BSS, SYOS, Roberto’s Winds, Nexus, Francois Louis, Lupifaro are all different cuts of Rigotti reeds. I most extensively tested SYOS Arcane 2.5 & 3 vs BSS 2.5 & 3 on my baritone TW Durga and JJ super jet. Both tip openings are 0.130” Such little difference between the two cuts. The only Rigotto reeds I can buy in a brick & mortar store, in my home city, are BSS. Likewise practically no difference between SYOS Arcane & BSS 3 on my JJ HR custom dark. BSS 2.5 are great on the Durga. Vandoren green box Javas 2.5 are amazing on my super jet!

@SaxophoneSteveKortyka

4 ай бұрын

Very interesting. There might even be more reeds growing from that plot also... Thanks for putting this in perspective. Very interesting!

outstanding player, Thanks Steve I agree with your observations from this side of the horn.

@SaxophoneSteveKortyka

4 ай бұрын

Thanks cat!

Tough call, Steve. In the end, you sound like.......YOU......no matter what 'piece you were playing! I will say that you definitely sounded more comfortable and the response throughout the different ranges/registers sounded more consistent with the BSS 'piece. Totally agree that reed strength (and brand?) can also make a *huge* difference. I switched to Legere American Cut reeds about 3 yrs ago now and I can guarantee you that some mouthpiece just don't play well (literally) with them while they sound fanfreakingtastic on others. So many factors to consider! Thanks for the vid!

@SaxophoneSteveKortyka

4 ай бұрын

Absolutely. Maybe I should (and probably will haha) do a video on THAT - how one reed can sound horrible and amazing at the same time depending on the mouthpiece :) thanks for the great idea!

@jrgreiner

4 ай бұрын

@@SaxophoneSteveKortyka I'm here for ya, big boy.. lol!

@seandennis3148

4 ай бұрын

My metal V16 T8 small chamber tenor mouthpiece sounds great with a Légère American cut 2.5. Huffy garbage sounds with Vandoren green box Javas & BSS, both box colours. BSS silver box was a lot better than black box for that piece and my Claude Lakey.

@SaxophoneSteveKortyka

4 ай бұрын

Never ceases to surprise me which reeds sound good with which mpcs!

@jrgreiner

4 ай бұрын

@@SaxophoneSteveKortyka Ayup. GONE are the days of Q:"hey, what reed do you use?" A: "Oh just whatever I can find. Usually a 3".

Wow! Your comments are completely different than mine.

@SaxophoneSteveKortyka

4 ай бұрын

haha yeah I can see how the play test might reflect that :)

I preferred the Robert Martin. Boston Sax was a little too nasal. I guess i would favor any of these SYOS pieces. But i would have liked to have heard all the BS models. This all so subjective.

@SaxophoneSteveKortyka

4 ай бұрын

Thanks Bob - yes its interesting. I get much more caught up in the feel of a piece than the sound of it sometimes. The thing I love about the BSS piece is it feels/sounds to me like a combination of Joe Henderson + Breckers tone which WOULD be nasally in some ways. These are all great mouthpieces though... I'm always happy to do play tests but sometimes I listen back and don't know which one I like more haha

@multimartinmusic10

4 ай бұрын

@@SaxophoneSteveKortyka Hey Steve, Robert Martin here. Great job on your approach to testing, and in being straight forward about your results. Like you, I can get a bit single focused when experimenting with mouthpieces, but I tend to get all caught up in the sound more than the feel. That being the case, to my ear, the test was all over in the first fifteen seconds of the video. When you played briefly through the three Syos pieces in those first few seconds, I heard kind of a dull, gray, stuffy vibe from both the Ionata and the Page, while you got a more interesting, colorful richness from the Martin piece. I agree, you were noticeably most comfortable on the BSS E series piece that you've been playing recently. I think your hunch about matching the right reed for each piece is right on the money too. A less than ideal reed match can make the playing experience a lot less enjoyable than it would be with a good reed match. That might also explain your feeling of "stuffiness" on the Martin piece, especially in the low register, but I gotta say, the sound the mic was picking up was not stuffy at all on the Martin, especially compared to the other two Syos pieces. Your skills on the horn are far beyond mine, and I also love the sound influences you mention (Henderson and Brecker). I'm touring quite a bit right now, and hoping we can connect somewhere in our travels.

@SaxophoneSteveKortyka

4 ай бұрын

@@multimartinmusic10Hey Robert thanks for this! Yeah honestly I always have a hard time comparing 3 GREAT things with one another :) In that situation the feel always beats the tone for me. Putting a microscope on the sound with a mic in a closed situation can be another great deciding factor. I know that the right reed can fix any of these mouthpieces! You sound awesome on the recordings I've heard of you. It would be so great to get to hang someday, please let me know when you're in the NYC or Cleveland area and we'll make it happen! All the best to you ~

@multimartinmusic10

4 ай бұрын

@@SaxophoneSteveKortyka I'll be in both NYC and Cleveland in July with my Zappa alumni buddies, Banned From Utopia. I'll email you.

@SaxophoneSteveKortyka

4 ай бұрын

@@multimartinmusic10WOOOO!! Can't wait!