Beijing Adventures in White Mouthpieces & C-Melody Saxophones
NB: Saxophone gearhead post ahead. Read at your potential boredom or enthrallment. Paul Dupré 3-Star Conservatoire Tenor Mouthpiece Saxophonists are serious about their gear in Beijing. I've had the pleasure of hanging out at my friend Mayong's shop, Sheng Lan, on Xin Jie Kou road, where both sides of the street are jam-packed with instrument stores; Mayong is widely recognized as the main go-to place for professional jazz saxophonists and woodwind players, and his shop is one of few here that focuses on carrying high-end vintage instruments. People sure love their Selmer Mark VIs here, although I've noticed that SBAs are starting to gain more traction as tastes move toward darker, more old-school sounds. One of Mayong's employees, Liu Yang, is into vintage Martin altos and recently bought a Martin tenor that came with a number of obscure mouthpieces, including the above "Paul Dupré Conservatoire" white plastic mouthpiece, originally marked as a ...