Although I play all styles of music I am a 'classical' saxophonist... that is where my heart lies (although I do also have a passion for free-jazz).
This is a wonderful mouthpiece offering the performer an opportunity to really express themselves and to find nuances of tone, warmth and expression previously rarely accessible.
I have always preferred Selmer mouthpieces on Alto and played a 'Concept' since it was introduced, and had been happy with the results. However, I felt that it was a good idea to try something different and am very pleased that I did. I play two Buffet Altos, an S3 Copper Prestige and a modern Senzo (brushed copper), but have also owned Selmer BA , Mark VI, Mark VII and Super 80. I use a set up that might seem strange to many 'classical' players - soft synthetic Legere Signature reeds 2.25/2.5 - but it works for me!
I also like a pure, immediately sound, with no 'air' or delay in the instrument speaking.
Although outwardly the Claude Delangle looks very similar to the Concept it is very different inside, both in shape, in having a metal lining and considerably heavier.
When I initially read about this mouthpiece I was worried that this metal lining, together with a slightly more open tip, would make the sound too bright for my taste. I couldn't have been more wrong!
This mouthpieces is a revelation.
The sound it produces is full and round without any hint of edge, full-fat cream rather than low-fat milk, a warm and smooth silky timbre, but with a underlying depth supporting it - more complex that the 'Concept'. This offers the player a far greater pallet of tonal colours to use in their performance.
The response is the best I've ever experience, at all dynamic levels from a whisper to a roar, and in all registers of the instrument. Double tonguing has never been so easy.
For me the altissimo speaks without effort - even at 'piano'.
Initially I thought that there was a disparity in tone between the lower end of the range, say Bb up to A, and the rest of the instrument, but feel that this was me and not the mouthpiece - I wasn't used to how easy it was to produce a full, but warm, tone in this register without adjusting my throat/oral cavity. After an hour of playing this concern vanished.
Mouthpiece choice is a very personal thing but for me the 'Claude Delangle' offers far more than I had expected. I still sound like 'me' but with more character, more depth and even more soul.
Thank you Claude Delangle and Selmer!
