Vandoren SM811M A5 Medium Chamber V16 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece

I have been playing a New York Meyer on my alto for the last 45 years. It is such a fantastic mouthpiece that I cringe at the thought of damaging or losing it. It is irreplaceable - or so I thought. I have been checking out Baptiste Herbin who is promoting Vandoren. His sound is very similar to mine but clearly has a better altissimo. I therefore ordered the V16 alto SM811S+ A5S+ and the SM812S+ A6S+ to check it out for myself. Although Baptiste plays the A5S+, I found the A6S+ to play better for me coming off a Meyer.Over the years I’ve tried many mouthpieces. I even had the honor of playing Cannonball Adderley’s Meyer that he played for most of his career - which by the way has a terrible altissimo. This is the very first time that I have fallen in love with a different mouthpiece and have actually switched - mouthpiece infidelity! The SM812S+ A6S+ has a wider dynamic range than my Meyer, but I can still subtone low notes. The best characteristic is the improvement in my altissimo which I have only experienced with metal mouthpieces in the past. Overall the altissimo notes are easier to play, but my range has increased despite playing a soft JAVA red 2 1/2 reed. It plays up to altissimo E whereas my Meyer topped out at D and struggled to reach an Eb. With the V16 I can force out even higher notes, but I hit them inconsistently. I’m okay with E being my every day range limit, but perhaps my range will increase over time - I’ll let you know.In summary, the SM812S+ A6S+ V16 alto mouthpiece plays better than my New York Meyer 5 medium chamber made in the 1950’s that I played for the last 45 years. It is more responsive than my Meyer. The altissimo speaks easier despite a soft reed and my range is increased without having the undesirable characteristics of a metal mouthpiece or a harder reed.

Amazing mouthpiece, great tone, versatility. Is the same of the Dadario but best price

Just what I needed.

La numeración mas angosta resultó muy ancha para mis necesidades musicales , pero me encantó su calidad y fabricación

The media could not be loaded. I read a lot about this model of mouthpiece and I was thinking of getting A5 s+ or A6.I went with A5s+ and I can only say go for it!Such an amazing mouthpiece, great and fast response and it’s so easy to play.I have vintage Conn Naked Lady sax, I play mostly Jazz, Big Band, Funk, Hip Hop music.Highly recommend this mouthpiece.I would definitely buy one for my tenor, just don’t know which one, any recommendations?

I matched it with the leather ligature, great looking and plays better than me!

I have been looking for my first real upgraded mouthpiece for months. This checks all the boxes!

After buying my first sax (an Antigua Pro One alto) and doing a bit of research, I realized I would need to upgrade the mouthpiece, since the mouthpiece is a critical component of playability and tone. I went to a few shops and asked around, in addition to reading online. This is a highly recommended mouthpiece to start with. The Vandoren V16 is well respected and seen as a great starting point for people wanting to explore quality mouthpieces. Hard rubber is recommended for beginners as metal can be harder to control. I was told a 6 or 6* is generally a good place to start in terms of size. Upon getting my mouthpiece, I found that the sax was easier to play, I had far better control of the low notes, and also a richer, fatter tone overall. You need to pair your reed to your mouthpiece. In this case, with this mouthpiece, a Vandoren 3 works well for me. I also got the leather Vandoren ligature, which fits really nicely on this mouthpiece and is easy to use and also looks great. If you can't try out a lot of mouthpieces (which is hard to do), this would be a good bet.