Question:
Piece for Super Dynaction
I just bought a 1962 Buffet-Crampon Super Dynaction. It's very dark. My Lakey 7*3 brightens it up a bit, but that piece is weak on the high notes. Even more so on this horn. I have to back way off the high notes. And I'd like it a little brighter, if possible.
What pieces work well with this horn?

Answer:
:idea: I get it. I need to try some for myself. :D
Went to the Woodwind and Brasswind site and ordered to try out: Meyer 8 medium, Link 7*, Morgan Excalibur 8L, Morgan Jazz 8L, Berg 90-0, Runyon Bionix 9, and Runyon Quantum 8.
I'll let you know what I think. If anyone's interested...

Answer:
To let you know, I have a 1960 SDA alto. I have brightened it up, IMO, with a vintage Berg 90/0 hard rubber. It gives it a nice edge and ring. I have tried some others, but have had the best luck with the Berg. I am interested to know what you think of the mouthpieces, but also of the horn. I cannot think of enough things to say about how much I love my SDA. By the way, you're in Dallas? I live just south of Ft.Worth. Take care.

Answer:
Originally Posted by TheChristianSax To let you know, I have a 1960 SDA alto. I have brightened it up, IMO, with a vintage Berg 90/0 hard rubber. It gives it a nice edge and ring. I have tried some others, but have had the best luck with the Berg. I am interested to know what you think of the mouthpieces, but also of the horn. I cannot think of enough things to say about how much I love my SDA. By the way, you're in Dallas? I live just south of Ft.Worth. Take care. Nice to meet you, Matt. We live in Lancaster. I used to live in Burleson until about 12 years ago, so I'm familiar with your part of town.
No doubt about it, an SDA is a nice horn.
I've been testing the mouthpieces by playing each of them using the same lig, a Rovner Type III, except on the Quantum. It doesn't fit that mouthpiece. I used the Runyon lig that came with it. I've also used the same reed, a Vandoren Java 2.5. I've been recording myself playing "Because He Lives", using a track that I've used for years. I also recorded myself on each mouthpiece using my "old" horn, a 1982 Selmer SA-80. Whew! That's 14 recordings. Now, I'll start comparing them and see if I can come to any conclusions. I have made some preliminary conclusions, but I will give a summary of my opinions later after I've decided what I'm going to do.
I'd guess from your online name that you probably play in church somewhere. That's where I play mostly.
Bill

Answer:
Bill,
Great to hear from you. Burleson is where I live. I've been here since 1976, and boy has it grown!!! I play at the Church at Burleson which is housed in an old business building, right next to Braums.(the building with the big pillars)
I went through several mouthpiece changes also, until finally settling on the Berg. I purchased the horn form a 93 year old gentleman who used to play in his brother's big band for many years. The SDA took the place of an old Jupiter that I have. What a difference!!
I'll be looking forward to your conclusions. Take care.

Answer:
Hey Bill,
I got my hands on a Creative SB Extigy external sound card like you suggested...came with everything but the remote control...and now I'm waiting for a microphone deal to close so I can try to make some recordings.
Thanks again for that info. It saved me a lot of research time and the Extigy is working great enhancing sounds from the computer/internet.
Happy New Year!
Rob

Answer:
I use a SDA and often play it with a scroll shank C** and a 3 1/2 reed. On this horn in particular the thicker reed and smaller facing seem to work extremely well.

Answer:
Originally Posted by goodsax Hey Bill,
I got my hands on a Creative SB Extigy external sound card like you suggested...came with everything but the remote control...and now I'm waiting for a microphone deal to close so I can try to make some recordings.
Thanks again for that info. It saved me a lot of research time and the Extigy is working great enhancing sounds from the computer/internet.
Happy New Year!
Rob
Great, Rob. I'm liking mine. I bought an audio-technica ATR-30 from Best Buy. It's a decent mic, and it seems to me I paid less than $100 for it. Don't quote me on that, though. Now, the professionals may scoff at my audio setup, but I think it works just fine for home recording.

