[Roger Nordling]

Hi SOTW friends! I recently bought a Sapphire (hard rubber ) 7* made by Phil Engleman aka Phil-Tone. I think it plays great and thought i record a clip of it and compare with my vintage Otto Link STM florida USA .102 tip. Instead of using the same reed on both pieces i used what i thought suited the mouthpiece in question this time. So the Sapphire is paired with a Daddario royal 3.5 and standard 2 screw ligature and the florida is playing with a Rico orange box 3.5 reed and otto link vintage "T" ligature.

Tell me what you think. The answer will be revealed soon enough.

https://soundcloud.com/roger-nordling%2Fmouthpiece-1
https://soundcloud.com/roger-nordling%2Fmouthpiece-2

 

[Roger Nordling]

Both sound nice.
Always nice to hear you, Roger.

Thanks Mark.

 

[Roger Nordling]

Sounds great Roger, was the saphire number one? Glad you're liking it.

Thanks man! I will tell soon.

 

[Roger Nordling]

Thanks for participating guys. The answer is:

Mouthpiece 1 = Florida stm. 102
Mouthpiece 2 = Phil-tone Sapphire 7*

My main piece for two years straight have been the RS Berkeley Chris Potter wich replaced a 10mfan robusto 8 metal. Some thoughts about these two contenders.

Otto Link Florida. 102 STM: This piece was cleaned up by Istvan Gabor in sweden who did a great job and evened out the table and facing and took out some nicks in the tip rail. A very delicate job cause when it came back to me after reface it still looked the same almost, you can hardly see anyone touched the piece. It played easier and more even. I was not 100% satisfied with the response with my reeds (tried royal, Daddario jazz, lupifaro, vandoren Java red) until I tried Rico orange box that I think kicked this piece into how I like a metal Link. I like a full, textured and complex medium bright sound. This piece feels bigger to me than a. 102 and takes air really well. You can push it a lot and it won't close up on you.

Phil-tone Sapphire 7*:
I bought this piece second hand from sotw member wiseone a couple of weeks ago. All went fine and I can recommend everyone dealing with wiseone.

This piece plays like a nice hr link. Phil Engleman told me it's chamber is exact like a reso chamber in size. As with a good hr the response is immediate and it has a crisp articulation. Sound is complex but with slightly more bottom and less upper mids compared to the stm. It has a great dynamic range and can play loud. A very fine centered sound. I am still trying finding the right reed and strength for this and I think a Daddario jazz 3h is nice or a royal 3.5. It feels slightly smaller than the stm and commands a harder reed (Rico orange 3.5 runs a bit on the softer side).

 

[Roger Nordling]

Thanks Roger.

And just to clarify. I told you the Sapphire is NOT an exact duplicate of a Reso or EB. It is close but it was made to the point where I liked the tone. Unlike the Tribute it is not a digital duplicate.

Sounds great and thanks again.

PHil

Ok thanks for the update. Here is how you describe the sapphire on another thread. "Little did I know that I made a chamber nearly identical to the Reso Chamber.".