Does the mouth piece on the alto sax make a diffrence in the tone or overall sound of the sax?

Question

Does the mouth piece on the alto sax make a diffrence in the tone or overall sound of the sax?

Answer 1

Your question acually is a large debate in the musical comunity. A lot of different players have very different opinions.

1.) First, lets argue that Mouthpieces make a big difference. The tone of the sax is decided largley by the shape of the air that is being pushed through it. The mouthpeice does indeed alter the shape of that air. The different bores, chambers, and tip openings all alter the flow of air in a way that many claim will change the sound dramatically.

2.) Then again there are those who say it doesn't. I for one support this argument. Not to say there is no change in the sound of the tone. I have had many players ask me which of two mouthpeices sound best, and most of the time they sound the same on either one. I have heard players go from a classical rubber mouthpiece to a metal jazz piece with little difference in their sound. Like i said the sound is changed by the shape of the air, but the air is shaped by many different things, which is why it is rare to find 2 sax players with the exact same tone. And why dont players on the sme mouthpeice sound anything alike? Because there is a lot more to tone production than a piece of plastic. A lot of people would like to believe that all they need to do is invest in a mouthpiece and all of a sudden they'll sound like Phil Woods.

Now i personally have tried dozens of mouthpieces and heard quite a difference between each of them. But the fact is i know exactly what i sound like and even if there is a very small change, it sounds like a different player to me as Eric S. already stated. Though it is those small differences that make the difference between good and great.So don't think a new moutpiece will solve all your problems. But it is something to look into.

Now Some tips for mouthpiece shopping. Be sure to get Two reeds of different strengths. For example Two  strength 2 reeds, Two strength 2.5 reeds, so on up to probably 3.5. Different mouthpeices will take different strength reeds to produce the best sound so get a lot of reeds. Second find a good place to shop at. My favorite is wwbw.com. They have a huge selection and they let you try up to 4 mouthpieces for a few weeks and if you don't like them just ship them back. Also give each mouthpiece a chance. Never try it once and say it doesn't work for you. You've got to give it time. Especially metal mouthpieces, they tend to sqeak at first.

The best way to develop tone is long tones. At least 5 minutes a day and your sound will definetly improve. Equipment is no way out of practice. Anyway, I wish you luck on your quest for a better sound.

Answer 2

Yes- very much. Differences in the size and shape of the inner chamber, and the tip openingf, can make big changes. Also the material- plastic mouthpieces will sound brighter than hard rubber ones.

Answer 3

aperture has a large part to do with the overall sound of the alto sax, and also how far in you push the mouthpiece. The more you push in the mouthpiece, the sharper your tone will be, and the more you leave it out, your tone will sound flat.