Answer:
I've been testing these seven mouthpieces for the last several days. Eight, actually. I also tested the mouthpiece had been using, a Lakey 7*3. I tested them both on the SDA and on my Selmer SA-80 I. I used a Vandoren Java 2.5 on all the mouthpieces.
You have to take into consideration when you read the following that I'm not a pro. Also, there are only small differences between the sound of all of these pieces, and only small differences between the SDA and SA80. So, if I praise a mouthpiece you hate, or dis one you love, please remember the source. ;-) Having said that, here's my impressions.
Meyer 8 medium chamber
I really like the way this piece sounds. It's bright but is also rich. I had a little intonation problems with the SDA. I tuned to Bb concert, and then checked the other notes. Some were as much as 20 cents off. The intonation was much better on the SA80. This is one of my favorites, and was one of the "finalists".
Link 7*
On the SDA, the bell notes were flat. Otherwise, intonation was okay, and was okay everywhere on the SA80. This piece had a little more resistance than some of the others. But the main thing about this piece was the tone. It was bright enough, but was a little dull sounding to me - fuzzy, or cloudy.
Morgan Excalibur 8 large chamber
Had trouble getting it up to pitch, and it had lots of resistance. It has a nice tone, but it was hard for me to control.
Morgan Jazz 8 large chamber
I did have to push this piece in all the way to get it up to pitch, and it was a bit difficult for me to play - a little more resistance than I'm accustomed to. I had initally eliminated it. However, after testing for a couple of days I tried it again, and decided that I really liked its bright rich tone.
Berg 90-0
This thing feels huge to me! It has a very rich lower register. This was one of my favorites, too, and was in the running for "the" piece.
Runyon Bionix 9
Wow, this one is bright! And it's easy to play. It was slightly flat on the lower notes on the SDA. I like this piece, but the sound is not as rich as some of the others. Still, it is nice and bright.
Runyon Quantum 8
This was the only metal piece I tested. It is easy to play, and feels small in the mouth, being metal. It's a little weak on the bottom of the horn, but plays nice palm notes.
I recorded all 8 mouthpieces on both horns and did A/B comparisons. Back and forth, back and forth. Gee, I like them all! The differences are very subtle to my ear. I kept bugging my wife, and she could only say that they all sound good. I had almost decided on the Meyer, with the Berg a close second, and on impulse, I pulled out the two Morgan pieces again. I had eliminated them early on, not realizing that I didn't have them pushed on the cork far enough, and I was working too hard to get them up to pitch. Once I realized that, I really like them, though the Excalibur takes a little too much work for me to play. But the Morgan Jazz combines brightness, richness, and even a little edge.
Well, I have chosen the Morgan Jazz 8L for now. I still have some more time before I have to return these pieces to Woodwind and Brasswind. They give you 45 days to decide.
The other thing that I've decided is that I like my SA80 better than the SDA. The SDA is nice, and has a very nice tone with the Morgan Jazz. But, I like the SA80's tone slightly better. And I can push the SA80 harder in the palm notes without it quitting on me. Perhaps that's because I've been playing it for 15 years, but why mess with something that works unless you can get something better.
Haven't decided if I want to sell the SDA yet. It makes a great backup horn. I'm not sure I need a backup horn, though.
I may change my mind tomorrow. :roll:

Answer:
Bill,
If you decide to sell it, let me know. I'm looking at one on eBay now, but I'd rather buy from someone I know than a stranger in Vancouver, BC.

Answer:
Well, but you know what a good deal I got when I bought it! ;-) Yeah, haven't decided yet. It's not hurting anything being around for a while, and I'm not desparate for the money right now.

Answer:
No problem. If you hadn't indicated a possibility of selling it, I wouldn't have brought it up. Actually, reading your excellent run-down on testing various mpc's with the SDA, I was a little troubled by the intonation problems you experienced compared to the SA-80. I'm trying to get away from intonation problems without taking out a second mortgage on my home to get it. Playing in a community concert band is not sufficient justification to become completely sax poor.'
Thanks anyway,

Answer:
Thanks. I hope it will help someone, though it's pretty much opinion, and as they say, everyone has one.
Boy, hadn't realized how personal a thing it is finding horns and mouthpieces. I mean, I used to think that if I could just find a good VI for cheap (yeah, right!) that would be it. As has been said often on this board, you have to find what works for you.
Good luck in your quest for a good horn.

Answer:
Hello
Sounds like you have gone through your process and made your decision - re: the SDA. However, since I play a SDA (~'61 vintage) I thought I would throw my 2 cents in. I use a Barone #8 hard rubber with a 1.5 Fibracell, and I think the Barone offsets the darker tendency of the SDA (but, I like the dark sound anyway). You can hear what the SDA + Barone sounds like (in my hands at least) on my websight on Take Five and Straight To The Heart. I also have Morgans, and like them. Before giving up on them entirely, you might want to consider the medium chamber rather than the large chamber 7L. BTW, I use the Morgan 7L on my Super 20 tenor. I find the SDA has great intonation (especially compared to the Mark VI alto I used to have). I switch easily back and forth between it and my Series II bari and Mark VI bari.

Answer:
Don't take me wrong. I like the SDA. I just happen to like my SA80 a little better. Not a good-bad thing. A great & slightly greater thing. That's probably at least partially because I've had the SA80 for 15 years as my primary, and for the last 5 years, only alto. If I didn't already have the SA80, I would be happy with the SDA.
And if I hadn't tried all of these pieces at the same time, I probably would have been happy with any of them. I had a hard time choosing. Either of the Morgans, the Meyer, or the Berg, especially, will all brighten up this horn and make some nice sounds. I've heard good things about the Barones on this site, so I'm sure they are good pieces, too.
BTW, I did reject the Morgan EL again. I had gotten hold of an exceptional reed by accident (doesn't happen very often) and it made the EL play easier. When I tried some other reeds, I wasn't comfortable with it. It was like a relief when I put the Meyer back on there.
So, the Meyer is the one I'm keeping. The others are packed up ready to return to Woodwind and Brasswind.

Answer:
There are so many naturally bright-sounding saxes, and so few dark, smoky ones like an SDA. Why do you want to brighten it?
Assuming you have no other horn, can't afford or don't want to buy another, and need a brighter tone, try a Vandoren V5 series.