[reeddoubler]

I have limited experience with Phil Tone mouthpieces, but the four I’ve owned all seemed to like harder reeds than other mouthpieces I have with comparable tip openings, possibly he puts somewhat longer facings on his mouthpieces than some other makers. Most recently I acquired one of his Jazzmaster pieces in a trade, and it really doesn’t like the same reeds as my Tenney Jazzmaster in the same tip opening. Similarly the Eclipse, Mosaic and Tribute I had seemed to like harder reeds than the original Link and Dukoff pieces they were “modeled” after. Has anyone else found this to be true?

 

[Pete Thomas]

It’s true right across all makes, tip opening has no reason to necessarily correlate with reed strength or make.

 

[Sigmund451]

I think its like boxers and briefs...the choice is very personal. Some players prefer them with medium or lighter setups. They are faced properly and baffles anre hand dialed in so that may account for feeling comfortable with harder reeds.

 

[1saxman]

Its called 'reed-friendliness'. A good mouthpiece has this trait - it will play easier with a given reed than one that is more stuffy. This is desirable because it means you can use a harder reed, thus bringing more complexity into your sound.

 

[wanderso]

Phil already weighed in with the truth!
Owning four is "limited" experience : ) ?
I found metal 7* Tribute and Mosaic behaved exactly as I expected like other 7*s I have such as HR and metal by Matt Marantz.
On the other hand, my 7 .100" HR Sapphire acted as a 7* with respect to optimal reed strength, and Neff also commented that his 7 trial piece played more like a 7* for him.
But of course biologically-variable reed strength and response is not a precise quality across manufacturers or even perfectly consistent within a brand box of five, right? I love Jazz Select filed 3S on my forever Mosaic, but BSS 2.5 on a HR MM Slant Legacy.
The best news, as you probably already know, is that Phil is phenomenally responsive and will work with you to tailor a piece to your exact desires.