HI all,
My B5 soprano graftonite is a bit stuffy on notes below 1st F. It isnt the
horn, I've checked. Is there any modification I can do to open up the low
register?
Thanks.

Tots



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Have you tried other mouthpieces?  You should get one you like better then
mess around with the Graftonite.

You can try a longer facing, but Graftonites are usually medium long to
begin with.  You can try reed drilling too.  

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Tots:  While the other Graftonites are not too bad (in fact, the baris 
play well), the sopranos are terrible.  Their chamber volume is too 
large, they must be place too far onto the cork, and this results in 
very sharp hgh notes.

I had never noticed a particular problem from F on down.  This is 
usually caused by either a small leak, or more often, holding the 
soprano down like a clarinet.  This chokes off the low notes in such a 
way that many mistake it for a leaky instrument.  Simply get the bell up 
and out, and usually the low end will open up an the problems go away.

I would like to refer you to my tone production and soprano articles on 
Sax On The Web.

http://www.saxontheweb.net/Coats/tone_production.html

http://www.saxontheweb.net/Coats/SopranoIntonation.html

http://www.saxontheweb.net/Coats/Soprano.html

Part of the response problem of the Graftonite is the way the baffle is 
shaped near the tip rail.  This odd appearance is due to the fact the 
facing is not machined on, then the baffle filed to shape, but rather is 
molded on, a separate part of the mold, and no hand work is done to 
complete the mouthpiece.  This odd baffle shape causes the mouthpiece to 
be inherently stuffy.

Paul

Tots Tolentino wrote:

> HI all,
> My B5 soprano graftonite is a bit stuffy on notes below 1st F. It isnt the
> horn, I've checked. Is there any modification I can do to open up the low
> register?
> Thanks.
>
> Tots
>
>
>
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--- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, Paul Coats <tenorman@t...> 
wrote:

Thanks for the replies. 
Paul, I've read your articles and have saved them.
I actually use a Vandoren S25 and was just wondering if I could turn 
this RR into a working mouthpiece, a backup, maybe. I guess I won't 
deal with it then. It was cheap anyway.
Thanks again.

Tots

> 
> I had never noticed a particular problem from F on down.  This is 
> usually caused by either a small leak, or more often, holding the 
> soprano down like a clarinet.  This chokes off the low notes in 
such a 
> way that many mistake it for a leaky instrument.  Simply get the 
bell up 
> and out, and usually the low end will open up an the problems go 
away.
> 
> I would like to refer you to my tone production and soprano 
articles on 
> Sax On The Web.

Tots wrote:
> ... was just wondering if I could turn  this RR into
> a working mouthpiece, a backup, maybe. I guess I won't
> deal with it then. It was cheap anyway.

Tots, I have found the Rico Royal Graftonite B7 to be a good soprano 
mouthpiece. To me, they have more of a medium chamber. From the 
measurements I've taken, their chamber is smaller than all of my 
vintage soprano pieces. I'll see if I can dig up those measurements 
to see how the chamber volume compares to the Dukoff D8, Lakey, et 
al. They are a bit longer than other soprano pieces so they can 
benefit from having 6mm or so cut off the shank. 

The B5 has an opening of .060", which may be too closed for you. The 
B7 is .065" which is more middle of the road. Also, filling in the 
channel behind the tip can help bring them to life, but this can be 
tricky to do without causing interference with the reed.

IMO, Graftonites can make good blanks for mouthpiece work. I have 
found them to be very consistant and fairly easy to work on. I've 
reworked about 20 Rico mouthpieces spread across soprano alto and 
tenor: some with bored out chambers, some with Delrin chamber 
inserts, some with high baffles and bullet chambers, etc.

Anyway, don't give up on your Rico. You could try cutting off the 
shank if it is too long, opening up the tip a bit, and building up 
the baffle behind the tip. I'd be happy to do this work for you or 
send you one of mine just to see what you think.

Jon Lloyd

--- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, "stencilmann" <jg_lloyd@s...> 
wrote:
>... From the 
> measurements I've taken, their chamber is smaller than all of my 
> vintage soprano pieces. I'll see if I can dig up those measurements 
> to see how the chamber volume compares to the Dukoff D8, Lakey, et 
> al...

Do you actually take volume measurements, or just inside diameters?  
I have dabbled in volume measurements by filling a piece with water 
then dumping it into a graduated cylinder.

Keith Bradbury wrote:
> Do you actually take volume measurements, or just inside
> diameters? I have dabbled in volume measurements by
> filling a piece with water then dumping it into a
> graduated cylinder.

I use a graduated cylinder. To me, the trouble measuring this way is 
the different shank lengths. A mouthpiece with a long shank will seem 
to have a larger volume that one with a short shank. If you chop off 
the end of a long mouthpiece, did you really change its internal 
volume when it is on the horn? No, it just doesn't cover as much of 
the cork.

For this reason, I fill each mouthpiece to a certain point from the 
tip. On soprano mouthpieces I fill to 45mm from the tip. For altos, I 
use 55mm. I don't know if these technique is valid or not but it 
makes sense to me. What do you think?

Thanks,
Jon Lloyd

There is no good answer on how to deal with the shank area on the cork. The
amount you put the MP on differs from sax to sax and player to player. 
This is part of the reason I stopped measuring routinely.  

I just measured to the end of the shank and also took a bore diameter
reading.  I figured I could always calculate and subtract off a cylinder
volume for the amount that was on the cork for a specific analysis.

My volume measurement varied from 6.5 ml for a Runyon Custom Spoiler to 8
ml for a Bilger-Morgan.  That is quite a range for sop sax.  The average
was 7.4 ml.  This is why I balk at those who insist they need a C sop MP to
play in tune on a C sop.  With this range of volumes available for Bb sop,
one can find a MP that will work on their C sop.  Mine plays best with 8
ml...  larger than what I use on Bb sops.

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