this might seem obvious and just me being an idiot but PLEASE do not use anything at all abrasive if the staining doesn’t seem to be lifting - I used a scourer thinking it was just getting the calcium off and now my whole mouthpiece is wrecked. It still works fine but visually (and emotionally lol my saxophone is basically my child) it’s ruined and a new mouthpiece would be over 100 quid down the drain :( Edit: this is not directed to anything in the video at all, I think the advice is sound enough if the staining isn’t really old. just a warning to anybody else desperate enough to think to try it as well😬
Hey Lucy - I’m so sorry to hear about your mouthpiece 😢 That’s a very important point - you want to avoid anything abrasive whilst cleaning. Different mouthpiece materials are also more susceptible to abrasives than others. Can I ask what mouthpiece you had? I’ve pinned your comment so others can be on the lookout… 👀
Tried this with both my mouthpieces. Worked well for my Meyer 6M, but I used the second method with vinegar for my Selmer C-Star… by the time I remembered the thing was made of rubber it was too late. It would probably be a good idea to include a warning about using rubber mouthpieces with vinegar. Either way, I’ll be using the first method described in the video for cleaning my mouthpieces from now on.
Awesome! Great to hear you’re enjoying the Beginner Series 😊 I don’t know if you’ve seen it already, but you might find my video on spit useful! th-cam.com/video/unydN0iyPuc/w-d-xo.html
I've repaired, refaced, cleaned, polished, filled in teeth divots, banded cracked shanks on literally hundreds of woodwind mouthpieces over the past 30-35 years. I have also taught many others this art. I've had a lot of material published online. If a player finds the vinegar descaling offensive, try lemon juice. Olive oil is a popular remedy to shine up the dull finish, but let me recommend using a soft cloth (t-shirt material) and Mcguire's or other quality plastic polish to shine it up, and do it by hand only. This will also remove the green or brown oxidation of true hard rubber. DO NOT allow anyone to machine buff the mouthpiece. I have seen many facings ruined from that.
If you play regularly I think cleaning the mouthpiece every 1-2 weeks is best, you don’t need to use the vinegar every time - only when you notice the mouthpiece is stained 😊
If it discoloured your mouthpiece then I imagine it is made of rubber, not plastic and you used water that was too hot. Hot water will turn it a greenish colour.
this might seem obvious and just me being an idiot but PLEASE do not use anything at all abrasive if the staining doesn’t seem to be lifting - I used a scourer thinking it was just getting the calcium off and now my whole mouthpiece is wrecked. It still works fine but visually (and emotionally lol my saxophone is basically my child) it’s ruined and a new mouthpiece would be over 100 quid down the drain :(
Edit: this is not directed to anything in the video at all, I think the advice is sound enough if the staining isn’t really old. just a warning to anybody else desperate enough to think to try it as well😬
Hey Lucy - I’m so sorry to hear about your mouthpiece 😢 That’s a very important point - you want to avoid anything abrasive whilst cleaning. Different mouthpiece materials are also more susceptible to abrasives than others. Can I ask what mouthpiece you had? I’ve pinned your comment so others can be on the lookout… 👀
i used a butter knife once scraping what i thought was gunk off... i realized after drying it that it was the varnish
Tried this with both my mouthpieces. Worked well for my Meyer 6M, but I used the second method with vinegar for my Selmer C-Star… by the time I remembered the thing was made of rubber it was too late. It would probably be a good idea to include a warning about using rubber mouthpieces with vinegar. Either way, I’ll be using the first method described in the video for cleaning my mouthpieces from now on.
Thank you man, bouta clean my C* and I'm glad I saw this.
Hey didn't know Seth McFarlan played sax, but that is no surprise considering his jazzy personality.
😂
Bro I thought I was the only one 💀
Good to see you ! Im loving the beginners course. This video is good because im pretty much drooling into my mouthpiece 😅. Swab swab and use key leafs
Awesome! Great to hear you’re enjoying the Beginner Series 😊 I don’t know if you’ve seen it already, but you might find my video on spit useful! th-cam.com/video/unydN0iyPuc/w-d-xo.html
I've repaired, refaced, cleaned, polished, filled in teeth divots, banded cracked shanks on literally hundreds of woodwind mouthpieces over the past 30-35 years. I have also taught many others this art. I've had a lot of material published online. If a player finds the vinegar descaling offensive, try lemon juice. Olive oil is a popular remedy to shine up the dull finish, but let me recommend using a soft cloth (t-shirt material) and Mcguire's or other quality plastic polish to shine it up, and do it by hand only. This will also remove the green or brown oxidation of true hard rubber. DO NOT allow anyone to machine buff the mouthpiece. I have seen many facings ruined from that.
this truly helped me out so much! Especially after marching band season.
thank you so much for this !!
Glad it helped 😊
this method worked very well for my meyer, wondering if this method also works for metal mouthpieces?
How often should you do this?
If you play regularly I think cleaning the mouthpiece every 1-2 weeks is best, you don’t need to use the vinegar every time - only when you notice the mouthpiece is stained 😊
hi can you you vegetable oil to polish the mouthpiece or do you have to use olive oil
I tried this on my mouthpiece. It went green. Any advice would be great Cheer
Where did you get that sax lamp!
Is this safe for a metal mouthpiece?
Good question
Yes.
Is that a Biilger?
Will this still work for the calcium deposits to go away if the calcium deposits have stayed on the mouth piece for more than 2 weeks?
Yes, it should do!
What if it is a hard rubber mouthpiece
don't use the vinegar, apparently (according to another comment) it wrecked it
What to use if I have no white vinegar?
Lemon juice. It may take a little longer but will work.
Yeh great. that didn't work.
It turned my mouthpiece green.
Hey Allan! That’s really unusual, what kind of mouthpiece are you using?
If it discoloured your mouthpiece then I imagine it is made of rubber, not plastic and you used water that was too hot. Hot water will turn it a greenish colour.
@@robfairbrother3014 Mine turned green aswell, literally used cold water.
Water should not be used either hard rubber/ebonite mouthpieces.
@@robfairbrother3014 I believe the green is from the sulfur used as the curing agent in hard rubber. Can’t get around it.
Thanks for this useful information,
Godspeed and God bless!