Joined
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168 Posts
I have benefited greatly from the experiences posted by the excellent players on this site. Thank you folks for all of the wonderful advice over the years.
Although I have played off and on for 30 years I consider myself an advanced beginner or newbie intermediate player. I yield to no one in my love of playing.
I understand and have taken to heart the advice that the best kit in the world will not make you a good player. Practice, long tones etc are table stakes.
When I began playing I used a Selmer D* moutpiece on a Buescher True Tone tenor. It worked well enough for me, but intonation was always a bugaboo.
When I became serious about playing again in 2012, I bought a Taishan tenor from saxcop (great transaction BTW) and started with lessons. Greg Fishman advised me to try an Otto Link Tone Edge 7* which was much more comfortable for the straight-ahead jazz I was attempting to play.
After a few years of playing the Taishan and Tone Edge I got a Yamaha soprano and a 5C mouthpiece. I played the sop much less than the tenor.
In the intervening years, I picked up a few more horns and sold a few as well.
In the past year I decided to upgrade mouthpieces to see if I could evolve my sound a bit more. For soprano I chose a missing link from sopranoplanet. Joe was amazing to deal with and the transaction when very smoothly. His return policy was particularly attractive for me as a soprano newbie, but I of course didn't need it.
The missing link improved my tone immediately and made the soprano so much more fun to play, that I almost stopped playing tenor. What a great piece! I would absolutely buy it again if I had the need for a second sop piece.
On the tenor side I decided on 10mfan pieces. I started a long discussion with Mark over email and had a few phone calls. Mark was very patient and helpful. I eventually chose a Robusto 7* which matched wonderfully with my current primary tenor (Martin Committee 3). I also picked up a couple of used pieces (7* Merlot from PM woodwinds and 8* Black Widow from sambeaux (who is an awesome seller).)
Each of the 10mfan pieces is different and each one opens my sound far more than the tone edge. In fact the tone edge feels like I am playing a wet tennis shoe as compared the 10mfan pieces. I don't see ever going back.
The Robusto gives me an edge when I decide to use it and can still play velvety, the Merlot is smooth and clear with less "bark" and the Black Widow allows me to project like no one's business. The BW does need more air on the lower notes, but I don't think I will have any trouble playing in loud environments with it.
IMHO excellent mouthpieces are not just for the really good players. Anything (within reason) that increases my joy in playing is worth trying.
I cant recommend Mark or Joe and their products enough.
Although I have played off and on for 30 years I consider myself an advanced beginner or newbie intermediate player. I yield to no one in my love of playing.
I understand and have taken to heart the advice that the best kit in the world will not make you a good player. Practice, long tones etc are table stakes.
When I began playing I used a Selmer D* moutpiece on a Buescher True Tone tenor. It worked well enough for me, but intonation was always a bugaboo.
When I became serious about playing again in 2012, I bought a Taishan tenor from saxcop (great transaction BTW) and started with lessons. Greg Fishman advised me to try an Otto Link Tone Edge 7* which was much more comfortable for the straight-ahead jazz I was attempting to play.
After a few years of playing the Taishan and Tone Edge I got a Yamaha soprano and a 5C mouthpiece. I played the sop much less than the tenor.
In the intervening years, I picked up a few more horns and sold a few as well.
In the past year I decided to upgrade mouthpieces to see if I could evolve my sound a bit more. For soprano I chose a missing link from sopranoplanet. Joe was amazing to deal with and the transaction when very smoothly. His return policy was particularly attractive for me as a soprano newbie, but I of course didn't need it.
The missing link improved my tone immediately and made the soprano so much more fun to play, that I almost stopped playing tenor. What a great piece! I would absolutely buy it again if I had the need for a second sop piece.
On the tenor side I decided on 10mfan pieces. I started a long discussion with Mark over email and had a few phone calls. Mark was very patient and helpful. I eventually chose a Robusto 7* which matched wonderfully with my current primary tenor (Martin Committee 3). I also picked up a couple of used pieces (7* Merlot from PM woodwinds and 8* Black Widow from sambeaux (who is an awesome seller).)
Each of the 10mfan pieces is different and each one opens my sound far more than the tone edge. In fact the tone edge feels like I am playing a wet tennis shoe as compared the 10mfan pieces. I don't see ever going back.
The Robusto gives me an edge when I decide to use it and can still play velvety, the Merlot is smooth and clear with less "bark" and the Black Widow allows me to project like no one's business. The BW does need more air on the lower notes, but I don't think I will have any trouble playing in loud environments with it.
IMHO excellent mouthpieces are not just for the really good players. Anything (within reason) that increases my joy in playing is worth trying.
I cant recommend Mark or Joe and their products enough.
