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Forum » Sax Equipment » Re-facing a mouthpiece...should i?


by Saxdragon
(22 posts)
19 years ago

Re-facing a mouthpiece...should i?

I've been playing a Dukoff metal #6 for about 20 years now. I liked it when i first got it, but over the last few years, it seems to me it's causing my problems...like making low notes difficult, and altissimo as well. Should I send it to somebody to recondition it? What do they do to it? How much would it cost? Can somebody recommend a good technician to do this? Thanks

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  2. by saxmannwmsu
    (48 posts)
    19 years ago

    Re: Re-facing a mouthpiece...should i?

    After a while, all mouthpieces wear out. It's just the natural process. Refacing is simply the process of adding or taking material away at specific points ong the mouthpiece. There's lots of places that will reface your piece. You can Google "mouthpiece refacing" and find a few places. The one I'd reccommend is www.mouthpieceheaven.com. Theo Wanne seems to do quite a bit of good work. His prices are only slithly higher than others I've seen. For a basic reface on a metal piece, you're looking at around $125 I think. It's not bad considering you'd probably be paying that much for another mouthpiece anyway.

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    1. by Saxon
      (100 posts)
      19 years ago

      Re: Re-facing a mouthpiece...should i?

      I have a similar problem, well actually not very similar! I being a novice bought a new Selmer B 1 to replace my Yamaha 5 C. The Yammy is better! I think the b 1 has too small a tip opening, I should have got a C2 but now I'm stuck in China with a dud pce. Should I attempt to file the tip?

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      1. by chiamac
        (586 posts)
        19 years ago

        Re: Re-facing a mouthpiece...should i?

        yes and no... you "can" do that with a file, BUT you have to know what you're doing and what kind of a tip you want. not to mention you would need to finish the surface a little more. File=rough surface, it would need to be sanded to at least 400 or something. Which isn't a big deal, but you would need a flat surface to work with... like a milled stone or metal surface that you KNOW is flat, not a table or something. IMO

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        1. by selmer 4evr
          (309 posts)
          19 years ago

          Re: Re-facing a mouthpiece...should i?

          Do not touch the piece not only is the tip opening important but also the shape of the curve and the two rails one on either side must be precisely the same height and shape or the piece will chirp. The B1 is for shure too closed easier to sell it than try and modify it and end up ruining it

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        2. by chiamac
          (586 posts)
          19 years ago

          Re: Re-facing a mouthpiece...should i?

          its' not as hard to get both rails the same... just have to take things slow and pay attention. but yeah, the curve is key, which is a little harder to do... (if you have no idea what you're doing)

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        3. by selmer 4evr
          (309 posts)
          19 years ago

          Re: Re-facing a mouthpiece...should i?

          remember if you shave it down you will have to re-adjust the baffle because you will be too close to it ,,,to go from a B1 to a C* or C** is a long way

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        4. by saxmannwmsu
          (48 posts)
          19 years ago

          Re: Re-facing a mouthpiece...should i?

          I wouldn't touch that piece if I were you. Unless you've done this kind of thing before, you're in for trouble. It's ALOT of detail work. The thing that's even worse about most alto/tenor/bari mouthpieces is that they use a roll-over baffle which is next to impossible to get right unless you really know what you're doing. Suck it up, buy a new one, and keep the B1 for your collection. Who knows. Someone down the road might be looking for one and may want to pay you top dollar for it. It's happened to me before (my girlfriend's brother bought an old C* that I never used for about $70).

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