2021.08.24 Comparison of MC Gregory and Optimum Series

【About MC Gregory and VandorenAL】
(Maniac and long sentence. It is an original consideration.)
As a fan of Paul Desmond and Art Pepper, this research started from a long-standing thought about how to use MC Gregory with current instruments.
MC Gregory+SBA has a very good balance between mouthpiece and instrument.
However, if you try to arrange each one in good condition, it can’t be helped that it costs money.
In my case, I never got around to getting an SBA, but MC Gregory has been lucky enough to get a few over the last 15 years or so.
The following two are in good condition. (Picture ①)
【Model-A 4A16】
Tip opening…1.7018mm (published value)※See [Postscript (2022/10/08)] below.
medium facing
small chamber
【Model-A 4A18】
Tip opening 1.7018mm (published value)※See [Postscript (2022/10/08)] below.
medium facing
medium chamber
4A18 was used by Paul Desmond and Art Pepper.
It worked fine with the Mark6 I was using before, but even with the 4A18 attached to the 82Z I’m using now, the mouthpiece feels like it’s losing out to the instrument, and the sound is hollow.
But if you ask someone who has an SBA to play it with 4A18 attached, you’ll get that streak sound!
Since I started using 82Z like this, my MCs have been sleeping all the time.
A few years ago, someone advised me that the subtone sounds of that era were hard reeds with narrow openings. So I refaced the D’Addario D5M that I was using at the time, and asked them to make the opening about 1.7mm (about MC Gregory and Meyer’s #4) and widen the chamber a little.
I was happy with this for a while.
I came across this video by chance the other day.

I don’t really understand what he’s talking about, but this guy sounds great!
Are you using a Vandoren A5M mouthpiece?
Ah, I’ve never used Vandoren.
Alright, let’s check out Vandoren!
That’s why I’m staring at this page.
https://www.nonaka.com/vandoren/mouthpiece_/saxophone_list.html
I don’t know why I’m not used to it.
yeah? The opening of A5M is 1.88mm.
It’s a little wide.
Buy an AL5 around 1.7mm.
You’ll also get a guarantee when you take lessons from Super Idol in June.
So I started researching this thread.(on Facebook)
https://www.facebook.com/100001657093104/posts/4667891883276002/?d=n
Now, I am quite satisfied with the AL5 tip rail that has been refaced with a thinner one.
In fact, halfway through, I realized that the 4A16 (medium facing, small chamber) sounds good with my 82Z.
Maybe the key point is the chamber?
Is a small chamber better for MC Gregory on current instruments?
Vandoren’s site doesn’t go into great detail about the chambers, so I compared them based on how they look and feel.
(Picture ②③④)
I think the degree and shape of the chamber differs depending on the manufacturer, but in MC Gregory and Vandoren AL5, the boundary between the chamber and the bore is round and has a stepped shape.
They look similar, don’t they?
What I noticed here is that AL5 is a small chamber like MC Gregory4A16! (I didn’t measure it with a machine, so I’m not sure) →Picture ③④
As for the difference, MC Gregory has a wall that is hollowed out to the tip, while AL5 has a wall that is hollowed out from the middle, the baffle is different, and the shank is also different.
If we interpret these differences as being compatible with current instruments, then the current mouthpiece that has elements of MC Gregory and can be adapted to current instruments is something like AL5.
AL5 has a thick tip rail at the time of sale, so just reface it to make it thinner and it will be much closer to MC Gregory. It seems worth trying in the future whether to make it a low baffle or not.
As a result of trying various things, it seems that if you are looking for a tone like Paul Desmond with current instruments and mouthpieces, so-called jazz mouthpieces sold at musical instrument stores are not suitable. Because the tip opening is too wide in the first place.

【Instagram】
https://www.instagram.com/p/CS6_7pUJ_c8/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

このときの比較で相当整理できたかも。
そしてオープニングの狭いジャズ系のマウスピースが少ないことをを嘆いております。
The comparisons at this time could be quite sorted out.
And I lament the lack of narrow jazz-type mouthpieces for the opening.

【追記(2022/10/08)】
ティップオープニングについては様々なデータがあり、この記事を書いたときはこちらを参照してました。
→Aizen https://www.sax.co.jp/altoopening.pdf
しかし、Sax on the Web Forum内にあるMC Gregoryついて深く研究したページ
「A Brief History Of M.C. Gregory and Gale Mouthpieces」
を参照すると、ここのスレッドの最初の投稿にあるリンクのレポートには、下記のようにある。
Alto
#2→.052
#3→.058
#4→.062
#5→.067
inch表記なのでmmに換算すると、
#4は1.5748mmとなる。
オプティマムシリーズでいうとAL3とAL4の中間。
現存するオリジナルの個体を計測したらもっと大きかったとの記述もありますが、

これは経年変化によるものかどうかは不明なので、正直なところ謎です。
しかし上記の数値は信頼性高いような気がする。

また、2021年発売されたMorgan MouthpieceのDry Martini は下記のとおり。
#4→.063(=1.6002mm)
#5→.070(=1.778mm)
#6→.075(=1.905mm)
現代の環境に合わせてこの数値に設定したのだろう。
.063のティップオープニングをラインナップしてくれてるのは嬉しいことですね♪

[Postscript (2022/10/08)
There are various data about tip openings, and I was referring to this when I wrote this article. →Aizen https://www.sax.co.jp/altoopening.pdf
However, a page in the Sax on the Web Forum that researched MC Gregory in depth
A Brief History Of M.C. Gregory and Gale Mouthpieces
The report in the link in the first post of the thread here reads as follows
Alto.
#2 → .052
#3 → .058
#4 → .062
#5 → .067
Since it is written in inches, it can be converted to mm,
#4 is 1.5748mm.
In terms of the Optimum series, it is between AL3 and AL4.
Although there are some descriptions that say it was larger when the original existing pieces were measured,
This is honestly a mystery, as it is not clear if this is due to aging or not.
However, the above figures seem reliable.
Also, the Dry Martini from Morgan Mouthpiece released in 2021 is as follows.
#4 → .063(=1.6002mm
#5 → .070(=1.778mm)
#6 →.075(=1.905mm)
These values were probably set to match the modern environment.
I’m glad to see that they have a .063 tip opening in their lineup.