Any sax players?

[Splat]

Hey!

So my alto sax is a bit dodgy at the moment. The B and Bb rattle and the high notes can be very airy. I have taped up any non functioning keys but I still suspect a few leaks. I will get it fixed one day 😂
I also want to ask: what reeds and strengths do you use and what mouthpieces do you use? I suspect I also get airy high notes because my reed is too soft and it squashes easily but I've found the strength above that to be hard to control. They are gear4music cheapy things.
Also, what mouthpieces do you use?
I have a hard rubber Yamaha 4c.
What are your thoughts on metal ones? Any point in getting the £30 ones off Amazon / eBay?

Ps, I'm self taught

Cheers.

[Canadian Dream]

I have played sax before but my knowledge is pretty limited... I've mostly played on school instruments and mouthpieces but I'll let you know what works for me. So I used strength 3 reeds on both tenor and alto, but often I have to shave them down cause they are too thick (if you don't have a reed knife try 2 and 1/2). I've only played jazz saxophone, but from what my band teachers have told me the best mouthpieces for classical music are c-stars (Selmer) and the best for jazz are Meyer (at least that's what I used). If your saxophone does not have any leaks it's probably something to do with reeds and if I were you I'd just try all strengths to see which one works best. One last note, if possible get Vandoren reeds if possible (best saxophone reeds for either jazz or classical). Once again I'm sorry if my knowledge is limited, my specialty is double reeds :P.