[B Will]

Hi Guys,

I talked to Steve Cole the other day and he said the Super Kings were great mouthpieces, so I ordered one for my tenor from WWBW (For only $200 now) and I want to just get some general comments on what some of you may think about them.

I play both a hard rubber M 110/2 (modified) and a metal M 120/2 Berg Larsen with my Lacquered Keilwerth SX90 R. I'm looking for a more open and brighter tone because the 90 R has a really fat, sultry tone to it.

Tell me about your experiences with them so I know what to expect.

Thanks,

B Will

 

[trigger]

Bright Loud And Will Peel Wallpaper!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[tjontheroad]

It will kill megga death marshall stack guitar players with a single honk! I have one for sale now in the marketplace. It'll give you what you need if you're a pop, rock or funk player.

 

[brassnaked]

I just received a Handmade Guardala King, made by Nadir Ibrahimoglu of PMS in Germany. This is the 2nd Handmade Guardala MPC I've purchased made by this gentleman. The other one I got about a month ago and it is an MBII. They are both very "snappy" and speak IMMEDIATELY...I love that about a mouthpiece. The workmanship is beyond PERFECT and the gold plating itself is work of art. I HIGHLY recommend them to anyone looking for the quintessential high-end metal MPC. I saw and heard Steve Cole in March and he was playing one.

The models from WWbW if I'm not mistaken(and very well maybe mistaken) are mass-produced in Asia, and ARE NOT the same as the PMS Laser Trimmed and Handmade's being offered now by both PMS and Thomann Musikhaus in Treppendorf, Germany.

I have also found that the perfect lig for these MPC's is the new SAXXAS ligature, "Winslow-like" in design, available at [email protected]

 

[The A Train]

The palm keys are very thin and edgy, it's the only reason this isn't my main piece-it's not an easy beast to tame up high. Others have said the same.

 

[Wailin']

This page has some thorough evaluations on Guardalas. The cresent is designed for straight ahead and big band.

MBII is flexible all kinds of gigs. Go to very bottom of the page.

http://www.jazzimprov.com/misc/JIMPEval_V7N2.pdf

 

[Finnerski]

Quote from Brassnaked:
The models from WWbW if I'm not mistaken(and very well maybe mistaken) are mass-produced in Asia, and ARE NOT the same as the PMS Laser Trimmed and Handmade's being offered now by both PMS and Thomann Musikhaus in Treppendorf, Germany.Not true. I just purchased a King from WWBW and it clearly says "Laser trimmed and hand finished in the USA" right on the box. Its a pretty nice playing piece too.

 

[super20dan]

mine plays better than the hand made studio i used to have

 

[shmuelyosef]

Quote from Brassnaked:
The models from WWbW if I'm not mistaken(and very well maybe mistaken) are mass-produced in Asia, and ARE NOT the same as the PMS Laser Trimmed and Handmade's being offered now by both PMS and Thomann Musikhaus in Treppendorf, Germany.

Not true. I just purchased a King from WWBW and it clearly says "Laser trimmed and hand finished in the USA" right on the box. Its a pretty nice playing piece too.

Presumably you are playing that on your JK NS? Do you find that the palm keys play flat with such a small volume mouthpiece?

 

[Nobby Keys]

Quote from Brassnaked:
The models from WWbW if I'm not mistaken(and very well maybe mistaken) are mass-produced in Asia, and ARE NOT the same as the PMS Laser Trimmed and Handmade's being offered now by both PMS and Thomann Musikhaus in Treppendorf, Germany.

Not true. I just purchased a King from WWBW and it clearly says "Laser trimmed and hand finished in the USA" right on the box. Its a pretty nice playing piece too.

Does anyone know who hand finishes them in the States, and what does 'hand finish' mean. Does it mean just put them in a box?

I bought a LT Crescent from saxophone.co.uk sometime ago (6 months or more) and it came in a box marked 'hand finished in the USA', is this a PMS model?

BTW I have no complaints about the mouthpiece whatsoever.

 

[SaxHax]

I bought a Guardala King from WWBW a few months ago, and I absolutely love it. I like it so much, I wish my alto and bari peices were like it.

After a gig, the sax player from the band we opened for told me he loved my tone and asked if I was playing a Conn 10m (obviously he wasn't close enough to really tell for sure). I couldn't help but smile when I told him it was an old '62 Bundy with a Guardala King mpc. He plays a Super 20 Silversonic with the exact same mpc (and is an absolutely fantastic player with over 40 years experience). That put a little feather in my cap.

