[John_Dikeman]

I know I'm a bad person, but...
I was running around today in my new town, Budapest, checking out local music stores. Went to one that had a few interesting saxophones. Martin handcraft alto, Buescher New Aristocrat alto, and True tone soprano. The place is run by two saxophonist who also make their own necks, fairly cheap, $200 or so.
Anyway, I asked about the mouthpiece for the Buescher in case it was original. Well, they pull out a Slant Sig Otto Link in a 7*. I ask how much, they say I must buy the horn, we attempt to discuss it (they don't speak english, nor I hungarian, in fact out of habit I mostly speak arabic now anytime someone has troubles understanding my english. Yeah, that's going to help him understand me...)
Anyway, that's right, he eventually asks $100. What can I do, say that's a bad price? The other day another store quoted me $300 for a modern Berg bari piece with a bent tip. I think these prices come from a hat. Also, the soprano, which was in terrible shape, was $1,400.
Anyway, so now I've got a Slant sig. I've been playing a Buescher opened by Mojo, we'll see how it stacks up. I'll post results soon.

 

[Nefertiti]

I've never heard anything about these. I'm curious if they are any good. Let us know.

 

[docformat]

Cairo to Budapest .... that's really living. Have you checked out the baths yet?

Seriously though, hit me up if they have any vintage american tenors.

 

[Jonathan C.]

Hey Doc, I have a few Vintage American Tenors you may be intrerested in.

 

[John_Dikeman]

Nefertiti: I'm very surprised to hear mr. mouthpiece gad himself say such a thing! Where you joking? Not that it means anything other than market standards, but Theo Wanne lists them as the second highest valued soprano piece after the Selmer in F (or whatever the super Selmer vintage is, I'm not a Selmer guy).
This is the mouthpiece guys like Wayne Shorter and Steve Lacy played.
Anyway, It plays great. I'm actually surprised how similar it is to my BP10E modern Tone Edge. The basic sound is really the same. Biggest difference being the slant is much fatter, or more spread sounding. I would have expected a totally different sound considering how different the chambers are. Also, surprised that the modern tone edge is much more similar than my reworked Buescher, which is generally considered THE other option for a large chamber soprano piece.

Docformat: Yeah, the jazz life... No haven't been to the baths yet, soon. Only vintage American tenor in Hungary is my Conn 30M which is on ebay right now, and no bids! 1 day left. ebay # 300129375815

 

[Nefertiti]

Hahahahahah! My area of expertise is tenor pieces. The only thing I've ever played on my soprano is the Selmer Super Session J I have. I've been more than happy with that piece over the last couple of years. It sounds like a great find.

 

[John_Dikeman]

Nefertiti: Well that's great if you've got your thing for soprano going. I wasn't actually shopping for a soprano piece, but this was sort of the piece I had always really wanted but couldn't afford to even think about. Usually these pieces cost as much as my soprano. The thing that makes them really special is there are so few large chamber soprano pieces. Even Otto Link doesn't do it anymore. Sure, a modern STM tenor is going to be quite different than a Florida, but the basic design is the same. Not true for the soprano.
In fact, is there anyone making a large chamber soprano piece now? It's all the rage for tenor...
Anyway, it is definitely honeymoon time, but I think it's a great piece. Biggest sound I've ever gotten from a soprano.

 

[bruce bailey]

Here is where the slant soprano Links shine. Unlike the current ones, these have a lower baffle, large chamber and the scooped out sidewalls like a vintage mouthpiece. With their modern Link facing, they are the perfect soprano mouthpiece for anything vintage. I had a Curved Chu about 40 years ago that would gurggle down low on anything I tried. I went up to Pompano and Ben sold me a 5* that made that Conn perfect. I sold the horn and mouthpiece for $250 and today the horn would be worth about $800 and the mouthpiece almost as much.
You stole that one for $100 US.

