Conn 'New Wonder' alto mouthpiece question

[John]

I have a 1921 Conn 'New Wonder' alto, neck without micro-tuner, good
pads. Great sound, and plays well, but I'm having great difficulties
finding the right mouthpiece for this instrument; all those tried so
far induce warbling in the lowest tones. For those of you with a
similar instument - what do you play/recommend? Tx -- John

[Andy W]

jmru...@hotmail.com (John) wrote:

I've owned a couple of nice New Wonder altos, and had reasonable
success with vintage round-chamber Selmer soloist / soloist-style
mouthpieces. {the shorter shank also helps if the barrel tuner is fitted}

the NW alto's not a horn I could love, though:
I'd opt for a Martin or Buescher in preference.

"warbling in the lowest tones"
might suggest a slight leak or a weak spring.

-A-

--
Jazz tenor sax transcriptions, etc-
http://www.geocities.com/andyw129/

[Killer]

John wrote:

Isn't warbling usually associated with leaks? It's especially bad
on tenors and altos on notes around the lower bend. I'm not entirely
sure that a different mouthpiece will help.

I use a newish Meyer 5M and an old Brilhart Tonalin 3* on my
Conn altos. Each of my altos is different around the bend with
the same mouthpiece.

Michael

[Brad Hickman]

I use a Rampone&Cazzani metal mpc or a Meyer limited Edition. Both are
great players on my 1927 Conn NW. You may want to experiment with your reed
strengths and brands.
"John" <jmru...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:f37000d7.02092...@posting.google.com...

[Paul Lindemeyer]

It might not be the mouthpiece. This model alto can warble on the bell
notes if the B and Bb keys aren't regulated rjust right. There's a
linkage between them on the back of the bell that keeps B closed by
itself and with Bb. It's most common to get a warble on B alone for some reason.

When I got my horn into the right adjustment, the warble disappeared and
I could use most any mouthpiece that didn't go sharp in the upper range.
(High baffled or extreme small chambered pieces can do this.)

-P.

[P. Tung]

Unless you tend to need to push in further than most players (in which case
the piece may "play flat" for you), Charles Bay's NW is outstanding on most
vintage Conns and Martins, including "pre-Chu."

"Brad Hickman" <rhin...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:ypPj9.10786$XE1.9...@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net...

[P. Tung]

"Paul Lindemeyer" <pa...@lindemeyer.com> wrote in message
news:3D906A7D...@lindemeyer.com...

>
> Brad Hickman wrote:
> >
> > I use a Rampone&Cazzani metal mpc or a Meyer limited Edition. Both are
> > great players on my 1927 Conn NW. You may want to experiment with your
reed
> > strengths and brands.
> > "John" <jmru...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> > news:f37000d7.02092...@posting.google.com...
> > > I have a 1921 Conn 'New Wonder' alto, neck without micro-tuner, good
> > > pads. Great sound, and plays well, but I'm having great difficulties
> > > finding the right mouthpiece for this instrument; all those tried so
> > > far induce warbling in the lowest tones. For those of you with a
> > > similar instument - what do you play/recommend? Tx -- John
>
> It might not be the mouthpiece. This model alto can warble on the bell
> notes if the B and Bb keys aren't regulated rjust right. There's a
> linkage between them on the back of the bell that keeps B closed by
> itself and with Bb. It's most common to get a warble on B alone for some
reason.

Gurgling/warbling B/Bb is usually not due to leaks on those keys. Actually,
on most Chu and pre-Chu horns, low Bb can play right through a prodigious B
leak (you can actually efficaciously flatten the conventionally sharp Chu Bb
by installing a slight leak in the low B, on most Chu/pre-Chu altos).

Those notes wanting to break up is commonly due to a leak in C#2, side key,
high E, palm key, F/F#/G# linkage, or some other pad. Leaks in pads that
are in the overtone series of a note will tend to cause more damage to bell
tone articulation than others; e.g., if B is your problem, first suspects
are side/high E, and A, then the commonly challenging F/F#/G# linkage.

Keyheights can make a big difference as well, especially Bb height, in cases
of a reticent or unstable B. When player tries to make certain kinds of
adjustments for pitch and tone, that can be avoided with keyheight change,
notes can tend to want to break up.

>
> When I got my horn into the right adjustment, the warble disappeared and
> I could use most any mouthpiece that didn't go sharp in the upper range.
> (High baffled or extreme small chambered pieces can do this.)
>
> -P.

Usually it is an adjustment issue. But mouthpiece and reed (and certainly
player) can make a big difference as well. It isn't always the better
player who doesn't have a problem where a lesser player does.

[Bill]

John-

I have a 1925 Conn New Wonder Alto with the micro tuner. I have found that
the bell note warble can be eliminated by sucking in the cheeks a little
more. I read this trick in another post on SOTW.
http://forum.saxontheweb.net/ I'm using a [Woodwind Sparkle Aire] short
shank round chamber mpc that came with the instrument. My father bought it
for me in 1959 for elementary school band. Just pulled is out and replaced
a few pads. Sounds nice to me.
Bill

"John" <jmru...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:f37000d7.02092...@posting.google.com...

[P. Tung]

John,

If you can find one, a Charles Bay NW is a phenomenally good piece on
pre-Chu and Chu altos.

Vintage Selmer Soloists, Bob Ackerman, vintage HR Links, MC Gregory, Gale
Hollywood/Companion, vintage Meyer and vintage Brilharts can all be very
good on early Conn altos, depending on condition. Actually it's usually not
that hard to find a piece for a Conn alto that is at least very good; most
of the vintage pieces will play nicely on them.

Your problem is more likely a reed, or adjustment issue.

- luck -

"Bill" <bill...@optonline.net> wrote in message
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