 

[Wailin']

I bought a Guardala King from WWBW a few months ago, and I absolutely love it. I like it so much, I wish my alto and bari peices were like it.

After a gig, the sax player from the band we opened for told me he loved my tone and asked if I was playing a Conn 10m (obviously he wasn't close enough to really tell for sure). I couldn't help but smile when I told him it was an old '62 Bundy with a Guardala King mpc. He plays a Super 20 Silversonic with the exact same mpc (and is an absolutely fantastic player with over 40 years experience). That put a little feather in my cap.

Too bad they're only designed for tenors. The MBII is said to be most flexible sounding.

 

[Dr_sax]

I´m playing a handmade old king on my alto selmer ref. 54 since 2 years and it´s the first time I love my alto sound after 35 years of tenor playing. PMS is now also making a king and a crescent alto model. If it comes close to my old one get one for sure.

 

[Finnerski]

Presumably you are playing that on your JK NS? Do you find that the palm keys play flat with such a small volume mouthpiece?

Yes that is correct I'm playing it with my JK. I have to say that this mouthpiece really works for me and I've had no real intonation problems. I was playing a little sharp with it at first, especially with the palm keys. I discovered that and just pulled back a little and got it in tune. One thing I did notice is if you blow too hard into this thing your overtones will take off on you, so I have to be careful. But overall a sweet sounding, easy blowing piece. Lots of power too.

 

[Finnerski]

Does anyone know who hand finishes them in the States, and what does 'hand finish' mean. Does it mean just put them in a box?

I bought a LT Crescent from saxophone.co.uk sometime ago (6 months or more) and it came in a box marked 'hand finished in the USA', is this a PMS model?

BTW I have no complaints about the mouthpiece whatsoever.

No I don't know who finishes them here in the US but I know that your piece was made over here. The PMS ones are made in Germany, they also claim to make handmade pieces and they are much more expensive than the US made pieces. So are the PMS laser trimmed pieces. Check out the link for the PMS pieces. I'm not sure why there isn't more info on the web about the WWBW guardalas.

My guess would be that "hand finish" means that after these pieces come off the CNC machine. An operator or a laborer will go over the curves and edges that were milled with a deburring tool or other finishing tools and try and make the finish look and feel more smooth. They also gold and silver plated them too.

http://www.pms-music.de/Mundstucke/...la_Mouthpieces/dave_guardala_mouthpieces.html

 

[gearaholic]

I posted these comments elsewhere, so I apologize for repeating myself, but:

I tried several different Guardalas from WWBW when they went down in price a couple months ago. I found that many of them had obviously been on trial before, as they were missing the outer wrapping and had some plating buffed off (WWBW buffs out scratches on trial returns). None of these impressed me, but one gold-plated King that hadn't been on trial played extremely well. I sent it back, though. It was just too bright for me to use in big band gigs, pretty much the "anti-blender". I still liked the sound, though. I think they're well-made and consistent, but after they've been returned and buffed to hell, they lose their life. As far as the Super King, only rock or fusion players need apply. Good luck with yours.

 

[1saxman]

'such a small volume mouthpiece?'

The Super King is not a small-volume mouthpiece. I play two hand-made Guardalas on tenor, two 'King Curtis' models. One of them is my favorite and the other one came from WW&BW back in 1989. The better one has the chamber ring partially ground out to make an oval chamber. I recently bought one of the Super King on sale and was amazed to see that Guardala's chamber work had been reproduced. It's a screaming piece with a lot of depth. If you already play mouthpieces like this you'll probably like it enough to keep for a spare or just to put on for the third set when the band gets really loud and you've had a few drinks. It's like opening the nitrous oxide bottle on a race car.

 

[MojoBari]

None of the Guardala LTs are hand finished to the extent that Dave Guardala or a refacer would do. Gaurdala's partner, Jeff Powell, posted once that they did not want WW&BW to put "hand finished" on the LT boxes. But the WW&BW people insisted.

But the LTs are very nice CNC made mouthpieces. I only charge half a reface job to truely hand-finish the facing and clean up the tip shape.

 

[Finnerski]

[

But the LTs are very nice CNC made mouthpieces. I only charge half a reface job to truely hand-finish the facing and clean up the tip shape.

So on a true hand finish, would the Gold plating be removed?

 

[Phil Barone]

I think they should re-name it Super **** : )