Many instructors will recommend the Selmer S80 mouthpiece to students who have been playing for a while with the usually inexpensive mouthpiece that came with their sax when they purchased or rented it. These are usually very cheap plastic and a beginner will get over them quickly.

Probably the most recommended is the Selmer C star, (Selmer C *) due to its medium size (aperture, see explanation below). It’s been many years since I’ve played on a Selmer C Star, but a beginner moving to one of these from a cheap one will instantly notice a difference in its sound and the way it feels … a remarkable step forward.

Many refer to this as a “pass-up” nozzle. If you’ve been with a saxophone for some time, you know that Selmer is one of the biggest names in the world for its quality saxophones, and yes, its mouthpieces too.

I’ve always said that the mouthpiece and reed setup is even more important than the saxophone. Obviously we’re all looking for a beautiful feel, high-quality speaker that we can afford, but as you get closer to your pro model, you can still have great success developing your tone with a good mouthpiece … even if you don’t have one. great saxophone. The reverse is not true … you can’t play a high quality professional sax with a cheap plastic mouthpiece and get great sound.

Each nozzle manufacturer has a slightly different way of categorizing and labeling their nozzle sizes and the Selmer nozzle measurement system uses letters instead of numbers to rate nozzle size – letters A through H … from the reed to the mouthpiece. H is the most open.

The C is a medium to medium close, which makes it a good choice for beginners to get a good, full and warm sound. A closed mouthpiece will give a darker tone and a truly open one will produce a brighter tone.

Of course, the player can still get different types of tones from any mouthpiece with the embouchure, reed size, air, etc., but the mouthpiece can make the difference between being easy or difficult. The mouthpiece itself is a huge part of the overall picture, but don’t forget that the embouchure, breathing technique, reed type, and the strength of the reed and your saxophone all play into it.

And yes, you can get the Selmer S80 for soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones.