what is your setup?!

I use Rico 3 1/2 and an HR Otto Link 7* on a Yamaha tenor

Well.....

I have a P. Mauriat Tenor . For Jazz I use a Vandoren Java 3 with a Vandoren V16 mouthpiece (I kinda wanna try and Otto Link) and for Classical I use a Vandoren 3 with a Selmer C*.

For Alto, I use a Yamaha Custom EX . For Jazz, I don't really know what I have (my teacher gave it to me ahaha) but I got a Vandoren Java 3 reed. For classical, I have a Vandoren V5 mouthpiece with a size 7 tip opening and a Vandoren Java reed (society be damned!)

For Soprano, I have an Antigua . I use a Vandoren V16 mouthpiece with a Vandoren Java 3 Reed.

I REALLY want to get this saxophone sometime soon.... it probably sounds awful but its sooooooooooo cool. http://www.vibratosax.com/products-a1s.html

Yeah the vintage metal links have a superb sound quality once you get the hang of them, very full and robust, HUGE projection, its hard to describe. Each player can shape the sound differently.

I've gone for softer reeds on Tenor, as they allow you to get a fatter tone. I'm using a RAC 7* with La Voz Mediums, jumped all the way down from La Voz Hards. And I'm using a mediocre saxophone, although it doesn't really impact my sound nearly as much as the reeds / mouthpiece: Yamaha YTS - ??. Opinions on metal link mouthpieces? I tried a link for a few weeks, but the RAC still gave me a substantially brighter tone, and a bit more flexibility as far as volume range goes, and breathiness of sound.

on yamahas, I feel like there isn't enough enough resistance for a metal link to work to get that lush open sound ala coltrane or Rollins, maybe with a lot of long tones, but not the same as a HR.

It all depends on the sound you are looking for - for brightness, there is probably no better than a rac or brilhart or selmer soloist - the link chamber is just too open and the baffle too low to get the kind of sound i think you are looking for.

I love links in general though - I use hr and metal on my tenor :D Loving the sax players here at smogon!

Yeah seems like we have a lot of em! Yeah, I used to use a Selmer Soloist E Shank, but honestly, the RAC is an amazing mouthpiece. I feel like RAC's an oft-overlooked brand that consistently puts out overwhelmingly high quality mouthpieces. I think the sound I'm aiming for is not as much Coltrane, but more Mobley / Quebec. According to band-mates I sound like Lester Young (obviously an inferior version), but that's progress!

Also, it isn't necessarily the reed hardness that makes your sound thin or fat - stronger and more focused air columns do, and I think a part of your getting a fat sound on soft reeds is less biting and a greater reed vibration. Think Seamus Blake, Joshua Redman, even Rollins, used very hard reeds.

If you really want a bright but focused sound, I'd go for the Jody Jazz classic. I've been using it quite a bit lately on Tenor and it really helps counteract the mellow tone of my horn. I have to use a Baffle and Java reeds if I really want a bright sound (which I really don't like but my band director calls the shots). The Vandoren Java 3s give it a real fat sound, but the biggest problem is the reed is a little wider than the mouthpiece, and often it cuts my lips. But no pain, no gain.

sand the sides to make it fit the mouthpiece :p