SM711 AL3 Optimum Series Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece

My previous mouthpiece, a Yamaha 4C, broke so I decided I'd upgrade to a better mouthpiece. I searched up some of the best jazz mouthpieces for relatively cheap and this one came up. My band director also recommended it and uses this one. I went ahead and got it and it took some getting use to at first, but once I did it played great. If I need a new mouthpiece in the future I'll probably get one of these again, it plays perfectly for the style I'm trying to do. I pair this mouthpiece with Vandoren Java Red or Green reeds usually, but sometimes go for their ZZ Jazz reeds or V16 jazz reeds. All very nice picks. If you're looking for a mouthpiece that doesn't break your bank (that much at least) and produces great sound this is the one for you. I'd highly recommend this for any saxophone player looking to upgrade their mouthpiece.

I bought this on the strength of the reviews here, and am glad I did. Using this with my Yamaha YAS-62 pro alto, it produces warm, strong tones and greatly improved playability compared to my other mouthpieces. When it comes to sax mps, it's a good idea to experiment with a handful of different mouthpieces and different reeds. I'm using this with Vandoren 3 Java reds Vandoren Java Red Alto Saxophone Reeds #3, Box of 10 and it sounds terrific. Easier to play low notes; plus something I especially like is I can get clear strong tones on my high D/E/F/F# that's better than anything else I've used. I've played this alto for over 30 years, it never sounded better, than with this Vandoren A3 mp w/Red java 3 Vandoren reeds. Initially I held off because I'm used to playing mps from classic mp producers, many of which are outstanding. With a smooth, balanced, open tone, this produces well at all ends of the playing range, which is extremely important. Most mps are good at easy mid-tone production, what separates mouthpiece (and sax) quality, is that it's often harder to produce clear tones at low sub-low D (for low C/B/Bb) and high above high-D tones, this mouthpiece solves that and makes playing across the entire range easier. Another plus is how easy it is to play using 3-strength reeds, with no chirps/squawks/hard pressure. I've typically used 2 1/2 reeds for decades, because of problems using 3s on my other mps. This AL3 makes using 3s as easy as using 2 1/2s, which alone makes it worth getting, since 3s are better to play with. Pleasantly surprised, this is one of the better music-related buy decisions I've made; highly recommended for both new and us veteran horn players. Thanks Vandoren - you guys got it right. Much appreciated. Now I'm off to play classic jazz...( I like Bird, Trane, Desmond) - Ken

Sounds amazing, works well. I was skeptical if I wanted to put this much money into it, but my son said its easier to play now and the sound is wonderful

Purchased this after buying an inexpensive horn, immediately improved sound quality and playability.

I love this mouth pice for my alto sax. So much easier to blow my horn.

The Vandoren company produces a very dependable line of mouthpieces, reeds, etc. My experience with the Vandoren Optimum A4 is that it is a great mouthpiece. In my experience it has a nice warm tone and something I would definitely recommend over something like a Selmer C*. In my opinion, though a great mouthpiece for beginning-intermediate students, I personally like the warmth and resonance of a Selmer Concept much more. If you plan on upgrading mouthpieces from something like a Yamaha or Selmer C* and don’t have $60 more I would say this is the best option for a classical saxophonist, but no classical mouthpiece I have tried compares to the Selmer Concept.

I've been playing my sax - the same sax -- for over 60 years. It's always had a good sound. After using mostly Selmer mouthpieces, I finally ended up with a Selmer metal jazz mouthpiece which play well. It's sound was slightly dark and I had good control. I had put down the sax for a number of years and picked it up again. I decided to search for a new mouthpiece. This led me to Vandoren and specifically to this AL3 Optimum because it was supposed to be easy playing and bright. The difference is amazing. I don't mind some resistance in a mouthpiece, but the resistance was just right. The sound is bright and slightly brassy and it allows me more flexibility in "curving" tones and making my sax sing. It is good not only with low tones, but also with very high tones. It's range is much wider than my expensive Selmer metal mouthpiece which costs 4 times as much. I paired this with a Vandoren Optimum ligature and now use Legere synthetic reeds. The best reed combination turned out to be the 2.75 American Cut. I normally would use Vandoren 3 cane reed. The only thing I can say is that I'm stoked with this combo. My very old 1936 Buescher Aristocrat sounds every bit as good as the Selmer Mark VI I've played before.

Still the best for concert band and classical. Extremely easy to play and lock in intonation.

Maravillosa para tocar en música de cámara. Muy versátil y cómoda

Not really what I was looking for but not a bad mouthpiece at all.

We bought 2 in a sale and found one was totally defective, the tip rails were not even cut straight. The other was close to being made right and that played well and produced a nice sound with a Rovner mk3 ligature and vandoren traditional reeds. So buyer beware, the quality is variable on once reliable Vandoren mouthpieces. Sadly low C was out of tune on my sons saxophone and his existing green Yanagisawa 4 alto mouthpiece had cleaner attacks, better intonation and a more compact sound. But I preferred the AL4 sound. Looking through the neck hole the AL4 had a slightly bigger round chamber diameter. It is probable a harder reed on the medium short facing may have improved the tuning. So I can give 5 stars for the good one and 1 star for the reject (the hole did go all the way through it). My son would give the good AL4 3 out of 5 because he has a good fit already and efforts to improve on it have proven futile. Neither of us like the stuffy smaller AL3, which is very popular. Someone else will love it.

une fois adopter on attrape un son magnifique merci

SS SA80→MP SL4オプティマム→音響音程最適化適合ゆえにAS SERIE IIIにAL4を試し購入→中古品であったがTable Facing,Side Rail,Tip Railは添付の通り機械加工痕跡を残した未使用品的美観で音響音程もSL4同様を確認できとても良い買い物ができ満足しています。添付にはリングを追加していますが今回購入した品です。