How to Stop Obsessing Over New Saxophone Gear
I recently saw a video with the great saxman Bob Reynolds, who’s best known for playing in John Mayer’s band, but also quite an established solo artist in his own right. At any rate, in a video (for his mailing list and online students only) he talks about how the best mouthpiece you’ll ever find is the mouthpiece you already have.
No Getting Away from You
I found this really interesting, as it really rang true in my own experience. A few months back, I set up a “Reed Reviews” section on the site, and to kick it off I decided to review seven models of reeds and record myself playing on each to allow folks to hear the difference between the various reeds. While the difference between the reeds was not unnoticeable, it was also not extreme. I found that I pretty much sound like me regardless of which reed I’m playing on.
Regardless of your horn, mouthpiece, or reed, the truth is, to the outside listener, you sound pretty much like...you. It's not that gear doesn't affect your sound at all, but your biggest and richest sound will only come by developing the skills within both your body and mind to sound great on any setup.
So if you're willing to move beyond having your day ruined by a lousy reed, then sax legend David Liebman's course, Ultimate Guide to Saxophone Sound Production is where you're going to want to go next.
Broken down into bite-sized lessons, this streaming video program covers just about every single aspect of saxophone sound production. It represents his entire life's work teaching the techniques and concepts that were handed down to masters such as Michael Brecker, Bob Berg, and Harvey Pittel (among many others), and then refined over the course of decades teaching countless lessons and masterclasses worldwide. Click below to see for yourself why so many professional saxophonists consider David's thorough, methodical, and practical approach the "real deal" for players at any level.
SAXOPHONETONE.COM
The Ultimate Guide to Saxophone Sound Production
Sure, some reads sound brighter, or fuzzier, or fatter than others, but it’s my opinion that nobody’s going to hear me play on one reed and then no longer recognize my sound once I change to another reed. And the same goes for saxophones and even mouthpieces.
Now, when switching between mouthpieces made of different material there can be some pretty pronounced differences. For example, if you normally play a hard rubber mouthpiece and then switch to a metal mouthpiece, the difference in tonal color can be pretty pronounced. But I would venture to guess that you’ll still sound more or less like YOU.
To see this principle in action, check out the video below which features Charlie Parker playing on a plastic alto sax. I’ll admit, his sound isn’t as rich as it is on his regular alto, but he still sounds unmistakably like the Bird we all know and adore.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR2TBLTAn5U
The Real Reason We Shop for New Stuff
So if we sound pretty much like ourselves no matter what we play on, then why the weeks, months, and years upon years of searching for new reeds, ligatures, mouthpieces, and saxophones?
Of course, it’s the way that the new product feels that makes it either a winner or a loser for us.
No matter whether or not the audience is going to notice the difference between you on a Meyer and you on a Theo Wanne, one of those mouthpieces is going to make you feel like you’re playing better than when you play the other. At the end of the day, the best choice for you is going to be the piece of equipment that makes it the most easy and natural for you to sound your best.
Truth is, you could make yourself sound great on any mouthpiece, but when it comes to those mouthpieces that are not ideally suited for you, you are going to have to do things like contort your embouchure and oral cavity to attain the best sound that you are capable of. What we’re looking for is something that we just blow into and voila – effortless awesomeness!
The right equipment will make you feel like Cannonball poppin’ over the changes or Eugene Rousseau floating atop an orchestra, or really, anything you’re trying to sound like.
So by all means, take the time to find the right equipment and find what makes it as effortless as possible to play your best. Then forget about the gear shopping and focus on your own musicianship.
Wanna Save Some Cash?
There is certainly a time and place for gear shopping – especially when you find your playing stuck in a bit of a rut despite your hard work in the practice room. However, before you go out and start blowing through your (or your parents’) hard-earned cash, I suggest you try the following:
1. Remember that there’s a lot more that goes into achieving the sound you’re looking for than your actual tone quality.
For example, if you’re trying to sound like Joe Henderson, are you using Joe Henderson’s style of articulation and phrasing? If not, you may actually matching his tone quality, but still sounding nothing like him since the way you play everything is completely different. Well, same goes if you’re trying to sound like the your ideal self on the horn.
As suggested by Best. Saxophone. Website. Ever. interviewees Jon Irabagon as well as Dr. David Demsey (interview not yet published at the time of writing), find a recording of a phrase as played by your favorite player, and practice playing it back over and over using the same articulation, dynamics, and time feel. Record yourself playing that phrase, and compare it to the recording of your saxophone hero. You’ll be surprised at how you can actually sound when you really put your full intention behind sounding like a completely different player.
2. Check for physical tension.
Great musicianship, or really, greatness in any field requires that we work effortlessly to achieve our ideal. So while you play, scan your body for tension or unnatural contortion in your neck, back, shoulders, arms, hands, and really anywhere else. Once your body starts feeling fairly relaxed and in its natural state, you should start sounding and feeling noticeably better.
But if after taking a few weeks to really focus on making playing as natural and intuitive as possible you’re still not sounding the way you’d like to, or even sounding worse, it might be that the equipment that you’re using is forcing you to twist yourself into all kinds of weird shapes in order to sound good. And if the only way for you to sound good is to go all stiff and uncomfortable, then perhaps you need to switch to some gear that will make you sound better once you free yourself up and do away with the unnatural approach.
