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QUESTIONS?
Please check the return policy from the dealer you purchase your mouthpiece from.
If you aren’t sure what tip opening you play, we recommend you order a 5 for alto, a 6* for tenor and a 6 for baritone. This will be the easiest to play and ideal for anyone stepping up to their first jazz mouthpiece. All available tip openings offer the same sound quality and consistency. Watch my video above if you want to learn more about tip openings.
This will depend on demand. Send us a message if you would like to request a larger tip opening.
The BURNIN’ mouthpiece makes for an excellent mouthpiece upgrade for anyone who has been playing the saxophone for a while and is looking to get a top quality mouthpiece that is perfectly suitable for advanced beginners up to professional players. We recommend most anyone stepping up to their first jazz mouthpiece select the 5 tip opening. Our best recommendation for a high quality yet low cost beginner mouthpiece is the BetterSax Classic.
Soprano
5* = .055
6* = .065
7* = .075
Alto
5 = .072
6 = .078
7 = .083
Tenor
6* = .095
7* = .105
8* = .115
Baritone
6 = .100
7 = .110
8 = .120
Soprano
Ligatures that fit standard Meyer, Vandoren, JodyJazz and equivalent hard rubber mouthpieces will fit the Burnin’.
Alto and Tenor
The BetterSax Burnin’ Ligature, ligatures that fit standard Meyer, Vandoren, JodyJazz and equivalent hard rubber mouthpieces will fit the Burnin’.
Baritone
The BetterSax Burnin’ Tenor Ligature, standard ligatures for HR tenor, , D’addario H ligature for HR tenor, Rovner & Rovner Versa X for HR tenor, Francois Louis for HR tenor, BG Duo for HR tenor, Silverstein for HR tenor, JodyJazz Power Ring HRT1, Boston Sax Shop Superlative ligature for HR tenor, Yanagisawa Sixs & Yany ligatures for HR tenor, Ishimori ligatures for HR tenor.
* the Vandoren M|O hard rubber tenor ligature is not a great fit for the Burnin’ baritone mouthpiece due to its fitted saddle.
Steve C. –
This piece has a huge tonal spectrum – you can get a dark rich tone on ballads but get the punch you need when it’s time to go.
George R. –
Just want to say that I am LOVIN’ the Bettersax Burnin’ Alto mouthpiece. Lovely sound & it’s just a really great mouthpiece to blow on. I would thoroughly recommend it.
Go on…you know you want to!
Will –
Unfortunately i got covid about the same time mouthpiece arrived so limited time/air to test it out. What i did notice was easier whisper tones on low notes and overtones came easier than my Meyer 5. I look forward to really playing it soon. I would recommend it.
CARLOS M. –
Another winner! This Burnin alto mouthpiece by Jay is outstanding! I’m getting that big projecting sound for an alto saxophone that ive been looking for! Thanks again Jay for both the Tenor and Alto Bettersax Mouthpiece. I have both now and will be using them for a long time.
A big thanks also goes out to Sweetwater for fast and easy service in supplying the mouthpieces.
Chuck W. –
I’ve been playing for over 50 years and played a lot of pieces . Meyer, Dukoff, Jody Jazz Dv and Jet. I always like the complex sound of the Meyers but I enjoy the brightness and power of the high baffle pieces. I currently own a JJ jet and a Drake Sanborn mouthpiece . Both feel limiting to me. The JJ Jet is a clean , powerful focused piece . Great mouthpiece for most conditions . Just missing that smokey/woody sound when I want it . The Drake piece is powerful ,bright but still a nice complex sound . But, it is difficult to blend in sections because of edge in the sound, even at low volumes .
This Burnin Alto piece is the bridge . For me it does it all . I can have a sweet smokey sound , a nice smooth blending sound for concert band , a Lead Alto sound for big band that cuts or a screaming high end for funk depending on how I blow it.
It may not be as powerful as the Drake Sanborn piece but it has plenty of power. Intonation over the whole range is the best of any mouthpiece I’ve played . I highly recommend the Burnin Alto piece if you are looking for one that can do it all. Jay and Jody have a winner.
Peter Y. –
Combines the best features of JodyJazz JET, ESM, D’Addario Select Jazz & Vandoren V16. To paraphrase JRR Tolkien: it’s one mouthpiece to rule them all.
