What I play

Post your current setups here!

Yes, I do change my equipment from time to time, but the changes have slowed somewhat as I approach my "ideal" setups. Right now I'm happy with what I have, and any new horn or new mouthpiece would have to be REALLY amazing to top (for my tastes) what I'm playing on now.

Here's the current rundown:

1) Soprano -- 1987 Yanagisawa S880. Selmer Super Session "I" mouthpiece. Rico Jazz Select 3-Soft reeds.

2) Alto -- Selmer Reference 54 purchased new in 2008. Vintage Lakey 4*4 mouthpiece. May have been worked on because the tip opening is .086 -- way bigger than a Lakey 4 is supposed to be. Marca 2-1/2 reeds.

3) Tenor -- 1937 Conn 10M with Music Medic pads and Maestro Airtight resonators. JodyJazz DV 8* mouthpiece. Roberto's (Rigotti made) 3-Hard reeds.

4) Bari -- 1990's Selmer Super Action 80 Series II. Runyon Custom refaced by Santy Runyon associate, Paul Coates. Marca 3 reeds.

Interesting to note that the alto and tenor above both replaced Mark VI's.

Good idea, Steve.

My main axe is my 1965 Mark VI 149,000 series tenor. I've had it for about 35 years, and put an estimated 70,000 hours of play time on it. Gaurdala Studio mouthpiece. Been through many pieces over the years, but am currently happy with this one. Reeds - that's another story. As soon as I find a brand I'm ready to praise, I start running into inconsistencies with it. For that reason, I try to keep a variety on hand. In order of preference: Rico Jazz Select, Rigotti Gold, Vandoren ZZ's.

I also play a Martin (The Martin) alto. Meyer 7 mouthpiece. I like the sweet ladylike contrast it provides to the manly tenor voice. Same story with the reeds.

My bari is a Yamaha. Not top of the line (too much $'s compared to the amount of time I play it). I've got a great sounding cheap Rico mouthpiece (discontinued). It's a piece a number of guys play, and provides a lot of gusto with a reasonable amount of edge, you know, a tone that's full bodied without being heavy. Jazz Select, occasionally Plasticover reeds.

Soprano..aaa..I've got a Yamaha, but only play it when I have to. Otto Link piece. Just not my favorite of the saxes.

Randy www.randyhunterjazz.com www.beginningsax.com

Yes, I saw your Rico Metalite in the video. I just tried one for fun. Pretty good! Still prefer the Paul Coates doctored Runyon.

I really like the sound of a good Mark VI tenor. The one I had was quite good in its own right, but I just LOOOOVE the 10M sound, especially beefed up with those Noyek-like resos.

Steve,

I also have a Buffet Super Dynaction tenor that gets an incredible tone. It's about the same age as my VI. It's just hard to beat the ergonomics of the VI for that generation of instruments, at least for my hands.

One note I'd like to make about the VI, is that I play a VII neck on it. Better intonation and a little more free blowing.

Randy