 

[awholley]

I am also playing on a Mojo-enhanced Buescher piece. How is the Link Slant Sig different in playing?

Darker? Brighter? Better palm key response? More focus?

Thanks for any comparative info you can give. The Mojo-Buescher is by far the best piece I have been able to come up with, but it requires considerably more attention up high (compared to the smaller-chambered pieces) to be able to depend on the palm keys speaking at low volume.

 

[bruce bailey]

Now you are making me think back to 1969 and if you can remember the 60s, you didn't LIVE the 60s. When I had the old Link, it was a great direct sound, very centered and had a live sound. Good dynamics and when pushed, it could cut down the brass. My Selmers of the time had a more even sound in all registers but the Link made the Conn sing. The bad part about these old Links is the price. They are probably the highest priced soprano mouthpiece right now. When they come up on ebay I usually jump the auction when they hig $500. I always look at old sopranos for sale to see if it has one. This may be the cheapest way....buy the whole deal and throw the horn away!

 

[John_Dikeman]

Suck an egg!
Just wrote a long reply and my comp timed out.

It's not very similar to the Buescher actually. THe Buescher has a much bigger chamber, the slant opens to basically the size of the bore. The slant has a much more modern, aggressive jazz sound. Better projection. And the palm keys are easier. Actually, at this point (honeymoon week) the highs seem easier than on the BP10E as well. It's also a bit more open. THe Tenney is a 7, the Buescher opened to .69, and the slant, while a 7*, placed next to the Buescher, is a little more open. I don't have a gauge or anything.
I remember reading an add for a Buescher piece opened by somebody or other. It claimed it was worked on side by side with a slant and made to be an exact match. That really wouldn't work unless he started with a blank. Or filled in the chamber with epoxy... I had been led to believe the Buescher would be the closest thing to a slant sig, but they are completely different in my opinion.
So, if there isn't any other mouthpiece like it, why isn't anyone producing a modern large chamber soprano piece? Phil Barone, I'd think this would interest you. Would it be that hard to produce a HR piece based on the slant? Even a piece for $400 would be cheaper than hunting down a slant, I'd imagine it would sell really well.
And Theo Wanne seems to love these pieces, why doesn't he do it?

 

[reedsburn62]

Lacey's had a square chamber and a 12 tip.

 

[ToreH]

Erik Greiffenhagen has made me a large chamber soprano piece that works perfect on my TT. He took a Morgan 8J, reduced the facing to a 6J (0.065), shaped the chamber like a slant Link and shortened the shank. This is the only piece so far that makes my soprano sound like a saxophone !
He could probably do the same from other "blanks" too.

 

[wersax]

Lacey's had a square chamber and a 12 tip.

What?!?! A Link with a square chamber???.....

 

[John_Dikeman]

MitchP: I'm quite surprised by this info about Lacy's piece also. Any more info on how that mouthpiece came about?

ToreH: I'm sure I could just search, but is there any info online about Mr. Greiffenhagen?

 

[ToreH]

John : http://www.mouthpieceguys.com/

 

[John_Dikeman]

ToreH: Ah, I didn't realise he was the other half of the mouthpiece guys.
Thanks.

 

[unbalancedaction]

What?!?! A Link with a square chamber???.....

This piece had a square chamber.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160124997587&ssPageName=STRK:MESO:IT&ih=006

Lacy used a slant for a long time, and then used one like this in a 12 facing. I actually played this piece the last time I was in Toronto and it was amazing. Smaller insides than a slant but the same sorta sound.

 

[MojoBari]

The ebay ad says it is a round chamber.

 

[thejazzyfly]

Hahahahahah! My area of expertise is tenor pieces. The only thing I've ever played on my soprano is the Selmer Super Session J I have. I've been more than happy with that piece over the last couple of years. It sounds like a great find.

Exactly , I tried some old slant sig wich were awfull !! the name of slant sig means absolutely nothing and $100 are sometimes too much