Need to know about this brilhart...

2225 Views 21 Replies 7 Participants Last post by bruce bailey, Jun 24, 2007

blindside398

Discussion Starter · Jun 19, 2007 (Edited)

Alright, well I just went to a local music store, and the guy had a VERY interesting mouthpiece. It's in...not great condition, but I played it and it was INCREDIBLE. It was a brilhart, and said -

Designed by Arnold Brilhart (I think that was his first name ^_^), and had a 6star facing, and it had the serial number "041580". It had a big black tooth pad (looked like it was supposed to be there, not put on), and had a large drop from the barrel to the tooth pad...I know it sounds weird, but it looked weird too. The baffle was a big drop off, and it was very free blowing.

Anyone have any idea what this is...it's unlike anything I've ever seen, and he said he'd let it go for 40 bucks. Well, I want it! =]

EDIT: It IS metal, by the way.

1 - 20 of 22 Posts

milandro

· #2 · Jun 19, 2007

what are you waiting for? Buy It! Can't go wrong !

blindside398

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jun 19, 2007

Broke high school student, that's what I'm waiting for, money

. Plus I don't really play alto anymore, but I do need a piece for when I DO play.

I just want to know what this is, so I can possibly borrow the money from my mother if absolutely necessary lol. Thanks =]

eddierich

· #4 · Jun 19, 2007

http://www.theowanne.com/mouthpieces101/Brilhart.php

Check this out and report back.

blindside398

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jun 19, 2007

Well it looked kind of like the earlier level aires, but it just doesn't seem right, and the black part didn't go ALL the way up, just to the back of the tip. Also, the serial number might mean it was made April 15, 1980, right? But I think it was before then, because it looks like an EARLY vintage if anything, and the website said that the serial doesn't apply to the early vintage models, just the late ones.

BobbyC

· #6 · Jun 19, 2007

Can you get some photos?
That would help to identify.

For $40 I'd buy it. Especially considering the fact you said you like how it plays.

eddierich

· #7 · Jun 19, 2007

Ok. Didn't know it was metal until that last post and your edit. I guess you'd have to go back and look at the machine marks on the table to figure out which piece you're looking at. I think you're right about the serial number and date.

blindside398

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jun 19, 2007

I can't really get any photos, as it's at the store, and the people there are really anal retentive about their things (fair enough). As well, I don't drive and the store is about 20 minutes away, so I can't just go any day I want :/. I've been lucky enough to go today though, because this whole week I'm at a leadership camp for marching and on today on the way back home, me and my friends I was with decided to stop and check some things out. So, does anyone want to donate a few bucks to the "poor highschool kid fund"? I have a paypal!

BobbyC

· #9 · Jun 19, 2007

Brilhart Level Air:
These mouthpieces were made in the 60s and 70s and were relatively very bright. They were made from stainless steel and for the late models the serial number actually reads the manufacture date. A serial number of 122474 would mean it was made on December 24, 1974. This is just a rule of thumb, though, and only applicable for the later vintage models.

A model of the Level Air is currently being made, though it is completely different from the vintage ones. Below is the vintage model, which can be divided into two versions. The first version made had heavy machine marks going from side to side on the table. The later vintage models, that otherwise looked the same, had length-wise machine marks on the table. The first version played better than the later version.

So you either have an early model before the date was coded in or you have the 1980's version which sounds more likely.

I misplaced an older levelaire for Bari and it was the best mouthpeice I ever had.
The narrow profile felt more comfortable than any other Bari MPC I had back then.
I think it's in my basement somewhere but I can't seem to find it.

blindside398

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jun 19, 2007

Not having a job is ridiculous. My mother can't afford an extra $40 (understandable), and it seems like nowhere near me is hiring. And I have to work near me because of no transportation, I need to walk :/. GAH, I can't wait until I have some sort of income.

I want this piece =[. What sells me is how free blowing it was, and easy to play. Unreal.

