Hard rubber just has better control and can let you get more response out of your horn. Also, as in my case, i hate metal on all horns. I don't descriminate. They in general feel uncomfortable and kill some of the sound and capabilites i get from my trusty Otto-Link hard rubber size 5 tenor mpc. (It's a small opening i know but i love how it works) Good luck though and remember to talk to people you trust, try many different ligs on the hard rubber horns and try many many muchisimo different mpcs. Even many of the same exact make and model. Good Luck!

Two words, Kenny G. That is why people don't like metal mouthpieces on alto's. He pretty much ruined that one. Seriosly though, it really is bad. The alto requires a tight embochure to stay in tune and have that sweet alto sound we have all come to know and love. A metal mouthpiece requres a round loose embouchure to sound like a saxophone (and not a dying trumpet). When you mix the two it really dosn't sound good (once again I refer you to Kenny G). It is really hard to control, and even when you do get used to it, it is still really unpredictable. It is really not fun to sqeak in the middle of a solo, trust me, I've done it (luckily it was only practice.) I have a metal for my tenor and I love it. I am all over that thing, It sounds like that cool sax sound I hear in my head. However I expiremnted with the metal for alto in marching band one time and hated it. It was squeky and unresponsive. And it was really tough to play quiet without jumping an octive. It sounded like I was a begginer all over again. And by that time I was used to the metal too. All in all it's just bad.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each material. Rubber pieces are a little bigger and to me more comfortable on alto. On tenor metal pieces are a little smaller and more comfortable. Material matters less than the design of the mouthpiece. An open tipped, high baffle, short facing rubber piece with a small chamber is going to be brighter and harder to control than a moderate tipped, rollover baffle, long facing metal piece with a large chamber. The material is probably the least important aspect of mouthpiece sound. Compare apples with apples get a metal and a hard rubber piece by the same maker and compare them side by side. Try each with and without a mouthpiece patch. You still have the problem of variation from moutpiece to mouthpiece but at least you are comparing the materials not the makes. I don't mean to start fights but the comment about metal needing a looser embouchure simply makes no sense nor is metal more prone to sqeaking.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two words, Kenny G. That is why people don't like metal mouthpieces on alto's. He pretty much ruined that one. Seriosly though, it really is bad. The alto requires a tight embochure to stay in tune and have that sweet alto sound we have all come to know and love. A metal mouthpiece requres a round loose embouchure to sound like a saxophone (and not a dying trumpet). When you mix the two it really dosn't sound good (once again I refer you to Kenny G) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- er, no. Metal does not automagically transform your sound into Kenny G. Marcel Mule favored playing a metal Selmer piece on alto. I don't think they sound remotely alike.