3. Make sure that your horn isn’t in need of repair.
Leaky pads and maladjusted keys could easily put a damper on your ability to get around the horn. In fact, improperly adjusted key height could affect your pitch or even make your horn sound stuffy.
Conclusion
Shopping for better reeds, ligatures, mouthpieces, and saxophones can be a ton of fun, and can even take your playing to a noticeably higher level. Indeed, the right gear can point you in the direction of intuitive and effortless musicianship. But my advice is not to jump into a shopping spree thinking that there’s a piece of gear out there that’s going to be a magic pill, taking you from amateur to pro, or pro to living legend.
We all know which way to Carnegie Hall – and it’s not a new mouthpiece.
So how about you guys – do you obsess over gear or are you pretty OK with what you already have?
Photo by AMagill
October 26, 2011 @ 6:51 am
I find that when I try new equipment, the differences in tone quality are most audible immediately, and fade with time. As I get adjusted to the new gear, my personal sound comes through, and I sound like my old self again.
That’s why I agree 100% that you should base your purchases on feel much more than sound: if I find something in the music store that I think is giving me a sound that I want, the effect will probably start to wear off as soon as I swipe the credit card.
On the other hand, if I’m making the effort to actually change my playing technique to achieve a new sound that I want, then it’s certainly possible that there’s a different mouthpiece, reed, or something out there that will more readily support that new technique.
October 26, 2011 @ 9:06 am
Wow, never really thought about how those differences fade in time, but it seems to make sense as I’ve been trying out some different brands of reed and it does seem that I still sound like myself, since that’s naturally what my ears gravitate towards.
Thanks Bret!
October 26, 2011 @ 10:06 am
They benchmark of any good equipment is that it allows you to sound like yourself with the least amount of effort. As you stated, you’ll sound like yourself no matter what. That is determined by conception ( a changeable variable), your physical structures, such as your oral cavity, tongue size, dental arches, etc. (fixed variables), and your physical gestures, including habits of tension forming the embouchure, maintaining balance, controlling breath, etc. (changeable variables).
Certainly as conception and physical gesture change, it is possible that there is a different piece of equipment that best supports that change (I completely agree with Bret). That’s where open-minded exploration (as opposed to obsession) is most helpful.
Whenever a piece of equipment (particularly the mouthpiece/reed) is difficult for an individual to play, it’s because that individual either can’t really find the sound that fits his or her conception, or feels (as you stated) compelled to create distorted physical effort in order to create the sound closest to that conception. (Often this habitual distortion is nothing more than misdirected energy that doesn’t at all help to get the sound.)
This is a very good, highly relevant article. Thanks!
October 26, 2011 @ 8:33 pm
Wow, you’ve listed some physical variables that I wasn’t aware of before. Now I’m inspired to shop for some new gear keeping in mind what’s been discussed here. I’ll try not to become too obsessed though…
October 28, 2011 @ 8:33 am
Fantastic column, Doron!
You hit the nail on the head.
all my best,
Rick
October 28, 2011 @ 10:14 am
Wow, thanks Rick, so glad you dug it. Hoping that all is good back east!
October 28, 2011 @ 2:36 pm
I was trying out a bunch of mouthpieces for tenor last year and one of them was a 1300.00 dave guardala .I liked it but sounded the same with my 40 year old dukoff and announced to the dealer that I could sound “just like me for less $$” he and his repairman laughed hard because they knew it was true…
October 28, 2011 @ 6:31 pm
Wow, $1300 for a friggin’ mouthpiece! You have to be truly gear obsessed with that one. I like how you said that you could sound “just like me” for less $$ – since in the end, that’s what you’re going to pretty much sound like. Thanks JD!
November 22, 2011 @ 12:09 pm
I hear you about GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). On the other hand who was the last great jazz anointment that wasn’t playing a SELMER? Many have ‘made it’ on SELMER and moved on to endorse other things. But who has ‘made it’ playing something other than a SELMER?
There is still a big bias toward gear.
November 22, 2011 @ 12:28 pm
I actually think that a lot of great players have come up on non-Selmer horns, although I do recognize that Selmer, especially the Mark VI is the chosen horn for most pros.
When you say that there is still a big bias toward gear, I’m assuming that you mean that saxophonists focus on it quite a bit. As for me, I’m not one of those “gear heads” who wants to stay up all night talking about vintage horns and mouthpieces. My passion actually lies in the music-making. But there’s nothing wrong with having a passion for horns, mouthpieces, and reeds, just as long as we don’t tell ourselves that we’ll only be able to sound great after we get the next shiny piece of saxophone equipment.
Thanks for chiming in!
November 26, 2011 @ 8:34 pm
Well said, Doron. To add my two cents..
