The Difference: A Thought

After researching soprano saxophones for a while, I have come up with a conclusion regarding the differences between Asian made "cheapo" saxes and the "high quality" pro saxes (think Selmer Paris, Yamaha, Yanagisawa, etc.). Please keep in mind that this is just the opinion of a saxophone-playing student not the meaning of life, and I own an Asian made "cheapo" and "high quality" pro sax.

Mouthpiece Spotlight: Theo Wanne's Datta

Hey guys! I'm starting a new series called the, "Mouthpiece Spotlight." This series will showcase mouthpieces from different brands on my website. That way, you can come to one place to find out about a new mouthpiece you may want to buy.


The first mouthpiece in the, "Mouthpiece Spotlight," is Theo Wanne's Datta. The Datta is only available for the tenor sax and is part of Theo Wanne's Performance Line. The Performance Line is the mouthpiece line produced for students or people on a budget so that they can afford a top-notch mouthpiece without sacrificing quality. They were able to cut the costs in several ways: not as many engravings, no recessed bite plate, no serial number, no mouthpiece pouch, and a slightly different machining process. However, the Datta still includes a True Large Chamber, Enlightened Ligature, Reed Replacer, and 24K gold plated brass shank ring. The Datta is described as having huge projection and a fat, modern, and bright sound.


Price: $375 for premium hard rubber, $435 for metal

Material: Metal and Premium Hard Rubber

Sound: Bright with a huge, fat, modern sound

Sizes:7*, 8, 9, 10

UIL Contest, New iPad, and other Random Topics

Hey guys,

After being MIA for a long time, I have finally returned to my blog! School has been overwhelming this entire semester and haw given me little time to breath. Luckily, we are in the last six weeks, so my workload will be much lighter (I hope). Last week was the first time I had free time, so I've been playing my sax (my Charlie Parker Omnibook arrived recently) and my new iPad.

Which type of metronome should I buy?

Below is an article courtesy of howtopractice.com on purchasing a metronome, the musician's best friend.

The Chromatic Sax by Jim Schmidt

In the world of saxophones, new technology doesn't come often. We might get something like a high g key on the alto or some new neck design that is supposed to radically change your sound, but what about a totally new fingering system? Well, Jim Schmidt did just that by inventing a tenor saxophone that implements an easier fingering system. Since the saxophone is based around the concept where closing holes makes lower notes and opening them makes higher notes, Jim decided to make a saxophone where you only have to lift one finger to move up chromatically. It also features two octave keys (for each thumb) and a C# key operated by the left hand thumb! So what are some advantages of this saxophone over the current fingering system, the Boehm system, used? Here are some from his website:

Cleaning Your Saxophone Crook/Neck

Keeping your saxophone in good condition is crucial to making every performance the best it could be. If you are restoring an old horn or need to give a new one a good clean, follow the instructions in this article from SH Woodwind in order to get your sax neck back to it's shiny state it once was in.

What is the History of...?

Below is the second installment of the What is the History of...? series. If you have ever wondered how this Italian saxophone maker began, check out this article found directly from their site. Enjoy!

New Training Tool or Just a Conversation Piece?

Hello everyone,

After searching the internet for interesting new inventions in the world of the saxophone, I present to you something that will blow your mind. It is a keyless saxophone! Yes, you just read that right, it is a saxophone without any keys. This product reminds me of a spin off of the slide saxophone (see it being played here) except it looks more alto saxophone-like. Invented by Siguard Rascher, this strange invention seems to be used to help train a student in overtones, improving tone quality, and lung capacity (see the testimonials below):

How to Choose the Right Mouthpiece

When I began playing, I was never told about the different type of mouthpieces, the different materials, and how each material could affect the sound. I was just told by my director, "Go buy a C*." If, as a beginner, students were educated in how each material and type of mouthpiece affected the tone, durability, and what style each mouthpiece is used in, they might better understand why we can't use a metal mouthpiece in concert band. Here is an interesting article from http://www.pickyguide.com/musical_instrument/saxophone_mouthpieces_guide.html that will hopefully clear up the cloud of fog for beginners.

What is the History of...?

This is the first post of a mini-series called "What is the History of...?" It will feature the history of famous manufacturers, styles of playing and musicians. If you have any suggestions for this series, feel free to email me This post, written by Steven Knight of eHow.com, talks about the history of the Selmer alto saxes.

Reeds

Here is a great article I found courtesy of http://tamingthesaxophone.com/ :

Choosing a reed

Saxophone reeds are quite expensive,and to add insult to injury they are often not consistent unless you go for synthetic reeds. They are made from natural products and most manufacturers seem to fall short when it comes to quality control. To be fair to them, it is not always possible to pick out a bad reed visually, and of course you can’texpect them to be play tested before boxing them up. However it is possible tospot some obvious flaws in a reed, but many shops won’t let you cherry pick the best ones out of a box. Many players have just got used to the sad fact of life that you buy a box of reeds and throw some of them away. If the shop does let you sift though a box, there are several things to watch out for:

• Coarser than average grain which you can see on the exposed shaved or cut part of the reed. This takes a little experience to spot but after a few weeks of selecting reeds you should get a feel for what is right.
• Inconsistent widths of grain.
• Discolouration of the grain. (NB Discolouration on the shiny bark is not a problem).
• Lack of symmetry, i.e. if one side is thicker than the other. Easiest to spot when looking directly at the blunt end, not the tip.
• Any imperfections in the flatness of the table (this can be cured to a certain extent - see below)

Having said this, none of the above is foolproof, there is a slim chance that a reed which fits any of those criteriais still a good blowing reed, but I think those points give you a good rough guide to visual reed selection.

