I’ve been playing on a Vandoren Optimum A元 for the last 8 or 9 years (and used an AL4 for a few years before that). This is a game-changing development in the sub-$200 mouthpiece market.Īnd, of course, like the other mouthpieces in D’Addario’s lineup, the new Reserve alto mouthpiece plays great. The new system is that you order a D’Addario mouthpiece from your favorite retailer, and know that it plays just like all the others. The old system is that you try out a bunch of mouthpieces that are the same make and model (by going into a store or putting a big deposit on your credit card), and pick out the one that plays best.

D’Addario’s manufacturing process (precisely milling mouthpieces from solid rod rubber) produces mouthpieces that are extremely consistent, much more so than other mass-produced professional mouthpieces, which are generally finished a little by hand. I’ve been hammering on one point with all the D’Addario mouthpieces, but it’s worth bringing up again because it’s an important innovation in how mouthpieces are made and bought. (As with the last several reviews, D’Addario sent me some mouthpieces at no cost, with the possibility but not the promise of a review.)

If you have read my reviews of the D’Addario clarinet and jazz alto and tenor saxophone mouthpieces, you won’t be surprised to learn that I’m a big fan of their new classical alto saxophone mouthpiece, too. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.

Sax mouthpiece facing chart