Best woodwind instrument mouthpieces according to redditors

I suggest the Vandoren BD5 Black Diamond Ebonite. I’m a clarinet major at my university and after trying out different mouthpieces that my professor had me use, I found it has the best quality. Below is a link for it on Amazon. I hope this helps!

Vandoren CM1005 BD5 Black Diamond Ebonite Bb Clarinet Mouthpiece https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WGD672E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_K.U4Cb7VJKFBJ

THIS Rico is surprisingly good and a great way to adjust to bari without breaking the bank. It's also a lot more open than the 5c

http://www.amazon.com/Rico-Metalite-Baritone-Sax-Mouthpiece/dp/B0039REJ8U/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

As far as embouchure, I use the same embouchure basics on every horn from soprano to bass. Each type of instrument has its quirks which really just require practice room time to figure out.

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.

I use this mouthpiece for my alto, and I like it a lot, it sounds a lot brighter than my old, generic mouthpiece.

The yas 23 and 4c are often bundled together so you may not need to pay for it separately. Also a padded neck strap is useful to prevent strain in long practice sessions. A pack like this one is great and has all he will need to get started.



https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-Alto-Sax-Mouthpiece-4C/dp/B002Q0WTC4?th=1&psc=1#nav-search-keywords.



Also consider renting a sax if you are not sure if he will totally get into it. A lot of rental programs have a system where you can use your rent payments to pay for the sax. Music and Arts is a big retailer and generally​ rents yas 23s out so if you live near one that could be a good option.

Musicarts.com

Wait until you have some more money together. Also, I would recomend skipping the intermidiate horn all together and getting a nice pro horn, which you can do for $2-3K. With the money you have, I would make sure my setup is right where I want it. Get a nice mouthpiece and ligature. My own personal setup is a [Vandoren AL4] (https://www.amazon.com/Vandoren-SM712-Optimum-Saxophone-Mouthpiece/dp/B0002D0KRI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524487193&sr=8-1&keywords=vandoren+al4+alto+sax+mouthpiece&dpID=313nUwDr2YL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch) mouthpiece and a [Vandoren Series] (https://www.amazon.com/Vandoren-LC57DP-Ligature-Plastic-Saxophone/dp/B00534392Y/ref=sr_1_2?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1524487263&sr=1-2&keywords=vandoren+optimum+ligature+alto+sax) Ligature. Feel free to PM me with any questions!

I agree with seeing a doctor and getting lessons to make sure you're playing right. In the meantime, I would try some tooth patches for your mouthpiece to see if the vibrations are less intense for you. http://www.amazon.com/DAddario-Reserve-Mouthpiece-Patches-5-Pack/dp/B00FLXNKJE

You mean a mouthpiece cap? most music stores should have generic ones on stock. Depends on your ligature+mouthpiece though leather or Silverstein require large ones.

Silverstein also sells the Omni so that fits pretty much anything.

Or make it a good excuse to get a new ligature haha


Example

https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-Plastic-Clarinet-Mouthpiece-YAC1640P/dp/B001P3SN82

Clark Fobes Debut imo the best for the price

I also had a Jupiter mouthpiece that was starting to get pretty bad. I upgraded to the Clark W Fobes Debut, and it has a great tone with the 3 reeds I use. I've used it for close to a year now. It's $50, which is considerably less than the Vandoren. https://www.amazon.com/Clark-Fobes-Debut-Clarinet-Mouthpiece/dp/B000Y065OG/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

If you have had nothing but a cheap beater mouthpiece, save your money and make the first step to a Clark Fobes Debut: https://www.amazon.com/Clark-Fobes-Student-Clarinet-Mouthpiece/dp/B0002HLKKK

It is an fantastic mouthpiece for $30 with the same kind of dimensions as Fobes' professional models, comes in a middle-of-the-road facing that works well with many reeds, and is acrylic so if you drop it, it won't chip/break as easily as hard rubber.

I second the Clark Fobes Debut, although get it from Amazon as it's way cheaper:

https://www.amazon.com/Clark-Fobes-Student-Clarinet-Mouthpiece/dp/B0002HLKKK

Welcome back to clarinet! In terms of clarinets, I really think you should just see what you can get for your budget and seriousness of returning to clarinet. You definitely don't need to drop $5k on a new Buffet if you're just looking at getting your toes wet again, so look on used sites for some clarinets.

As for reeds, since you haven't played in a while, the muscles that form your embouchure aren't as strong as they used to be, so start out with maybe a 2.5 Vandoren blue box reed , or 3 Vandoren V12 reed. Since you played for 8 years previously, I think you won't take long to get those muscles back up to strength so you can use stronger reeds that you likely were using. In my experience the V12s play a little softer compared to the blue box reeds, so it might be a good stiffness for you. If you're just looking into getting back into playing, check out the Yamaha 4C mouthpiece (I find that many students actually play pretty well with it) and maybe a simple ligature.

I'm always hesitant to give gear advice, so that's just my two cents. If anyone else has anything to add or change, please do!

Again, welcome back to clarinet!

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?

https://www.amazon.com/Meyer-Richie-Cole-Saxophone-Mouthpiece/dp/B001NQQGI0

I'm on my second one, been playing this piece since 1990. Best mouthpiece ever.

Mouthpiece: https://www.amazon.com/Hite-H118-Premiere-Tenor-Mouthpiece/dp/B008M9WV76/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=saxophone+tenor+mouthpiece+h118&qid=1564774008&s=gateway&sr=8-3

Ligature: Something from Jupiter, I don't quite remember.

Unfortunately you're pretty much restricted to basic rubber mouthpieces that aren't very good at that price point.

Vandoren V5 (concert) start at the $240 mark, same with Selmer S80 and the like.

You're basically looking to a Yamaha 5C (which is probably what you have or is comparable to it).

Used opens up some doors, I'm not too sure how to compare but I use a Woodwind Co. for alto and like it (concert/classical stuff usually but I'll play Dixieland and cool jazz-style music on it) that I'm seeing on PM Woodwind for about your price range.

Good luck and enjoy!

Thanks for the reply! I am currently playing on a stock mouthpiece.

I found this Vandoren Masters CL5 13 Series mouthpiece for $35. What are your thoughts on this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00GOJO6JW

I'll check with my parents as to what my price range would be in the morning.

Either way I'll check out what you recommended. Thanks so much for the detailed reply!

It is new horn, I got it tested for leaks they replaces some of the seals or something like that.

the Mouthpeice is ..
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QICJYZG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I am playing on rico style V-3

Hey there! Our suggestion is to purchase a new mouthpiece. Here's why: D’Addario mouthpieces
are incredibly consistent from mouthpiece to mouthpiece, plus mouthpiece repairs are costly and you never know how the final product will turn out. D’Addario’s pricepoints are so reasonable it’s not worth the risk.

In case you're interested, the Select Jazz mouthpiece is available in a limited edition marble finish through the end of the year only!

https://www.amazon.com/DAddario-Woodwinds-Saxophone-Mouthpiece-MJS-D6M-MB/dp/B07DTMP5S2

Happy playing!