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A Yamaha 4C tenor sax mouthpiece with modifications to turn it from a student mouthpiece to a high performance modern jazz mouthpiece.

I should mention that I think that a Yamaha 4C makes for a perfectly fine beginner mouthpiece. I played on a 4C alto mouthpiece in my middle school beginning band, and it served me just fine. I did however switch to a better mouthpiece with a decently larger tip opening probably a few months after I started playing, which I would also recommend to any beginner. A 60 - 65 tip opening on tenor should only be used by someone just starting out, it is way to small for anyone who has even somewhat of a developed embouchure.

Additional play testing notes:
While I do think you can tell the volume difference in the recordings, the perceived volume of each piece when you're playing them is a dramatic difference.

Standard full range scale:
I actually think the stock 4C doesn't sound half bad here. The tone is a bit muffled all around, and a scale like this doesn't really showcase it's limitations like the other tests do. The modded 4C is obviously brighter and just sounds clearer and more lively over all, especially in the upper range of the horn.

Staccato:
To me this test shows a much bigger difference than the full range scale. The stock 4C sounds really dull, like a speaker with a wet towel over it. You can hear how much more crisp the articulation is on the modded 4C.

Altissimo:
Not terrible on the stock, but nothing specifically positive about it either. Notes pop out ok but do not feel satisfying at all. Playing high altissimo F with that small of a tip opening just feels weird. The modded 4C sounds so much more lively, and the notes pop out very predictably. The altissimo A is just great, but then again that's one of my favorite and most stable altissimo notes.

Volume Swell:
My response to the first stock one was totally unplanned, just an honest reaction to hearing that horrible noise. That gurgling sounds is the mouthpiece responding to my embouchure transition from subtone to "fulltone." A properly functioning mouthpiece will let you smoothly make that embouchure transition, but clearly the stock 4C cannot. At the end of the note when the volume is at its fullest, something about the limited airflow makes the note crap out again and make that lovely sound. The modded 4C takes the air easily, and smoothly ramps up in volume without any issues. As you can hear, a properly formed mouthpiece can play both quieter and louder than a super closed tip opening piece.

Subtone:
The 4C struggles in the same exact way as the volume swell. It gives you no control at the minimum volume, which is terrible for expressive playing. The modded 4C subtones beautifully, and maintains a richness to the tone even with the very present "air" quality to the sound. The ramp up from no sound to the quietest subtone is effortless.

Bend Test:
This one is pretty simple, bigger tip openings let you bend notes further, so the stock 4C is naturally a lot less flexible. Similar to the subtone test, this inflexibility is also bad for expressive playing.

General play test:
It's easy to play and it sounds good. It does what any good piece of equipment does: it disappears from your mind as you play, because of the fact that it doesn't hold you back. If you are actively noticing that a piece of equipment isn't working, you're not entirely focusing on what you're playing.

While this isn't going to become my main piece that I play all the time, I am very happy with the end result, especially considering how it played before.

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