I agree with all the above, hard rubber to be sure. Hi to Cannon, and I got a Jody Jazz HR* for my tenor. If the alto piece is anything like this one, it's rippin' good stuff.

Plus most metal pieces require quite a bit of 'chops' to handle anyway.

I've seen a few players use metal and just burn the house down. In fact (sometime) I want to get a metal piece for my alto... BUT a person should have a few good hard/rubber pieces first.

i have a selmer E soloist for jazz and i like it.. its in your face and creates a jazzy tone.. but its still subdued and not outta control. i dont like otto links.. i find them to be stuffy.. and ive played it on a well broken in and thin to begin with 3 reed.. they sound very airy and stuffy to me.. meyers are good pieces and project well.. i dont know why you would wanna switch up.. if ur not gettn the projection u are lookn for, play around with ligature and reed combos.. when i played a 6m in the store that thing wailed.. ive heard lakeys play out a lot.. i tried a 7*3 and hated it.. it was way too wide open..

how can a good link sound stuffy?

Out of about 25 alto pieces that I own, these are my favorites. Otto Link Tone Edge, Hard Rubber 6* Conn Steelay vintage 1950's Rico Royal Graftonite B5 Brilhart Tonalin vintage early 1960's Otto Link Super Tone Master 6* (newer model) The Tone Edge has a really nice full sound; bright but not too bright; similar to the Steelay piece. The Brilhart Tonalin is a smoother more mellow sound; great for ballads and big band use. It's also good for blues and a nice Charlie Parker sound on my 6M. The Rico Royal graftonite has a throaty, punchy sound that's great for rock and blues also. I especially like these Rico's for tenor. When I really want the sax to just scream, I use the Super Tone Master metal. That's not a piece I use very often though. My fiancee has an alto voice, and listening to her scream at me is enough! .

Ah Jim, so it's no longer 'girlfriend' huh? Congrats! So that's your only metal piece? So I guess metal isn't omnipotent! I too like the Graftonite...don't know if it'd be my first choice, but out of the two that I've played on can't say I didn't like them!

Jim, I might be looking into getting a piece for alto with a more mellow, bluesy tone, and the vintage Brilharts came up. Which model/period do you have, and which one (Great Neck, Personaline, Streamline, etc.) do you think would best produce that kind of sound on a Super 20? What ligature do you use with the Brilhart? Tip opening? Thanks a lot.