Comparing Cheap Baritone Saxophone Mouthpieces

Looking for an inexpensive Baritone Saxophone mouthpiece? I’ve tested out 6 of them ranging in price from $19 to $199. Watch the video to hear what they sound like and my thoughts on each.

Yamaha 5C

This is a classic bari sax mouthpiece that can be found in school music programs all over. If you ever played the bari sax in school, you probably played on a Yamaha 5C mouthpiece. I like its versatility and how easy it is to play over the entire range of the instrument. The price is also very attractive selling for $42 on Amazon at the time of this post. The Yamaha 5C is a great baritone saxophone mouthpiece for the price. If you want to spend under $50 you can’t really go wrong with this one.

It’s not the most powerful mouthpiece though so if you want something that can play very loud, the Yamaha 5C may not be the best choice.

Rico Graftonite B7

The Rico Graftonite B7 baritone sax mouthpiece is the cheapest one in this comparison selling for just $19 at the time of this post. That is super cheap for a bari sax mouthpiece. At that price you can expect some tradeoffs though. I find the sound to lack focus and can only describe it as fuzzy. While playing this mouthpiece, I get the impression that I have to work extra hard for every note I play.

The Graftonite is a plastic mouthpiece made by the D’addario company. While it does work and you can get a decent sound from it, I would only get this mouthpiece if my budget was extremely limited and I couldn’t afford something better. I will say that while the sound is not the best, the Graftonite B7 does have some power to it if you give it plenty of air.

Rico Metalite M7

The Rico Metalite M7 is another plastic baritone sax mouthpiece made by D’addario. Like its sibling the Graftonite, I find the sound to lack focus and to be generally fuzzy. I did not enjoy playing this mouthpiece and once again felt as though each note was a lot more work than it should be. The Metalite M7 sells for around $28 on Amazon and while it’s still a great bargain at that price, once again, I would only recommend this mouthpiece for those on an extremely tight budget.

The Metalite has a steep step baffle which should give the sound an extra punch which could be helpful in certain musical situations. After testing, I preferred the Graftonite B7to the Metalite M7, but not by much.

Yanagisawa Stock Mouthpiece (Refaced)

I added this old stock Yanagisawa baritone sax mouthpiece to the mix since it plays surprisingly well. This is the standard mouthpiece that comes with Yanagisawa horns, and since I’m playing my B901 for this comparison I thought it would be interesting. You’ll hear in the video the immediate jump in sound quality once we get around to testing the Yanagisawa. I

I did have it opened up to a 6 from its original 4 tip opening. Now it is more free blowing and can take more air. These mouthpieces can often be picked up used for a reasonable price so they are worth looking out for if you need a bari sax mouthpiece and are on a limited budget.

Otto Link Tone Edge 8

With the Otto Link Tone Edge 8 bari sax mouthpiece we jump up in price quite a bit to $150. You’ll hear why in the video though. There’s also a big, noticeable jump in sound quality. I like the tone I can get with this hard rubber mouthpiece. It feels like I could play this in a variety of settings like concert band, big band and a saxophone quartet.

I know that Otto Links are generally thought of as a “jazz” mouthpiece, but this is definitely on the mellower side of the spectrum delivering a clear, powerful sound but with plenty of control. I can easily play this piece softly, loudly and everything in between. Really a great all around mouthpiece that can do it all at a reasonable price.

Meyer 9

The last bari sax mouthpiece in our comparison is a Meyer 9. I would have wanted to test a smaller tip opening but the 9 was all that was available for this video. Despite that, the Meyer 9 was still very easy to play, and while on the recording I prefer the sound of the Otto Link Tone Edge 8, the Meyer 9 was the most fun to play of all 6 and my favorite.

The price is also the highest. The Meyer 9 for baritone saxophone sells for $199 on Amazon.

I’d like to thank IK Gottfried in Copenhagen for lending me some of these bari sax mouthpieces for this video. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below and keep an eye out for future sax mouthpiece comparisons.

Interested in more baritone saxophone mouthpiece reviews? Check out my “Jody Jazz Baritone Sax Mouthpieces Review.”

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