Equipment
Ryan Burrage performs on a wide range of clarinets, saxophones, and electronic wind instruments, with setups chosen for tone, response, projection, and stylistic flexibility. His equipment reflects his work in traditional jazz, swing, New Orleans jazz, blues, R&B, recording, and live performance settings.
Main Bb Clarinet Setup
Ryan’s primary clarinet is a somewhat rare Selmer Paris Omega, a model produced for a short period in the late 1990s. The Omega combines elements associated with the Selmer Centered Tone and Series 9 lines, giving it a distinctive voice and response. This is the clarinet Ryan is most likely to be seen performing on.
To protect his instruments and reduce the risk of cracking, Ryan rotates other clarinets into use from time to time, including a Selmer Centered Tone, a Selmer K-series, and several other instruments.
Current Bb clarinet setup:
Instrument: Selmer Paris Omega
Mouthpiece: JodyJazz HR* #9 clarinet mouthpiece
Reed: Légère European Signature 3.5
Barrels: Kaspar Clarinet Barrels by Chedeville/JodyJazz, 63mm–66mm
Ligatures: Rovner Dark or Silverstein
Ryan has played the JodyJazz HR* #9 clarinet mouthpiece since its release in 2020, and has played other Jody Espina clarinet & saxophone mouthpieces since 2003. Jody Espina has been a longtime friend, and Ryan was pleased to play a small part in testing that line of clarinet mouthpieces. He can also be seen playing Kaspar Clarinet Barrels by Chedeville, a JodyJazz company. These aluminum barrels are designed with reduced mass in the center to enhance tonal quality. Ryan uses lengths from 63mm to 66mm, along with a few other barrels when needed to fine-tune pitch and response.
Other Clarinets
Ab Piccolo Clarinet
Ryan also owns and occasionally performs on Ab piccolo clarinet, the highest and smallest member of the clarinet family. His Ab clarinet is an Albert-system instrument, reflecting a fingering system he played for many years before returning primarily to Boehm system. Because of its rarity and impracticality, it is one of the least frequently heard instruments in his collection, but it remains a distinctive specialty voice.
Eb Clarinet
Ryan’s Eb clarinet is a vintage Conn hard-rubber instrument from around 1924. He currently pairs it with an old Selmer Paris D mouthpiece and a #3 reed. It is a compact but lively instrument with a distinctive vintage voice.
G Mezzo-Soprano Clarinet
Ryan also performs on G clarinet, often called the Low G Turkish clarinet. It is the primary clarinet used in Turkish music and is also widely heard in Balkan and Mediterranean traditions. Ryan refers to it as his G mezzo-soprano clarinet. While it is technically still classified as a soprano clarinet, its lower range and darker color place it closer to the expressive territory of alto and bass clarinet. Ryan describes it as his “flugelhorn” of the clarinet family — a darker, mellower voice that adds a distinctive color to his woodwind palette.
C Clarinet
Ryan’s C clarinet is a vintage 1930s wood Henry Gunkel model, likely a French stencil by Buffet or Couesnon. It has a wrap-around register key, a feature sometimes mistaken for Albert system by modern players, though it was common on French clarinets of that era regardless of fingering system. Ryan uses the same mouthpiece and reed setup as his Bb clarinet. Compared with Bb clarinet, the C has a livelier tone and a strong individual character.
A Clarinet
Ryan’s A clarinet is a rare 1930s one-piece Buffet full-Boehm instrument with range to low Eb. It also features Buffet’s short-lived “donut key” design. Although A clarinet is common in orchestral settings, Ryan uses it less frequently in his performance work because its transposition can place the player in unusual keys, sitting a half-step above Bb clarinet and a minor third above concert pitch. Tonally, it offers a slightly darker color than Bb clarinet, though not as dark or mellow as his G mezzo-soprano clarinet.
Bass Clarinet
Ryan owns two low Eb bass clarinets. One is a Revere Paris, likely a French stencil instrument made by Malerne or Thibouville in the 1950s or 1960s. That instrument carries special personal meaning, as it was given to him as a Christmas gift by his mentor Jacques Gauthe in 2004.