Jason R. –
Its been a great pleasure to pick up my alto again with this mouthpiece. It sings… Thank you Jay
Sean W. –
I recently bought the BetterSax Burnin’ alto sax mouthpiece, and I’m very pleased with it. I play lead alto in a local big band, and I need a mouthpiece to compete with the brass section. I have several mouthpieces that are very good, but the sound seemed to get swallowed up when the lead trumpet decided to be the second coming of Maynard Ferguson. I wanted to find a mouthpiece that had a good sound but could give me the edge and volume I needed. This mouthpiece delivers just what I was looking for. I recently had a featured solo with the band, and after the gig a couple of people in the audience made it a point to compliment my sound. That has never happened to me before. The mouthpiece has a nice core sound, not too bright or dark, on softer and medium volumes, and it can cut through when needed. I found the intonation and response to be excellent. I have been a fan of Jay Metcalf’s YouTube videos, so I was very interested. When I found that these mouthpieces are made by JodyJazz I had to check it out. Great job, Jay and Jody! Also, the purchase process from Sweetwater could not have been easier. Shipping was crazy fast. Thanks much!
John –
This is a very nice mouthpiece! As a re-beginner I’m trying different things. I have the Selmer-C80-* and Meyer-5. The Better Sax Burnin-5 seems close to the Selmer to me, but it depends on the reed. I’m experimenting with comparing Hemke-3, Legere 3 and Legere 2.75. Right now I’m preferring the Burnin-5 with Legere-3 reed. It’s all great fun as a hobby!
Dimeji J. –
Very bright and clear! I recently bought both the alto and tenor,and they’ve been making my soloing very much easier than ever.
Gordon H. –
I normally play tenor sax and don’t consider myself to be an alto sax player. However, was asked to play a musical and had to play both horns plus clarinet. The show had a lot of exposed alto parts and I needed something easy to play and blended with the rest of the pit orchestra. When my Burnin’ piece came, I took it to the show that night, took it out of the box and played the show. It felt great from the first note. Did I mention I don’t play a lot of alto? I think I will be playing a lot more!
Bill C. –
ay I just wanted to reach out and say THANK YOU!! I recently received the Burnin’ Sax Bari mpc. I play a 1960 Conn 12m Using a Silverstein Lig and a Fibracell #3 reed..WOW!! I can get a tonal range from Gerry Mulligan to Ronnie Cuber!! This piece is so amazing, I ordered one for Alto and Tenor. I tested my Burnin’ Sax Mpc on my 1927 Conn Alto, and was almost brought to tears. I have been searching for years to find a piece that works perfectly with my alto. The search is over!! Can’t wait to test the tenor piece tonight on my 1937 Conn 10m.
Dimeji J. –
I have never been so amazed about any mouthpiece since I started playing 7 years ago. This mouthpiece is well crafted and devised to an extent that I dropped my metal mouthpiece because it is more perfect.
Scott D. –
If you only had this mouthpiece, you really wouldn’t be at a disadvantage, as this piece can handle it all. I mainly play tenor and baritone sax(have a Burnin’ for those two also), and when I take out the alto, which I do not use that much, I know I have a dependable mouthpiece. Looking forward to trying the soprano version of this!
Dan P. –
I have been using a Myer 5 alto mouth piece for years and there is nothing wrong with any Myer mouth piece….But this Better Sax Burnin’ 5 has a larger chamber than the Meyer 5 and the Burnin’ 5 is avertised as having a “darker” sound because of the larger chamber….It’s true…I really like this new mouthpiece
Tony R. –
The Burnin alto MP is amongst the best I ever played. I suspect due to my uniqueness as a human being, I never achieved a desirable sound on Meyer types. For me, I found them stuffy and nasally sounding which is not an issue for many other players. For this reason I went to high step baffles. No matter which one I played they were a bit shrill. The medium high roll over baffle into a larger chamber is what’s getting it done for me with this MP. You truly have a unique MP with the Burnin Alto and god knows the world doesn’t need more Meyer clones, so well done to you and Jody Jazz. Meyers work for most players but not all. So glad to have found this piece.
