The Problem with Metal Alto Sax Mouthpieces

Why don’t more alto players play on metal mouthpieces?

Let’s face it, most metal alto pieces are built for a bright, punchy sound, but not versatility. So, in this blog, I’ll give you a behind-the-scenes look at how I teamed up with Jody Jazz to develop a metal alto mouthpiece versatile enough to make hard rubber players seriously consider switching. This is the sixth mouthpiece design that I’ve collaborated with Jody Espina on. Last year, we made the burnin’ metal tenor mouthpiece, which came out incredible after a lot of hard work. The logical next project was the Burnin’ Metal Alto. But there’s a problem. By far, most alto players prefer hard rubber mouthpieces. “You know that tenor players split at least evenly between guys who like metal and guys who like rubber, but alto is not split evenly at all. It’s 70/30 at best” ~ Jody Espina

Why Are Alto Players Split 70/30?

So, I asked Jody, who knows more about mouthpieces than pretty much anybody, why he thinks that is. First, if you think about some of the most famous tenor mouthpieces, nobody plays the alto mouthpiece of that. And that’s because that alto mouthpiece doesn’t play good. Number two, metal mouthpieces were traditionally made to screech, to be really bright, and alto players would play them, and they go, “Oh, it sounds terrible. It’s like nails on the chalkboard.” And the third reason, the size we make metal in is smaller in the mouth and Alto players feel like they’re not used to that. So, that feels uncomfortable.

Going into this, I didn’t want the burnin’ metal for alto to be too bright. There’s already a lot of great options in that category. I wanted to give Alto players who love the burnin’ hard rubber piece the same versatility just in metal. So, we got to work. Jody and his team had been working hard leading up to my visit to get some good prototypes for me to play test. Since we already have the baseline of the hard rubber as a starting point, the job is much easier than if we were starting from scratch. First step for me is going to be getting point of reference compared to the hard rubber burnin’ mouthpiece.

Choosing Our Perfect Prototype

I tried all the the metal piece prototypes that Jody provided me with. When making a new metal version of a great hard rubber mouthpiece, it’s very important to compare back and forth as you go. The goal is to capture what we love about the original and just enhance it a bit. Zach from Jody Jazz is the engineer in charge of making changes to the designs by programming the CNC machine. He’s also an expert in hand finishing mouthpieces, and he’s a key part of the whole process.

Once all three of us decided which of Jody’s prototypes were most in line with what we were going for, we realized something. Maybe this could be a a a metal mouthpiece that makes more players play metal. You know what I mean? That aren’t smooth jazz. If they didn’t have a prejudice and they just tried it. It plays like a great straight ahead mouthpiece. It’s not usually that fast to get the final prototype, but this one was just so good there was no doubt. But the work is not finished. So far, we’ve been testing only the seven facing. Next, we have to finalize facings for the five and six tip openings.

Final Touches

The next morning, I came to the factory and was greeted by a freshly made mouthpiece with our artwork. This is another important part of the process, making sure the logos, lines, and finish are exactly how they need to be. The burnin’ metal has a fine sand blasted treatment that looks even better once it’s gold plated. Once the artwork is finalized, we make another final prototype. We start out with our fatter blank made out of solid brass that goes into this five axis CNC machine and the new program is loaded up. The artwork gets done first and now the rest of the mouthpiece gets cut and drilled out very slowly to ensure the highest precision possible. Zach then takes care of hand finishing the interior tip, baffle, and sidewalls.

The next step is 24 karat gold plating. The final result is gorgeous. The last step in the process is the hand painting. And now we have a finished burnin’ metal alto mouthpiece in three tip openings ready to hit the market. There’s a lot more that goes into the process of designing and making a great mouthpiece. I only explained the most interesting parts. What I want you to know is that this is the metal alto mouthpiece I’ve been waiting for my whole life. It plays as easily as my best hard rubber mouthpiece, but offers more power and resonance with no extra effort. It plays at low volume with incredible ease and can handle a ton of air. I still love my burn-in hard rubber, but this one is my new go-to alto mouthpiece for everything. I could play straight ahead, jazz, ballads, pop, funk, big band, anything at all and feel totally comfortable. This mouthpiece comes with a ligature and cap, and is now available worldwide. I play the seven tip opening with a two and a half jazz cut read, but the five and six facings are also killer and you can’t go wrong with any of them. I would just increase my read strength for the smaller tip openings. Alto saxophone players have largely avoided metal mouthpieces in the past, but I think this burnin’ metal will help convert a bunch of hard rubber loyalists. It’s weird that for tenor saxophone, metal has widely been considered superior to hard rubber. Want to hear about some great exercises to practice on any mouthpiece/saxophone set up? Click this article here!