Joined
·
22 Posts
My favorite mouthpiece for tenor has been an Otto Link STM metal I bought in 1999. It is a 7* New York. I had the table, rails and tip opening machined by an experienced tech who sold it to me after I bought it. Since I have two nearly identical horns that are my first and second choice and keep one horn at home and the other at my office, I decided this year to get a second STM just like the first. So, I went to the same shop and ordered an identical mouthpiece. Before I ordered a new STM, I showed the tech who did the work on the old piece he sold and adjusted for me 21 years ago and asked him if he could tell what he did and do the same thing for a new one. He looked at the old one and described what he had done and said he would do the same for a new one.
I pick up the machined piece yesterday, took it home and played it with the same read. I picked out a good reed and warmed up on the old piece. Then went to the new one. As I put the reed on I noticed in my peripheral vision that it seemed to fit differently, but I didn't look because I excited to play. On the first blow on the new piece, I immediately noticed a difference between the two pieces. They are not identical. I played a bit then took the reed off to examine them side by side. The difference in the fit of the reed is the new piece is longer. So, the reed comes to the end of the table on the new one and goes past the end of the table on the old one.
The new one blows more freely and I suspect is brighter, but did not play it long enough to be sure. They are different, but I don't know what the difference is. I did put on my Peter Ponzol M1 95 and thought maybe the new STM sounds a bit toward that sound from the older STM - but not sure. Mostly just a bit confused at this point. I am not used to playing a lot of horns or mouthpieces or ligatures or reeds and listen carefully to hear the differences. I didn't use a tuner to see if they each need to fit differently on the cork to play in tune. I did play some sacred music and I seemed to like the sound with the old piece better than on the old. I think I can play louder with the new, but I think those impressions are subjective. My teacher is teaching virtual lessons these days but not in person. I would love to have him disinfect and try both pcs on his horns and my horns and get his impression. However, all this kind of nuance has driven me crazy in the past and I end up just playing the set up I have and stop trying hear differences between this setup and that one. Making music, even it is just me in my bedroom is more satisfying that this kind of stuff. Although my teacher did help me choose to play the old Link vs. the Ponzol. His biggest suggestion at that time was put more air though the horn.
I think I will get out my recording equipment that I haven't used in a long time and record myself with the both the older and newer, but I thought I would ask if anyone has any experience with the current STM. What is your experience in how they play?
BTW, the two tenors I play regularly are a Yanagisawa T-992 and a Yani T-WO20.
I pick up the machined piece yesterday, took it home and played it with the same read. I picked out a good reed and warmed up on the old piece. Then went to the new one. As I put the reed on I noticed in my peripheral vision that it seemed to fit differently, but I didn't look because I excited to play. On the first blow on the new piece, I immediately noticed a difference between the two pieces. They are not identical. I played a bit then took the reed off to examine them side by side. The difference in the fit of the reed is the new piece is longer. So, the reed comes to the end of the table on the new one and goes past the end of the table on the old one.
The new one blows more freely and I suspect is brighter, but did not play it long enough to be sure. They are different, but I don't know what the difference is. I did put on my Peter Ponzol M1 95 and thought maybe the new STM sounds a bit toward that sound from the older STM - but not sure. Mostly just a bit confused at this point. I am not used to playing a lot of horns or mouthpieces or ligatures or reeds and listen carefully to hear the differences. I didn't use a tuner to see if they each need to fit differently on the cork to play in tune. I did play some sacred music and I seemed to like the sound with the old piece better than on the old. I think I can play louder with the new, but I think those impressions are subjective. My teacher is teaching virtual lessons these days but not in person. I would love to have him disinfect and try both pcs on his horns and my horns and get his impression. However, all this kind of nuance has driven me crazy in the past and I end up just playing the set up I have and stop trying hear differences between this setup and that one. Making music, even it is just me in my bedroom is more satisfying that this kind of stuff. Although my teacher did help me choose to play the old Link vs. the Ponzol. His biggest suggestion at that time was put more air though the horn.
I think I will get out my recording equipment that I haven't used in a long time and record myself with the both the older and newer, but I thought I would ask if anyone has any experience with the current STM. What is your experience in how they play?
BTW, the two tenors I play regularly are a Yanagisawa T-992 and a Yani T-WO20.
