get a much more practical picture of
how even very slight changes in the
mouthpiece, affect it’s performance
capabilities dramatically. You may also
find that some of the problems you
perceive as being caused by the instrument,
originate with the mouthpiece,
since it governs the saxophone, not
vice-versa!
A quotation from Ed and Frank
Meyer, from one of their early brochures,
will serve to state their personal
feelings, as well as my own,
about this most exacting and important
business: the design and manufacture
of the single reed mouthpiece
for you, the musician. “When you
play your instrument, you are not
interested in a thousandth of an inch,
or the proper rubber formula, or the
post-cure time for the castings. You are
interested, however, in results, results
which enhance your playing, and
perhaps increase your earning power.
We (on our design board, in our molding
room, and in our workshop) are
also interested in the results which
you get on the job. But, in order to
provide you with the finest mouthpieces
money can buy, we must be
scientifically accurate down to a degree
of temperature, and the tenth of a
thousandth of an inch. There is no
place in the world where clarinet and
saxophone mouthpiece making has
been so thoroughly investigated and
refined. In no other plant has the
element of hand-craftsmanship and
sheer pride, as well as years of mouthpiece
specialization, been so grounded