Saxophone Forum


by Jonolockjaw
(17 posts)
9 years ago

Tenor Sax Reed on Alto Sax M.P.

Hi Everybody

For a long time now I've been trying to get that certain tone  on my alto Sax. I am more than  happy with my playing, but sometimes it lacks that je ne sais quoi. The brighter tone that I would like, never seems to come easy if at all. Now  my Tenor Sax is so  easy to  get for me. which got me thinking what if

 ........I put a tenor reed on my Alto M.P.  So, I  found a tenor Reed and, to be honest to all the Plasticoat Haters yea you guessed!!! that is what I chose. One lick of the reed { habit ) I secured it to a Vandoren V16 A8 with a nice Vandoren Brass Lig to secure it. at the time I was blowing along with Candy Dulfer's Video ... Still I love You. I've almost got it off. with my new setup in place I started the video again..... Well I could not  believe what I was hearing, my tone was so close to hers, not too bright not too soft. Ive not experimented yet, but my bottom notes were so easy to blow, in fact from bottom bflat up 2 octaves, It was fantastic.  Im going to keep on this setup for a while yet. Has anyone else tried this

 

I must note the reed fitted beautifuly a bit long but heh works for me

 

Let me know your views

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  1. by GFC
    (842 posts)

    9 years ago

    Re: Tenor Sax Reed on Alto Sax M.P.

    That's the way to go when you want off-the-scale hardness.  Lester Young used baritone reeds when he was with Count Basie.  That was in the days before more open tips became common.

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  2. by JonHuff
    (117 posts)

    9 years ago

    Re: Tenor Sax Reed on Alto Sax M.P.

    iirc Jeff Coffin uses a tenor reed on alto sax too, there are prob others too. Good bit of exploration!

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  3. by Zaxman
    (31 posts)

    9 years ago

    Re: Tenor Sax Reed on Alto Sax M.P.

    I have not tried this yet.  But from talking to many people who do it they have said that it gives them a response that they prefer over an alto reed.  I am not sure exactly what they mean by that but I have seen enough really good players doing it to know that it is more then just a novelty.  I recently was at a Jamey Abersold clinic and he was using a tenor reed on his alto.  This was not his usual but he said he loved the response and sound he was getting.

    Reply To Post Yahoo!