[MARTINW]

About 12 months ago I changed from a Yamaha Custom (ebonite) 5c mouthpiece to an Otto Link STM 6. I find the link an easy blow but the tone is too bright and edgy. I am therefore thinking of going back to an HR piece. I can't play the yamaha piece any more now that I've got used to a more open one. I'm looking for a more mellow sound that will be good for all types of music and would blend in with a concert band.

Anyone got any suggestions?

 

[dirty]

A HR Link might be what you're looking for.

 

[MARTINW]

Thanks Dirty. I tried an HR Link 6 when I bought the STM but found it stuffy especially in the bottom end but the STM I find easy inthe bottom end but too brash higher up.

 

[dirty]

Well, I've played a few HR Links for tenor that played REALLY stuffy, like you describe, but then some others that were quite clear and smooth throughout the range.

I had a teacher who always reccomended Meyer HR mouthpieces, and he had some students who sounded pretty good on them. I've never really played one, though.

 

[AlistairD]

What about a Lebayle HR? Mine is great, much softer than the Metal Lebayle. I perfer the Metal at the moment but swap back and forth...

 

[Swingtone]

Do a search using the search function and type in "Morgan mouthpieces". I play on an L model that is warm and dark like a Link, but projects better and is more responsive down low to boot. I know at least one member had one up for sale in the Marketplace section in the past week or so.

 

[Swingtone]

Oops, double-post

 

[tonyg]

I'll second the Morgan suggestion, I have a 6M that plays quite well.

 

[Sigmund451]

Call Dave Junkdude.com

 

[saxjd]

I bought an HR link. This particular piece was probably the worst playing MP I can recall playing. Sent it to Mojo and it was amazingly transformed into a wonderful piece. For what its worth.

You might also consider a Jody Jazz HR. Morgans are very well thought of, although I have not played one on tenor.

 

[Deezie]

The best HR mouthpiece you can buy is either an RPC or a Springer (both hand makers). The RPC's are way too expensive IMHO though. You can get a professional HR Springer for $100. Seriously, you'd be amaze after you try them. His pieces blow Link, Meyer, Morgan....off the wall.

 

[rispoli]

The best HR mouthpiece you can buy is either an RPC or a Springer (both hand makers). The RPC's are way too expensive IMHO though. You can get a professional HR Springer for $100. Seriously, you'd be amaze after you try them. His pieces blow Link, Meyer, Morgan....off the wall.

Springer ships only to the US, so it's not an option for him since he's in England. This is one of the possible reasons why his mouthpieces lack recognition.

Anyways, no regrets, Morgan is generally considered your best bet in the sub-200$ range. You may also check the JJ HR but I personally prefer the response of any Morgan I had the luck to try.

 

[Grumps]

The RPC's are way too expensive IMHO though.

$235 for a handfinished piece with a proven track record and loyal following is a bargain in today's mouthpiece market. When they sell on Ebay, they can go for 95-105% of that value. How many other pieces currently made today can make that claim?

An RPC rollover model would be my recommendation.

 

[newtenorsax]

MARTINW try this out if you have any tape cut a small square about the size of the Link plate tape in place and install your reed and play. You can make it as thick as needed. But not to thick as this seems to slow response. I ran across this on the Ligiture fourm.

 

[dstack79]

Phil Barone Vintage...it's a killer piece. It's got a traditional rollover baffle, medium-large-ish chamber. It has the ability to play louder than any mpc I've ever tried, but totally warm, fat and controllable. I can easily play rock or traditional jazz w/ it. It's abt $165 new, although Phil auctions them on Ebay too. It's a steal.

 

[CountSpatula]

I'm with Grumps You can call Ron and tell him what cha lookin' for and he can make a killer mouthpiece. $235 isn't that bad, I think it's well worth it...you just might have a short wait till you get it

 

[MM]

RPC has my vote too, except...mine is an older one I had refaced. It was too reed picky, needed a hard 2.5 that would soon become too soft. After JVW worked on it, it became much more reed tolerant. Rumor has it that Ron's facing work has gotten better in the past 5 yrs.

I had a couple of old Gregory mpcs which were excellent, but they're hard to find. I sold them and regret it.

The following HR tenor mpcs I DON'T care for: Otto Link (the few I tried), Bari, Selmer S-80, Vandoren Java. My wife has a Morgan 6E which is ok but the RPC .105 is much better. The Morgan 6E is much closer than the RPC which could be part of it.

The HR Bergs I had were easy to just pick and and blow but I couldn't go where I wanted to with them.

 

[MM]

On a related note: the RPC has a medium sized, long rollover baffle opening into a medium large round chamber. The designs of the Bari and Vandoren Java mpcs are similar, but they didn't play at all like the RPC rollover. Do you think this is the facing or ??? I was hoping to get a cheap backup to my RPC, without success. Anyone know any tenor mpcs that blow similar to an RPC rollover?

I also tried an old Hite. Its chamber was smaller and it wasn't that close either.

I haven't tried any Lambersons on tenor so I can't comment on them.

 

[MojoBari]

If you try a few more open Javas you may find one you like. I've played some T95 and T97s that were similar to RPCs roll-overs. If not, a little facing work might fix them up. Ron uses long facing curves.

 

[MM]

Keith, thanks. I just was looking at picture of a Java tenor and it seems its design is quite a bit different from my RPC. The RPC's rollover baffle is fairly long but the chamber in the bore area is pretty wide, while the Java has a pretty small squeeze to the bore and a shorter baffle. Maybe I would be better off starting with something else like a Bari. Someone had mentioned that Ron gets his blanks from Babbitt so maybe that's an option too.