Yamaha Alto Sax Mouthpiece 4C

Bought for my son in high school band. He was struggling with his old mouth piece squeaking so we upgraded. This one is very nice quality with a great sound. It’s beyond beginners, the fit and functionality are the same as the old one. Good value for the money. Would buy again.

This mouthpiece is really nice and looks well built . The reeds sit really nice on it so good choice and great price

Well, actually I bought it twice because my original one was either stolen, or I'm the world's biggest idiot about misplacing things. Normally I don't do product reviews on Amazon anymore, but I'm making an exception here. I've been playing sax for about 3 months now on a YAS 23 which actually came with another student mouthpiece made by NEMC, so I bought the Yamaha 4C. After about 3 months of some pretty good progress if I do say so myself, my MPC went missing and I had to use the NEMC one. Holy crap, it's like night and day. The 4c outperforms it in every way from playability to sound and even tuning. Is the 4C a professional piece? Absolutely not. It's designed for us students to get a sound. Is it head and shoulders above most "student" mouthpieces? YES GOOD LORD YES. If you're a student or just starting out, do yourself a favor and drop $25 on either this or the 5C. Yamaha is a legend in the business and for good reason. Their uniform quality control means your chances of getting a "bad" Yamaha MPC are lower than a lot of other brands. The 4c is the industry standard I was pointed to by everyone I spoke with, and I understand why now. Can't wait for my replacement to get here Monday!

This is a fine mouthpiece for beginner players. Easy to play, maybe a touch bright but not too harsh. Great value too. Highly recommended!

I bought a used Yamaha YAS 23 it didn't come with mouthpiece. Who wants a used mouth piece ? The Sax is going to be share between the son and me. We bought 2 mouth piece, one Yamaha (this one), the other Rico. My son get the Yamaha and I get the Rico. I had no experience playing sax at all and spent days without making any real notes. Took that to my 1st lesson, the teacher said, "do you have another mouth piece ?". "Yes but it's my son's". Well poor son was not there, so I replaced the Rico with this Yamaha (both brand new, practically) and wa la ! I was playing notes in 2 complete octaves ! Night and Day ! The reason why it did not get 5 stars from me is because they did not include the ligature. Seem like a no brainer to me to include the mouthpiece which they can get for $2, and sell the package for $5 more.

I picked the mouthpiece based on the recommendation of several teachers and some online reviews that I trust for, me, an adult beginner. I have also tried a J&D Hite Premiere and a Bundy (model unknown) that a teacher had on hand. I recommend placing a Mouthpiece Cushion from Lebianc. (I have the thin clear ones.) Although not immediately obvious these cushions will work with an Alto Sax mouthpiece. This is working so well I ordered a spare. Also I understand, from those that know more than me that I will be able to use this mouthpiece for several years if not longer. The Yamaha YAC-1607 Gold 4C Ligature works just fine. Just give it some time to shape itself to this mouthpiece when you first get it. The "American Plating Alto Sax Mouthpiece Cap" will work with this mouthpiece and when it is in stock you can get it for $1.95 here at Amazon. (If there are other items in your order as it is an add-on item. Which is a new program here at Amazon.) I wasn't sure if this mouthpiece cap would fit but I took the chance.

This is the second one of these that I've purchased for my middle school band student. The first one that I purchased to replace the rather crappy one that came with his sax got a small chip in it (from when I dropped it while cleaning it .... oops!). It still seemed to play fine, but you just never know, so I bought another one and moved the chipped one to being a "backup". This mouthpiece with a Bari Star (medium) synthetic reed and a Vandoren LC57DP ligature has proven to be a perfect combination. My son gets excellent sound and is always being complimented by his band director as well as judges at solo and ensemble competition. They're always surprised to find out he's using a synthetic reed, but I think it's the combination of the three that makes all the difference.

If you are a beginner, you probably think that getting this mouthpiece will greatly improve your sound on your budget sax- it absolutely will. But it will only raise you to the minimum level. You need to get a Selmer Paris or Vandoren v16 to really have a decent set up. If you cant afford $150 mouthpiece then dont waste the $25 on the Y5c. Grind with your factory one until you can afford a french one. Still this mouthpiece is the best mouthpiece for the money and build with consistency and quality. It is the minimum standard for anyone serious about becoming a saxophonist. Most people recommend 2.5 strength reeds for beginners- I say start with Rico or Vandoren 1.0 or 1.5 reed with a leather Rovner dark ligature.