[J.Max]

I received a Bilger-Morgan R-3 tenor piece in the mail today and it plays very nicely, albeit a bit closed. Out of curiosity, does anyone know why David Bliger and Ralph Morgan quit working together? I've heard bits and pieces, but I was wondering if anyone knew the real story.

Oh...I forgot the real reason I posted this...anyone know who made the blanks for these? It has a very different shape than any other Morgan piece that I've seen.

 

[Dave Dolson]

I have a Morgan-Bilger 6 for alto. VERY strong mouthpiece for me. Nothing unusual about its shape. Don't know the whole story, either. DAVE

 

[mlscnr]

Does it have the very wide beak? I played one of those several years back. Great sound. Felt weird, though.

 

[carr]

I am 100% absolutely sure that I may be mistaken about this, but I thought that once Ralph told me that the very early B-M blanks were made by Babbit. This was before Ralph had the means to create his own blanks with his own rubber formula. If yours is a shape different than other Morgans, you may have one of these. Of course, that is if I am right - I could have been hallucinating from sleep deprivation.

 

[Tharruff]

I once had a Bilger-Morgan BMJ7 for Tenor that I 'think' was in the '7000' serial number range that I bought in 1987. When I compared it to a Morgan 8M that I bought on e-bay a few years later, I felt like they were 'pretty much' the same mouthpiece. Subsequently, I traded them both away since neither one seemed to match up well to my Tenor.

And I can't answer your question about the partnership and subsequent dissoultion between David Bilger and Ralph Morgan either.

 

[sycc]

Dave Bilger is passed away several years ago. Cancer I believe. He lived in my neck of the woods. He did a sax clinic at my school around '83 or 84 I believe.

 

[sycc]

From what I could find on the web he had leukemia and menigitis. Can't find date of birth. Unfortuanely there is a trumpet player named David Bilger. Makes it hard to find info on Dave Bilger using a search.

 

[Dave Dolson]

I've been playing my Morgan-Bilger 6 alto piece this morning. I compared it to my Meyer 6S-M. The M-B is about 1/4" longer than the Meyer. Other than that, they are about the same size in the beak . . . the M-B maybe a slight bit wider but hardly noticeable. Inside is another matter - very strong the M-B. DAVE

 

[Rackety Sax]

Dave Bilger is passed away several years ago. Cancer I believe. He lived in my neck of the woods. He did a sax clinic at my school around '83 or 84 I believe.

See this thread for more on what happened to saxophonist David Bilger. The present thread is about the Bilger-Morgan partnership, which dissolved long before Bilger died.

 

[J.Max]

See this thread for more on what happened to saxophonist David Bilger. The present thread is about the Bilger-Morgan partnership, which dissolved long before Bilger died.

I remember that way back around '91, I was going to order a Bilger-Morgan mouthpiece and when I got the new WWBW catalog, they had split into two seperate companies. I have heard rumblings that it was not amicable, but I never heard why. Perhaps it's inappropriate to discuss since both (relatively) recently passed away. I was just curious, because the piece plays really well...even better than the 3C that I had originally, although I might have it opened up slightly.

And I think I figured out who made the blank for this piece: Riffault. It looks (on the outside) exactly like this Riffault:

http://cgi.ebay.com/RIFFAULT-TENOR-SAX-MOUTHPIECE-BRAND-NEW-70s-w-CAP-LIG_W0QQitemZ260180024208QQihZ016QQcategoryZ38112QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Here's the auction that I won to get the B-M piece. (Notice that it's an R-3. Could the R stand for Riffault?):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=230182203382&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=013

 

[Rackety Sax]

...
Here's the auction that I won to get the B-M piece. (Notice that it's an R-3. Could the R stand for Riffault?):
...

Yes, Riffault mouthpieces commonly have an opening designation such as R3.

 

[J.Max]

Yes, Riffault mouthpieces commonly have an opening designation such as R3.

That's kind of what I was thinking. It's an odd piece...I've never seen another like it. Plays well though.

 

[super20dan]

i have an old bil-morgan jazz model alto mpc-very fine peice and well made but has a large chamber and is too dark for jazz for me at least