Nik Payton

Although I joked a bit in the last post, the subject of mouthpieces and set-ups has always created heated conversations between reed players. So I thought I would expand a bit on this subject and enter the debate. There are those who are never happy with what they have, always on the look out for that Holy Grail of set-ups - the perfect combination of reed, mouthpiece and ligature which will give you that sound you think you need. Or, the group of saxophone/clarinet players who found the ‘perfect’ mouthpiece ten years ago and have never changed it, because they know that as your ’sound’ comes from ‘within’ why waste time trying to find something that will make virtually no difference to the listener. Each side talking with absolute authority and trying to convince the less experienced that their path is best. Well, I’d like to add a third option because this area is not as black and white as some would like you to believe. It’s really a mix of the two because I think the real path sits in the middle somewhere. I’ll obviously talk about the three separate components of the ’set-up’, the mouthpiece, reed and ligature, but what is usually missed out during these online discussions is importance of ‘feel’ and comfort, especially when doubling. I’ll also talk about the real Holy Grail. The most important and yet illusive aspect to a musicians personality.

Stay tuned.

Tags: , clarinet setup, ligatures, Mouthpieces, reeds, saxophone setup, setups