The mouthpiece can make a huge difference in your sound!

Using the mouthpiece that comes with the horn is fine initially, but after 2-3 years you may want a new one.

Different players will give varying advice on what sounds the best and the discussion could probably last for days. The main thing is to try them out and see what you like.

The Search– Once you have been playing for a while it may be a good idea to look for a new moutpiece. Paul Contos says that it’s a good idea to bring another musician with you when you try one out too, since they can also hear the differences in tone quality.

Number-The number assigned to a moutpiece refers to the tip opening, which will making it necessary to use more air to make the reed vibrate, thus making the mouthpiece more powerful. You should also use softer reeds for more open moutpieces, as I said in the article about reeds. And while a powerful sound is cool when you’re soloing and such, it might not work as well in an orchestral setting. Some people solve this dilema by getting multiple mouthpieces, but I wouldn’t go overboard and buy way too many.

Metal vs. Rubber vs. Crystal?– The material that a saxophone moutpiece is made out of also makes a difference. Plastic is usually the material for stock moutpieces, and is not really the greatest. More professional mouthpiecs are made of hard rubber and metal most times. However, some nontraditional moutpieces are made out of crystal and other materials. The metal moutpieces are said to have a “brighter” sound, but it is harder to control them.

After the stock moutpiece I would recommend getting a hard rubber moutpiece.  I have Vandoren V16 and a Meyer 8*, which may be a little bit too open for some people. I also have a metal Selmer 7*. On a really basic level you will want a rubber mouthpiece for orchestral or concert band types of groups. They also work for jazz, but metal will give more power and a brighter sound.

Brand– One of my saxophone teachers had a plan to get all of the same brand mouthpiece with exactly the same specifications for all his saxophones. Unfortunately the plan didn’t work perfectly. He seemed to like one thing on tenor, but it might not work on alto or soprano. Just try out some different types to see what you like on a particular horn.

Cost-Some moutpieces, like guardala, cost insane amounts of money (over $1200 for some models) and do play pretty well, but I do not think they are worth the cost. Also, if you want to sound like Michael Brecker, don’t necessarily get the Guardala brecker mouthpiece. He needs an unusual moutpiece because he hurt his throat from excessive playing in his earlier days. Someone asked me if I was playing a Guardala the other day, I had played one before, but my Selmer metal feels and sounds fairly similar.

My setup-Right now I am mostly using my Vandoren V16 T9- that is the V16 mouthpiece for tenor sax with a 9 tip opening.  A size 2.5/3 reed seems to work well with it.