His other bass clarinet is a late-1990s Vito, which he is more likely to use in performance because of its ergonomics and ease of response. For bass clarinet, Ryan favors a big sound and uses a dark blue SYOS Todd Marcus Signature 12* mouthpiece with Légère Bass Clarinet European Signature reeds in 2.5 or 2.75.
Saxophones
Soprano Saxophone
Ryan’s main soprano saxophone was custom made for him by Eastern Music. He wanted an instrument with the visual character of older Buescher and Conn saxophones, but with the ergonomics of a more modern horn. The goal was to get closer to the sound world of Sidney Bechet while still having the practical response and feel needed for regular performance.
Current soprano saxophone setup:
Instrument: Custom Eastern Music soprano saxophone
Mouthpiece: JodyJazz HR* 8
Reed: Légère American Cut 3
Alto and Tenor Saxophones
Ryan currently performs on a Beaugnier Model 37 alto saxophone stamped “Vito.” Unlike later student-line Vito instruments, the 1950s–60s Beaugnier-made Vito saxophones were professional French horns with strong features and a distinctive tonal character. Ryan values them for their sound, build quality, and historical connection to the French saxophone tradition.
On alto, Ryan uses a JodyJazz DV HR 8 mouthpiece with Légère American Cut reeds in #3 or #3.25.
Ryan also plays a Beaugnier Model 37 Vito tenor for many of the same reasons: response, build quality, tonal character, and historical appeal. For R&B or a Coleman Hawkins-inspired approach, he uses a JodyJazz SuperJet 9* with Légère American Cut #3.5 reeds. For a Lester Young or Bud Freeman direction, he uses a JodyJazz GIANT George Garzone Signature Model 10* with D’Addario Jazz Select #3S reeds.
Current alto setup:
Instrument: Beaugnier Model 37 alto saxophone, stamped Vito
Mouthpiece: JodyJazz DV HR 8
Reed: Légère American Cut #3 or #3.25
Current tenor setups:
Instrument: Beaugnier Model 37 tenor saxophone, stamped Vito
Mouthpiece: JodyJazz SuperJet 9*
Reed: Légère American Cut #3.5
Alternate tenor setup:
Mouthpiece: JodyJazz GIANT George Garzone Signature Model 10*
Reed: D’Addario Jazz Select #3S
Baritone Saxophone
Ryan’s baritone saxophone is a low Bb Buescher 400 / Selmer USA Bundy transitional model. He currently uses a JodyJazz DV 10 baritone saxophone mouthpiece with #3 reeds, though he is still refining the ideal reed and mouthpiece combination for that instrument.
C Melody Saxophone
Ryan’s C Melody Saxophone is a Conn New Wonder Series I with a straight neck. He considers C Melody less a “tenor in C” and more an alto-range voice in C, sitting with its own character between alto and tenor. For C Melody, he uses a Saxquest “Tram” 100 mouthpiece with D’Addario Jazz Select 3S reeds.
Sopranino Saxophone
Ryan also doubles on sopranino saxophone when the musical setting calls for that additional upper-register color.
Electronic Wind Instrument
For electronic wind work, Ryan uses the Roland Aerophone AE-20, a professional-level digital wind instrument with a wide range of onboard sounds. Although he once avoided wind controllers and electronic wind instruments, the AE-20 changed his mind. Its response, playability, and variety of sounds opened up another musical direction, especially for exploring synthesized textures, layered sounds, and modern electronic colors while still using familiar wind-instrument technique.
Ryan sees the Aerophone not as a replacement for acoustic woodwinds, but as an additional voice — another tool for performance, recording, experimentation, and expanding the range of sounds available to reed players.
Artist Endorsements
Ryan Burrage is an endorsing artist for Légère Reeds, Chedeville Clarinet Mouthpieces and Accessories, and JodyJazz Clarinet and Saxophone Mouthpieces. His current setups include Légère reeds across clarinet, saxophone, and bass clarinet, along with JodyJazz mouthpieces on clarinet, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, and baritone saxophone.