Which Brand?

Which brand you use can be subjective,all of the main brands have their devotees and it’s a good idea to try as many different reeds as you can once you feel confident enough to test them. I useRico Plasticover (these have a plastic coating) as I find they play well straight out of the box, but I also like Alexander Supoerials. These seem to have a higher percentage of good reeds per box, but they are more expensive than other brands. The difference between the main brands is minimal, and I am also happy playing La Voz, Hemke, Vandoren and other types of Rico, not just Plasticovers. I am hoping to do a comparison test and will post the results here soon.

Which Strength?

Many people believe that as youprogress on the saxophone, you "work up" to harder reeds. I think this is a fallacy, possibly born out by a desire to appear macho. Reed strengths are usually measured from grade 1 (very soft) to grade 5 (very hard)in half steps. Very soon after I started, I believed that "real"players used very hard reeds so I used grade 4, but I soon realised that although this made me play very loud and could get altissimo notes quite easily, it was difficult to get a good sound on low notes, and hard to play quietly or achieve a good vibrato or some of the note bending effects I wanted. Since then I have been gradually "working up" to softer reeds. I say working up to softer reeds because, paradoxically, softer reeds can be harder to play loud or high, so a lot of work on diaphragm and saxophone embouchure is needed to achieve the same loudness and high range as with a hard reed. The plus side though is that once you have managed this, your overall dynamic range and flexibility of tone will be greater. Vibrato and note bending will probably be much more flexible and low notes, especially subtone, may be better and easier.

Which strength you end up using can depend a lot on the mouthpiece. As a general rule, mouthpieces with wide tip openings and/or shorter lays(facing curve) often are best with softer reeds, while narrower tip openings or longer facings can have harder reeds. Much will depend on the style of music you play, usually classical players will prefer a narrower tip and a harder reed. My preference is for a wide tip (125 on tenor) and medium soft reeds(2½. Beginners (especially children) should probably start on a soft reed,e.g. 1½. Most professional players end up using between 2½ and 3½.

Conditioning a reed (aka Preparing or "prepping" a reed)

I find that reeds play best when wet,you can moisten them in your mouth for a while or soak them in a glass of water(some people recommend alcohol such as vodka). If you have the time and patience, it is a good idea to "run in" a new reed by wetting for a few minutes every day for three or four days before playing. If a reed has become warped due to drying out too quickly after playing it may need several minutes soaking, otherwise I prefer to just moisten with saliva.

It’s unlikely that all the reeds in a box will play well. You can improve the immediate playability of a reed sometimes. If the underside of the reed is not flat, take a piece of fine emery paper, lay it flat on a piece of glass and gently sand the bottom of the reedby moving the reed across the emery paper lengthwise. Alternatively scrapegently with a razor blade holding the blade almost at right angles across the whole width of the reed and use steady smooth strokes.

The exposed fibers of the reed on thecut part will be quite porous. It is a good idea to "polish" this area by rubbing along the grain with your thumb. Be careful not to damage the tip of the reed.

Checking again after you have played on it for a while

After a reed has been played on, the wetness can sometimes cause further slight distortion. Often this can be curedby simply tightening the ligature slightly, but it can also be worth resanding or scraping the bottom of the reed. However, this could be symptom of an uneven mouthpiece table causing water or spit to get under the reed.

Altering a reed’s strength

You can make a reed harder or softer yourself. To make it harder you can either clip the end off with a reed trimmer, or find a coin with the same curve, hold it against the end of the reed and burn off a little at a time. Trimming a reed may not be ideal as it changes the basic geometry of the reed - the heart becomes closer to the tip so you should not trim off more than about 1/32 of an inch (1.5 mm).

In this picture the slightly shaded area represents the thicker bit of reed you would see if you hold it up to the light. The heart is very important.

Imagine taking a bit off the tip, the heart therefore becomes closer to the tip so upsetting the possibly ideal contour as in this picture of a reed that has had too much trimmed, you can see there is very little shaved reed between the heart and tip:

There are other problems involved withusing a reed clipper to rejuvenate an old reed:

1. The reed gets a built in bend following the curve of the mouthpiece lay (possibly worse for those of us who leave the reed on the mouthpiece)
2. The composition of the reed deteriorates: the fibers break down due to saliva saturation and constant flexing and vibration of the reed, so even if you have cured the reed of being too soft, it will still not vibrate as well as a younger reed

A reed clipper in this case is likely to have only a short term beneficial effect, but with the side effect of compromising the make up of the reed (i.e. the heart becoming closer to the tipas I said earlier). If this side effect is not as pronounced as the beneficial effect of "hardening" the reed, then you may have a few more minutes or even hours of use from the reed.

To make a reed softer use reed rush,fine sand paper or a very sharp blade to gradually remove material from the topof the reed. Gently sand or scrape the sides (of the top) towards the tip,don’t sand or scrape the middle or heart of the reed, which should always be bullet shaped as in the pictures above when you hold it to the light. Do not remove any material from the tip or near the tip.

Comparative reed strength

This chart compares the strength of various different makes of reed.

article from http://tamingthesaxophone.com/saxophone-reeds.html