Earl L. –
This is my first real jazz-type mouthpiece; I have been playing standard types for the last three years. I choose this MP because I have studied lessons from Jay Metcalf and found him to be a great instructor as well as serious in his appreciation of the sax, so I trusted his MP design and I am not dissapointed. This MP plays well right out of the box (of course, expected at this price point). The finish is superb, clean, smooth, flawless. I don’t have other jazz MPs to compare, but I definately notice a likeable change to the sound as oppsoed to the standard MPs; it’s simply a beefier sax sound, meaning fuller, wider, and also linear imho. Thanks Jay, home run!
Geoffrey –
Playing a Yamaha YAS-62, was completely blown away by the ease of range provided by this mouthpiece. By no means, do I claim a professional status but appreciate getting the most from my equipment; this has raised the bar considerably. Have never explored ‘overtones’ but have now become one of my daily exercises. I highly recommend this product to anyone wanting to take their game to the next level.
Tanna M. –
Great sound from this mouthpiece. It is nearly too narrow to fit the neck of my BetterSax alto and requires extreme force to place it onto the neck.
Charles Orena –
What many newer sax mthpces give is easier response. The mouthpiece I received was a bit stuffy but had a good sound. I would have rated this item 5 stars if it had better response which could be due to an uneven facing. But it does have a great sound or maybe try a different brand of reed. All you can do is try one.
KhS –
For many years I’ve played a Meyer 6, w #2 Red Java Reed.
I decided to try Theo Wanne 6, Better Burnin’ 5 and 6 (the 5 slightly smaller tip than Meyer 6 and the BB6 slightly larger). I tested all of these mouthpieces by recording myself. For me, the #2.5 Red Java Reed on BB5 and #2 (even a #1.5) on BB6 worked best. #2 on the TW6.
The clear winner was the Better Burnin’ 6! My tone has a greater dynamic range. The sound has a fullness that is somewhat round (shades of dark) yet open (w a little bright). I play in a jazz quartet and this mouthpiece gives me the sound I’ve been dreaming of, against the backdrop of the keys and bass.
R.N. –
I bought this for my son after upgrading his sax to match his skills so don’t mind my lack of instrument specific verbiage.
With anything it takes time to get use to but there is a noticeable difference particularly with his jazz sound. He’s a teen so to have him say he likes it, other parents you know what I mean, it must be a quality improvement on the playability.
Having the skills but not having the sound come out of the original alto and old mouthpiece doesn’t help retain interest for young folks especially if they don’t understand why it’s the instrument and not them.
The decision to upgrade is “Better” in this case and has confirmed his “Better” capabilities to perform keeping him focused on success. “Better” to keep youth enjoying practicing and that’s a plus.
He’s on an intermediate Yamaha currently rotating between the stock ligature and the really nice Jody Jazz ligature made specifically for this mouthpiece. It’s a great combo.
Kitty S. –
I’m have been playing the alto for only 1.5 years. The first year I used a Yamaha 4c and for the past 6 months I have been using the Yamaha 5C. I have been following Jay from BetterSax for as long as I have been learning and have seen great comments about his Burnin’ mouthpiece. Nathaniel the sales engineer from sweetwater was super helpful helping me decide which # should I pick, he recommended the Burnin’ #5. He also recommended a Rovner Dark ligature 1RL which also comes with the cap for the mouthpiece and I have been loving that ligature (I was using before a generic metal one). For reed I use a Vandoren ZZ 2.0, the burnin has such a beautiful sound compared to the Yamaha 5C. Nathaniel also included a mouthpiece patch, although the burnin comes with a betterSax (a clear) one.
Andrew –
The quality of this mouthpiece is amazing. It is easy to play and the tone is full. I love it so that I’m getting one for my soprano saxophone.
Waltz –
This is an awesome mouthpiece. Was using a standard mouthpiece that came with the sax and switched to the Bettersax
Classic. I had purchased the Bettersax soprono Burnin mouthpiece and liked it so much I got one for my BetterSax Alto. Was amazed at how much a mouthpiece could change the sound and ease of playing.
David Provost –
This is a great jazz mouthpiece. I was using a Selmer S80 C* and just couldn’t really get that full jazz sound. This immediately gave me the responsiveness and full sound I was looking for. I dropped down one reed strength because the lay is more open – and that helped a lot. Perfect upgrade from the stock mouthpiece!
Reid –
Love the sound my sax makes after switching to this mouthpiece. I can hear the brightness and sharpness. It sounds like I’m using a microphone even when I’m not using one. I didn’t know the right mouthpiece could make such a difference in the sound.