I have made a photograph of my jSAX. As you can see it looks a bit different.
I looked at Oskar Forsbergs web site and I found some recommendations. Maybe I should go one step back. I ordered the 'straight' kit together with my jSAX. I somehow like the straight view of this instrument. The straight neck is nice as an adult, as the instrument does not have this small apearance. Your hands are further away from your mounth and it simply gives a better feel.
I accually did also change the mouth piece as I was and am curious about the differences. Furthermore, I believe that being able to use a standard mouth piece helps in accepting this instrument as being an adult instrument.
Mouth pieces:
First of all, not all mouth pieces fit. So it is good to understand what works and what doesn't.
To be clear: we are talking about soprano saxophone mouth pieces.
What does work:
1. Vandoren V16. Opening of 13.7mm . It fits well to the jSAX neck.
2. Standard jSAX mouth piece. Opening of 14.0mm.
What does not work:
1. Selmer S80. Opening of 13.5mm. It is too narrow. It is not possible to have it that far on the neck that it tunes well. This 0.2mm does unfortunately make a difference.
What maybe works:
1. Yamaha 4C. Oskar was referring to it in his blog. I am not sure if he or someone accually tested it. I bought a Yamaha 6C to try out as they are not very expensive. The mouth piece sort of fits. Fitting is tight, so I assume the diameter is about 13.6mm, I guess. I will play a bot more and see what I like. First impression is that it easy to play, so that's fine.
Is there any one around who tested other mouth pieces? Please share it by emailing me : paul (at) prinz.nl . Thanks in advance.
The mouth piece I am currently using is this Vandoren V16 mouth piece. It is the one with the S7 tip opening. I could by it second hand for a reasonable price, so that's why I did it.
The V16 comes with tip opening from S6 to S8, so the S7 is somehow in the middle. It seems to somehow be a bit more jazzy, but I consider it pretty clasical. For me at the moment, it is fine and I am really enjoying this mouth piece.
Reeds:
What fits me, this mouth piece and the jSAX?
Where to start, where to end?
The Selmer S80 has an C* mark with a tip opening of 1.17mm
The Vandoren V16 with the S7 mark has a tip opening of 1.72mm
JodyJazz: thank you for providing this mouth piece facing chart; it helped me in understanding my mouth pieces and reeds. Summary and discussion follows below.
Looking back to playing in the big band:
I used a Industry Standard Selmer C* as mouthpiece and played on a 3 1/2 Vandoren Reed. This worked for the music we played with our big band.
On my jSAX, I wanted to do the same as a starting point, it didn'work. The Selmer S80 does really fit on the jSAX.
I bought the Vandoren V16 with an S7 tip. Looking on the Jody Jazz sheet above, the S7 is quite far to the right. I have tried to play with Vandoren 3 reeds, but it needs a lot of pressure. A lot of air gets through, it is not really a good combination. It plays well with the simple 1 1/2 reed from jSAX. This is a sign.
I just got a synthetic reed from Forestone, the Black Bamboo. I chose the S or Soft one. This blends well with this mouth piece. It articulates well, I have dynamic, some noise that I like and I can play around. This seems to be a good combination for me and the jSAX.
I will see if I can get another mouth piece that fits to the jSAX and has a smaller tip opening. I will see if I can play this mouth piece with a 3 or 3 1/2 reed as I would expect.
I wil add text as it comes around.....