I`ve been trying to get the Kenny G sound and I realised that the mouth piece is the most important element to get the bright sound he produces. Kenny G uses Dukoff D8 Silverite mouthpiece. http://www.dukoff.com

I bought the same mouthpiece and the rovner ligature but I use RICO reeds, and I still get the same sound Kenny G produces. BTW I use a Amati Saxophone which has a metal finishing in their pads, it would help to get a bright sound as well.

I use the AKG WMS400 wireless system with the C419L microphone to pick up the sound. It really does sound like Kenny G with this setup.

Please visit my website. http://wong.net.my

Regards,
Alan Wong

when i play ther is a bubbly sound that comes out as well can anyone help

Normally, the bubbly sound is due to the saliva which is accumulated in the mouthpiece and gooseneck. Clean the saliva and you will get the clear sound again.

Regards,
Alan Wong
http://wong.net.my

Good day to all of you especially to Mr. Wong. Ive opened your e-mail address and wrote you a letter. Did you read it already? I appreciate very much your pieces of advices in this forum. I`ve listened also to your sample music and I`m impressed. Your sound is great also.

the most important part of producing a kenny g sound is NOT the mouthpiece, the sax, but the reed. do not even attempt at trying to play like kenny g with a 2.5 or 3 rico reed, because you will fail miserably. take a 3.0 rico reed, and a knife, and shave off the reed until you feel the sound is good, the best sound to try on is middle E and high A, you should have a soft sound.
mr. wong, i looked at your website, you must have been very happy preforming the songs, and i`m happy for you too... and the sggirls, they are very unique. but one thing i noticed when i was listening to your 3 mp3s, your soprano sax sounds like an oboe! you should not use saxes with metal finishing on the pads because it greatly damages your sound. i was wondering if anyone else listened to the songs, serious, they sound like an oboe playing, no offense mr. wong, your sound is way off the chart of the likeness to kenny g`s sound...

Thanks for your tips Hunter. I`ve not put in the latest recordings as I was not using the proper microphone to record. I realised that the microphone is really important and I will be putting in some more recordings in my website in a day or two. Please let me know if it do sound more like Kenny then. Thanks again...

no problem, another tip, you should notice where kenny g places his microphone, if you put the microphone on the inner side of the sax, (the side closer to your body), the sound recorded is more dull than if you place it on the opposite side. i suggest that you clip on to the low B or Bb key hole if you don`t use any of those 2 keys. if you put the microphone there, the sound will sound very sharp and the high sounds should sound soft... notice not all kenny g`s sounds are metal-like, only his middle Bb, B, C, Db has a flat sound, not flat as in flat/sharp flat, but a very unique sound. kenny`s middle Es and high As are very very soft, his high C, Db, and D are flat sounds, and all other sounds are very soft but solid. when you play, you have to understand the song, and play with your heart, it doesnt matter how many wrong notes, but how you change the dynamics and know the peaks and the low parts, where to use a lot of air, and where to "mumble" the sound; where to add tongueing, where to add slurs, and where to "tongue" with a "fff" sound even if not marked on the music, listen to his music more and you will get it. hope this helps

i agree with a lot of the previous replies. Kenny G`s sound is way too overly bright and a little "ducky". Its all enhanced and synthesized anyway so you don`t actually hear what he really sounds like. I give my condolensces to anyone who has gone through the ordeal of listening to him play in person without a mic. All he does is take relatively slow modern pop songs, bring them up several octaves, and fancy them up a bit while swaying back and forth. OK, my rant is done.
Seeing as you play ALTO, and Kenny G plays soprano, you wouldn`t be looking for his tone anyway. Some good alto players to listen to: Charlie Parker, Cannonball Adderly, Phil Woods, Paul Desmond, Grover Washington Jr., and of course my man Bleeding Gums Murphy (kidding).

i agree, kenny g doesn take a few pop songs and put a little twist, but that`s what skill is all about... and i can make kenny g`s sound on my alto, exactly the same... so :P

dude, can a thread have more than 9 pages?

i guess nobody is paying attention to this anymore...

isn`t playing pop songs with a new twist unoriginal? does it really require any skill? and aren`t you supposed to match tone and timbre in all octaves of the horn?

In order to produce a music piece like Kenny.....u need to his music day after day till u hate hearing it....but still u listen to his music again and again and practice on the sax....record your sound to see if you`re getting close to it`s sound. The trick is to keep on practising on the soprano daily. Sometimes it`s good to compare Kenny`s sound with Coltrane`s....you`ll improve even further while practicing. Get a selmer soprano cos it`s the best. Good Luck DUDE!!

The key to your tone isn`t the horn, mpc, or reed. It`s mainly you the size and shape of your body cavity that determines how the air goes through the horn. When I switched from a Yamaha stock mpc, to a Selmer C*, my tone didn`t change very much at all.

My opinion on sound is that it is one of the hardest things to do on saxophone. Of course, equipment helps, but the main part comes from the player himself. Starting of with the right embouchure helps alot. Also controlling your embouchure and flexibility of it is important to produce different sounds (roughly said classical sax or jazz sax). My opinion is that you should practice alot on varying your embouchure and still getting a decent tone. Then you`ll be able to go along and search the exact tone you want for a certain piece.

I myself play a Selmer S3 sax with a massive silver neck and a standard Selmer C* Mouthpiece. I`m able to produce tone quality for classical saxophone (which i study at the conservatory) and jazz music. I`ve tested several other jazz mouthpieces (like ottolink, meyer, dukoff,...) and my conclusion is that you can approach (or even get to) the sound produced by a jazz mouthpiece with a classical mouthpiece like my Selmer C*. It isn`t easy but it`s possible. Remember: 90% of your sound comes from yourself...