MojoBari

· #11 · Jun 19, 2007

Lawn mowing and kid-sitting pays decent. 2-3 "gigs" and you are funded.

blindside398

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jun 19, 2007

True mojo, but I live in an apartment complex, and I don't know anyone with kids I can baby sit ^_^. Any other ideas?

blindside398

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jun 19, 2007

I just got really pissed off and had a friend come pick me up (who also needed to get a job), and we went to the nearest 2 strips and got applications for jobs and talked to managers and the likes. I made sure to take my ear ring out, shave, and I wore a nice shirt =]. I never have had a job before, but I have a good sense of workmanship and I'm diligent in things I do, so it's definitely time. The two best jobs (the ones I have my hopes up for) are a small computer shop next to me (computers and music are my passions, I fix computers for people all the time), and actually, believe it or not, the dollar store

. The people there were SO cool, and the manager was really nice and funny.

Wish me luck guys =].

bruce bailey

· #14 · Jun 20, 2007

It sounds like an earlier Levelaire. They were stainless steel, very narrow and the plastic bite plate was L shaped and covered the whole top of the tip. Very flat inside with a drop off. The later ones look more like all the other metal mouthpieces. I remember that there was a plastic LA for a while that looked like a standard mouthpiece but the guts were like the metal LA.

milandro

· #15 · Jun 20, 2007

Go man , go! Good luck with your job hunting . Being without a job is a bummer!

blindside398

Discussion Starter · #16 · Jun 20, 2007

bruce bailey said:
It sounds like an earlier Levelaire. They were stainless steel, very narrow and the plastic bite plate was L shaped and covered the whole top of the tip. Very flat inside with a drop off. The later ones look more like all the other metal mouthpieces. I remember that there was a plastic LA for a while that looked like a standard mouthpiece but the guts were like the metal LA.

That sounds exactly like it. What's the worth generally around, do you know?

bruce bailey

· #17 · Jun 21, 2007

Hard to say. For Alto they were not that popular thus being more rare. The ones for Tenor and Bari sell well. I would "guess" about $75 but the guys who like them will argue I am sure. I hate the beasts. I used one on Tenor for a few months and then heard a recording I played on. I thought it was one of the worst tenor players I had heard and it was me. I went to a Link HR and still have it 40 years later. If you like it and the price is decent, you can always resell it on ebay and probably make money. That is the best thing about vintage mouthpieces, there is always someone who wants one.

blindside398

Discussion Starter · #18 · Jun 22, 2007

Thanks, bruce. Oh, and just to report back, I got a job at the good 'ol Publix =].

The manager really liked me and told me that I would be a top candidate for cashier in the first few weeks of working there. "You're a very personable person", she says. I like that!

Mouthpiece will be mine soon, veerrryyy soon =D

bruce bailey

· #19 · Jun 23, 2007

Publix? which town? For you Yankees, Publix is a large Florida grocery chain.

king koeller

· #20 · Jun 23, 2007

blindside398 said:
Designed by Arnold Brilhart (I think that was his first name ^_^), and had a 6star facing, and it had the serial number "041580". It had a big black tooth pad (looked like it was supposed to be there, not put on), and had a large drop from the barrel to the tooth pad...I know it sounds weird, but it looked weird too. The baffle was a big drop off, and it was very free blowing.

Anyone have any idea what this is...it's unlike anything I've ever seen, and he said he'd let it go for 40 bucks. Well, I want it! =
EDIT: It IS metal, by the way.

Sounds to me like a Brilhart level air. One time i saw a guy who had one where the bite plate was missing and he put a thick black rubber mouthpiece patch in the lower metal beak where the bite plate was supposed to be.
I also knew a guy who was a Coltrane freak, Nick Goumas out of Lowell,Boston,Mass...who played nothing but the Level air tenor models as his main piece! He was a mother!!Played lead tenor for the Boston Big band...

1 - 20 of 22 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.