With so much equipment you really, really need to live with it for a while before you can really know how beneficial it is. So many things will feel great in the store or in the first few moments (think of those first few thousand notes as a first date of sorts), but the real question is how will it behave over time, in all sorts of different musical situations, varying volumes, different rooms, with all kinds of reeds… There’s so much to navigate. So often, I think we’re wooed by anything new – it’s very easy to be guided by that giddy, excited feeling. When possible, make sure there’s a trial period on anything that you buy. It’s worth spending the extra money on, and always seek a second opinion from friends who can listen from the other side.
All that said, sometimes spending some money on equipment in the name of exploring a new sound is money well spent, even if you end up putting it aside and never playing it again. There are a lot of committed people out there making some great products and it’s good to keep an open mind and help support them, and as long as you come away having learned something, it’s hard to go too wrong.
November 27, 2011 @ 2:44 pm
Those are some great insights, especially about the trial period. I actually bought a silver Mark VI alto in high school only to trade it in a few weeks later for a much better (for me, at least) instrument. What a drag it would have been to be stuck with an expensive horn that only later came to be turned out to be substandard. So yes, definitely don’t put too much stock in first impressions when it comes to buying new gear.
November 29, 2011 @ 6:49 am
Ha! I think the first time I saw you play you had that silver alto!
November 29, 2011 @ 10:02 am
Yeah, it pretty much sucked, so glad I unloaded that thing – lucky that Oleg let me do it since I bought it from him and traded in for another one of his horns.
March 9, 2012 @ 8:26 am
I am so guilty of this. Looking for the quick fix,well,there isn’t one.
I agree we should find equipment that we like,makes us feel good and is comfortable but then we have to do the work.
Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.
March 9, 2012 @ 8:30 am
I love this quote: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” Never heard that before, but it’s so true. Thanks for sharing that!
April 5, 2012 @ 8:08 pm
Hi gentlemen, this is my first comment to ever post. I also agree that when I get a new mouthpiece I think yes I’m getting closer to the sound I’m looking for but as already said in prior post I start sounding like my old self (it’s a little disappointing) I have a custom 82Z and a seller mark vi, and dukoff / ponzol / Phil barons mouthpieces, and a oleg neckpiece so I guess I have no excuse I just need to practice a lot more. Don’t get me wrong they sound great sometimes but other times I feel like I’m struggling
April 5, 2012 @ 10:30 pm
Hey Joel! Well, it looks like you’ve got a nice sampling of gear there. It may just be a matter of getting really clear “audio picture” in your mind and in your ears as far the sound you like. Do you want to sound dark, bright, piping, blasting, smooth, etc etc etc? Obviously, the possibilities are endless.
Once you have a clear sound in your head, you could spend a day (but I’d say not more than a day) at a music store with a large selection of mouthpieces and see if you can improve upon what you have, but beyond that, I’d suggest getting the desired sound in your ears, and then practice your overtones to develop the muscles necessary to change the color of your sound.
I hope that helps!
Doron
April 6, 2012 @ 10:15 pm
Hi Doron, thanks for the tips. I really like the sound of the 50s and 60 but i also like the sound of DAVID SANBORN / CANDY DULFER / MINDI ABAIR and so on, it depends on what kind of music I am playing. I also believe that listening to them on cd or youtube they are playing through a mic system in wich that they have effects ( reverb / delay and so on ) “I AM NOT TAKING ANYTHING AWAY FROM HOW GREAT THEY ARE ” I’m just saying sometimes we want to sound just like them but we probably never will. I’m trying to say that saxophones sound different not having effects. Do you think I’m wrong on this or am I just missing something? Thanks, Joel
April 7, 2012 @ 9:45 am
Hello Joel, I don’t think you’re wrong. Of course, they are going to be playing through effects that can’t be replicated on a saxophone alone. If you’re playing acoustically, there’s nothing you can really do about that. Although the recording equipment makes a difference, I would personally do my best to internalize their sound in my ears, and then use that to create *my own* sound. The saxophone is all about individuality of sound, and it can be really frustrating to try and sound *exactly* like someone else when we may not have the equipment or physical make up to match that sound to perfection. That’s my personal opinion, I hope it helps!
July 25, 2012 @ 8:07 pm
Sad, but true: The quality of Selmer saxophones has deteriorated considerably in the last 10 years. Poor pad work, cheap springs, gimmicks and at the same time grossly overpriced. While I haven’t tried them all, for my money, the best sax made today is a Yanigasawa. I have the 991 and adore it. I’m sure Henri Selmer is rolling in his grave. The company he founded once made the Rolls Royce of saxophones. Now it’s the proverbial “bottom line” and maximum profit that determines the quality with apparently no concern about maintaining standards and reputation.
July 25, 2012 @ 10:50 pm
I’ve heard great things about the Yanagisawa horns. Mel Martin (great player up in the San Francisco area) swears by his. Thanks for chiming in!
March 22, 2021 @ 4:30 pm
I have been guilty myself thinking new gear would make me play better or sound like someone I like to sound like. Truth is, no matter what you spend on new gear you must work hard in developing a good tone, technique, etc. I`m owned several saxes including Mark VIs. One thing I invested money on is a descent home recording gear so I can record my self and It`s doing wonders for me, my sound has never change, no matter what mouthpiece I use and by hearing my self on the tracks it makes me work harder to improve in every aspect of my sound and playability.