Selmer S80 Alto Sax Mouthpiece Review

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(More customer reviews)As a professional woodwind instructor and player, I usually recommend the Selmer C* mouthpiece to all of my students as their first "step up" from the beginner's mouthpiece that came with their horn. When they buy or rent a saxophone, especially these cheap new Chinese/Taiwanese horns like "First Act" or other brands, the mouthpiece that comes with the horn is usually substandard, usually plastic, and is barely sufficient for the beginner to get a sound out of the horn. Even so, a good mouthpiece can assuage some of the difficulties caused by an el-cheapo instrument.
Obviously, every student should always have the best possible equipment at his/her disposal, but even if the cost prohibits a student from buying a top-of-the-line pro horn, they should still invest the money in a top quality mouthpiece. The mouthpiece and embochure form the foundation to tone production, and a good mouthpiece will make it possible to learn to produce a decent tone on even the worst-quality instrument. Conversely, the best instrument in the world is only going to sound average if the mouthpiece is sub-standard. Garbage in, Garbage out.
Selmer has always had a good reputation for quality, and this piece is no exception. I'm not sure why they decided to change their nomenclature from C* to C1, but as far as everything I can find to read about them, this is the standard model S80 C*. The letter C refers to the tip opening, which ranges from A (narrowest) to H (widest) and the star refers to small differences in tip opening that aren't enough to warrant a whole letter. This mouthpiece, the C1 or C*, has a tip opening of sixty-five thousandths of an inch, which is a good mid-range average which will give students a great deal of control over the full range of the horn without sounding too bright (as with wider tip openings) or too dark (as with narrower openings). Most other mouthpiece manufacturers use numbers instead of letters, usually 1 to 10, with 10 being the widest tip opening. The C and C* Selmers are roughly equivalent to about a 5, so just about medium. For this reason they're good for students who are still developing their sound - this piece will give them the most versatility and "growing room" for their money.
As with any purchase, every student should spend some time playing a new mouthpiece BEFORE buying it to see if it's right for them. Every mouth is shaped differently, and so some mouths will naturally take to the shape of the Selmer while others might find a Meyer or Otto Link more to their liking. No matter what you read about how this or that mouthpiece is the one, THE TRUE TEST IS IN THE PLAYING, no matter what. Copy the following phrase down and memorize it:
The ideal mouthpiece is the one that makes it easiest to achieve the sound you want with the minimum of effort.
Notice I didn't say that this or that mouthpiece will make you sound like this or that. YOU are the major factor in what you sound like. Any player with enough control over their chops can make any saxophone sound like anything if they contort their face into the right position to make it happen through embouchure. The mouthpiece is shaped to make it easier or harder to achieve a particular sound with less or more effort based on what the rest of your mouth is doing. But the overall tone quality is something YOU control by embochure, breath control, and concept.
So - when choosing a mouthpiece, it's vitally important to have an idea of what you want your tone to sound like FIRST, then try several different mouthpieces and pay attention to how hard you're having to work to get that desired tone. Some of the mouthpieces will make it easier to get your Preferred Sound, some will make it harder. The one you want is the one that lets you sound like you with the least amount of "shape changing" of your embouchure.
With that in mind, it's important to say that if you're planning on buying a mouthpiece through mail-order, be sure you're not afraid to take advantage of the company's return/exchange policy if need be. If you plunk down money for a good mmouthpiece, and then you get it and play it and it's not making it easier for you to sound like what you want to sound like, don't be afraid to send it back and exchange it for a better one. Sometimes it's as simple as changing to a different facing. If a C1 doesn't feel right, try a C2, etc.
And - don't be afraid to ask the advice of a pro and take a lesson if you're needing help. That's what we're here for.

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