Reddit reviews Vandoren SM812M A6 Medium Chamber V16 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece

I am a senior music ed. major and have owned and played a lot of different horns. Five thousand dollars is plenty of money to get a horn that will last you as long as you want to continue playing, if you take care of it.

First, PLEASE don't march with a professional quality sax. They can get damaged so easily in a marching band setting, and the benefits of you playing on a nice horn will not make any impact whatsoever on the ensemble sound of a marching band. It absolutely is not worth it.

Second, you cannot underestimate the importance of a quality mouthpiece. Playing an average horn with a good quality mouthpiece often sounds better than playing a high quality horn on a bad mouthpiece. Your budget is more than large enough to include a great mouthpiece. Also, I know it seems cool to get a metal mouthpiece, but I would advise you against it. While it is common to play a metal piece on tenor, I'd say ninety percent of Alto players play hard rubber pieces. Just look at the greats: Charlie Parker, Phil woods, Cannonball Adderley, Paul Desmond, they all play hard rubber and sound incredible. A metal piece cost more, are almost always very bright sounding on Alto, and will be more difficult to control starting out. I would highly recommend a Meyer hard rubber style mouthpiece, with two great options being a Vandoren V16 A6 medium chamber mouthpiece,

https://www.amazon.com/Vandoren-SM812M-Chamber-Saxophone-Mouthpiece/dp/B000UJFZOM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541718296&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=vandoren%2Bv16%2Balto%2Bmouthpiece&dpPl=1&dpID=31bDmRqJdFL&ref=plSrch&th=1&psc=1

And the Jody Jazz hard rubber 6M

https://www.wwbw.com/JodyJazz-HR-Hard-Rubber-Alto-Saxophone-Mouthpiece-471630.wwbw?source=TWWR5J1BB&cntry=us&currency=usd&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2o_fBRC8ARIsAIOyQ-mZadWBOQ4P7BRLQuk72AN6fyqDckpFCzKU_NfxXXrvOfxYyDXBwDIaAo2_EALw_wcB

These pieces are very similar, and will both be free blowing, play well in tune, and be very versatile, capable of producing a wide variety of sounds.

Now, on to your actual question. There are many options when it comes to professional saxophones, and it is important to find what works well for YOU.

In my own personal experience, the best Alto for the money is a Yamaha Custom Z (model number YAS-82Z II). They are versatile, excellent intonation, very easy to play, consistent from horn to horn horns, sound fantastic and will last a lifetime. Phil woods played one of these in his later years, and I have played one all through college. These horns are on the the brighter end of the spectrum and are geared towards jazz musicians, but I have had no issue getting a great classical sound out of it.

Selmer Paris makes some very good horns, however I don't think they are as consistent as Yamaha. Some definitely play better than others. The two best horns Selmer currently makes are the Series II, which I find to have a very dark sound and is excellent for classical playing, and the Reference 54, which is based on the legendary Mark VI and is great for classical or jazz. Both of these horns are going to be out of your budget to buy them brand new, however there is nothing wrong with buying a used horn so long as you check it out and play it extensively before purchasing. Definitely never purchase a used horn on eBay or anything like that where you haven't checked it out thoroughly in person. In fact, I don't think it is wise at all to purchase any horn you haven't play tested extensively beforehand, because this is a very large sum of money you are spending, and as I said some horns of the same exact model play better or worse than others due to inconsistency in the manufacturing process.

Eastman makes one horn that I really like, and it is their 52 street model. I have played the Alto and tenor, and actually purchased the tenor I tried at a convention. They are less expensive than a Yamaha and definitely less expensive than a Selmer, and sound and feel more like a vintage horn such as a mark vi my opinion. I love my tenor, and these are also a good option.

Yanigasawa makes extremely high quality horns also, but I personally never played one I really liked.

I really hope I was able to offer some help or give some information you can use.

What I have right now is a Selmer S80 "C star" mouth piece. I'd rather spend the least amount possible. I'd be okay with buying some reeds for her. A mouth piece is what I'm reluctant about. I'm assuming you mean the v16 mouthpiece and not the v16 reeds that I saw when I googled "vandoren v16 ". It's just a lot of money for a mouth piece that may end up not being used. Would the C star be okay too?