D'Addario Woodwinds Rico Metalite Alto Sax Mouthpiece, M7

8 months ago, I bought a bari that came with the original Yamaha 5c piece and a metal Otto Link 7. The Otto Link (~$200) is a very nice piece and I am happy playing it, but I read that the Metalite was the current version of the Brilhardt (the piece I prefer on tenor) and at $25 figured why not see how it compares. I think the Metalite is a better piece for what I do (Jazz and Rock). I had assumed the metal piece would be more aggressive, but the Metalite surprised me with more power, edge and bite than the Otto! THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS PIECE IS THE WAY IT OPENS UP THE UPPER REGISTER! I understand the stuffiness of the upper register (compared to tenor or alto) is a design compromise so the Bari could hit those wonderful, full bottom notes without the "honkyness" I have to be fight off on Alto or Tenor. The Yamaha 5c piece is stuffy through the upper register despite having a reputation as easy to play. The Otto does a lot to open these notes up, but, WOW! the Metalite is so open, I can almost think I am playing tenor in the upper register! It is great if you want to wail out a solo and also ideal for getting raunchy with your sound! Nonetheless, I think the Otto would be the better piece for playing in a small, intimate setting with microphone. It has a great full, round, and mellow sound and it plays "soft and soulful" unlike any other piece I've tried. However, I primarily play in a big band so that just doesn't fill the bill for me. I bought a M9 before finding out about the M7 and M5. The packaging says to use the M9 with a soft reed. I use my standard #3 reed and it works great. But I had to buy and try a M7 to see if it made any difference. I could detect no difference of consequence between these two pieces. I think the different facing options are more of a marketing ploy than anything else. That said, I am curious enough to spend another $25 to see if I can tell a difference between the two extremes - M9 and M5. I will post my findings here or check under the M5 reviews after I have a chance to log some time on both of them. At $25, I think anyone who plays bari should try this. I'd recommend the M7 since it is in the middle. If you are a beginner and don't like it, stick it aside and try it again a year later after your embouchure muscles have had time to develop. I mentioned the power, but it also play nice and soft for concert band. Note: I play a Yamaha YBS-62 which has two pads that open when the octave key is pressed in the upper (G and higher) register. This might effect how the piece reacts in the upper register. Please post your experiences with other horns!

I'd say that for the money this is a good mouthpiece. But in truth, at triple the price, it'd still be a good mouthpiece. That said, it is a high baffle mouthpiece, and they are notorious for issues in the lower range of the saxophone. And for some, they have too bright and cutting of a sound. It took a couple days work to find a reed that worked well with it, and ended up with a Vandoren Java Red. Ligature wise, the Rico H-Ligature is perfect for this mouthpiece, as you might expect. So the test...how does this mouthpiece play. Once you have the reed right, it plays wonderfully. Of course, I was looking for a brighter sound. and this gives you that. I was coming from playing an Otto Link metal mouthpiece, and this 7M Metalite out blows it. Funny, how after spending hundreds of dollars on mouthpieces, it is the best priced one of the bunch that wins out in the end. This may not be right for all players, it can be hard to control, but if you want a good contemporary sound this can give you that. You just may have to work with it. The more you play it, the better it gets. This is an update to the earlier review...I thought I'd try the M9 version of this mouthpiece, but was a little wary because of the wider opening and longer facing. But wow, what a difference. I found this M9 version a lot easier to play, and more responsive, especially in the lower register, where the M7 was lacking. The M9 version is the ONE to go with for this mouthpiece.

I ordered this mouthpiece on Amazon to use on a Lazarro soprano I also bought on Amazon. It arrived very quickly and makes the horn sound and play a lot better. I haven't played Rico mouthpieces before, but saw many people online recommending it for the brightness and low cost. It allows me to get the high notes on the Lazarro soprano to play, which wasn't possible with the generic mouthpiece that came with the horn. I'm using it with a Rovner dark R1RVS soprano ligature, which fits it fine. On product features I gave it a 5 in the category of "value for money". Not sure why "Thickness" and "Sheerness" are suggested categories they asked me to rate, but I gave it a 3 for thickness and a 3 for sheerness, because... huh? Anyway, I like it fine. Mouthpieces are personal of course, everybody likes a different sound and response. This one has quite a high baffle, which I like. I bought the one with the M7 opening, using softer reeds and the sound on soprano is pretty decent, reedy and warm. It's a high quality piece at a really reasonable price. I don't really like the grey color, but I'm living with it.

After reading so many positive reviews about this piece, I decided to go for it. This mouthpiece is a good intro to the high baffle, edgy, bright mouthpieces for someone like me who is an intermediate player. I have always played darker, hard rubber style of mouthpieces, and I wanted to experiment with a different, more modern sound without breaking the bank. There are other brands that will accomplish the same thing as this Rico piece, but you can easily pay $300 or much more for many name brand mpcs, and this is 1/10th of the price. I would not recommend it for beginners, and instead I would recommend sticking with a more traditional mouthpiece until you have developed good control and embouchure strength. My mid to upper registers sound much brighter, but I do not love my bottom notes yet, although maybe that it is just my lack of skills. I bought the M7 tip opening, and I have found that softer reeds seem to work best for me. I do not think that this will ever be my primary mouthpiece for me, but it provides me with an alternative sound when I want it. All in all, it is a great value relative to cost and for this reason I give it 5 stars.

Good mouthpiece

Veramente fantastico come bocchino alternativo. Utilizzo un Berg Larsen metallo e ho voluto prendere il metalite dopo aver letto feedback sulla rete. Che dire, avevo comprato in base all'apertura del mio, il metalite 7, poi mi sono reso conto dopo un pò che mi sembrava un pò chiuso per l'apertura al quale sono abituato. Ho acquistato a "scatola chiusa" anche il 9. Che dire..... Fantastico. La stessa ancia (Rico Royal) da Berg Larsen a questo e il suono è pazzesco.

C'est un excellent rapport prix... Ce n'est pas le meilleur bec au monde mais pour 40 c'est le meilleur affaire à faire

Der Sound ist wirklich etwas knackiger und erinnert an Metallmundstücke. Aber zum Bruchteil des Preises eines Metallmundstücks. Zum Probieren absolut empfehlenswert.

C'est simple, il n'y a pas mieux à ce prix. Si vous recherchez un bec puissant et facile à jouer, n'allez pas plus loin. Un incontournable, même si ce n'est pas votre bec principal. Peut-être pas pour tout les goûts et certainement pas pour le classique ou si vous souhaitez vous fondre dans la masse d'un ensemble. Mais pour sortir du lot et s'exprimer haut et fort! J'ai le même en alto, tenor et baryton...