiece craftsman "open up" the mouthpiece and give it a larger tip opening. This is a risky thing to do and will certainly change the way the mouthpiece plays, perhaps not for the better. After many years of use, the tone rails (sides of the mouthpiece, on the face next to the reed) may wear down. A skilled repairman can also even these out. An artificial baffle can also be placed in a mouthpiece. There is no end to how a mouthpiece can be customized, modified, etc. But it is certainly costly, and it might be easier to find a new mouthpiece entirely.

Price

Mouthpiece prices vary greatly. Student baritone mouthpieces can cost as little as $90 and a new custom mouthpiece can be as much as $900. Vintage mouthpieces depending on their desirability, age, and condition can be expensive. But do not let price determine its value, there plenty of great mouthpieces out there for well under $300.

Other resources

Theo Wanne's website - he is a respected mouthpiece craftsman, and his site has an immense amount of information on mouthpieces.
WWBW.com - Woodwind Brasswind has many new mouthpieces for sale, and has a trial period.
Saxquest.com - Has a large variety of vintage mouthpieces.

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