[John_Dikeman]

In another thread I posted a recording of a piece by my friend Jasper Stadhouders played on a Mark VI and a Keilwerth.

Today for fun I'm adding a recording played on the Keilwerth with my custom Soprano Planet 868.
I've been very pleased with a recent Drake Son of Slant but going back to this mouthpiece again, it's really an excellent piece. The biggest issue is the Son of Slant projects much easier. The Soprano Planet has a big, dense sound which for 95% of music would be more than enough.

Anyway I'll stop talking about it, you can check the clips here.
To be honest, it's a sort of half assed recording, music wise. Just wanted to make some similar sounds to compare the mouthpieces.

https://soundcloud.com/gj-dikeman%2Fsets%2Fsoprano

 

[BeauBarry]

Your music uses a great deal of articulation and Dynamics. The Drake seemed very in line with that style of playing. I'm a big believer in resistance and the soprano planet seem to have a lot of resistance I'm wondering if there's a lot more for you to discover on the Sopranoplanet. You're playing as of today though seems to be more in line with the Drake. Both sound great

 

[sopsax]

On the clips, each piece seems to bring out something different in your playing. The Drake sounds kinda ducky tonally, yet gives you great freedom to bend & glide pitchwise. The SopranoPlanet gives you a sweeter tone (to my ear), while also facilitating bends & glides. Overall I think the SopranoPlanet gives you more control at extremes of the dynamic range. Either way, you've got your own distinctive sound, & no doubt could master any mouthpiece.

A SopranoPlanet Open Sky 2 is one of my two main pieces on an old Buescher True Tone soprano sax. It's a little resistant, producing a pure tone not unlike the sound of a Selmer Soloist. My other main piece is a 10Mfan Virtuoso, more free-blowing & strident -- I think you'd like it a lot for the kind of music you play. I've tried a couple of Drake Son of Slants, & found the open chambers difficult to intonate. That's me, on my horn, & may not apply to anybody else.

 

[John_Dikeman]

Thanks for the responses.
One thing you don't really hear on the recordings is the Drake sounds about twice as "big" in person. Which is interesting as it's a standard 8 tip, or .070 and the Soprano Planet is .095 tip I believe. Played the Drake with a Superial 4 and the Soprano Planet with a Marca 3, btw.

I like both pieces a lot at this point, and there are aspects to the core sound of the Soprano Planet I probably prefer, but I feel more flexibility with the Drake.

The other thing with the Soprano Planet piece, I can't really overblow it. For almost anyone that would be a good thing. As hard as you blow it just takes it and you get a denser sound, but it won't really explode. Problem is, sometimes I like to overblow. I like a lot of soprano players, Steve Lacy, Sidney Bechet, Wayne Shorter, etc... but one of my favorite recorded soprano sounds is this:

While practicing classical the other day I went back to the soprano planet, and for me it was much better. There's an evenness to tone and response. And the palm keys come out easier.

So I guess I'll just continue playing both for now. The main thing I want to try is a large tip, large chamber piece. I've been advised against it by plenty of people, but I've never had a chance to try one. On tenor I play a Benjamin Allen, Link type piece with less than normal baffle in a 12*. This 8 just feels toooo small.

 

[milandro]

Son of a Slant with Keilwerth has my vote

 

[rzzzzz]

The 868 was made from the Buescher blanks that Joe managed to get his hands on. Been sold out for quite a while (unless he found more.). But he does wonders refacing old Bueschers, which are not hard to come by.

(I had a Son of Slant tenor piece that sounded wonderful on a friend's Conn, so it's still at his place.)

 

[John_Dikeman]

The 868 was made from the Buescher blanks that Joe managed to get his hands on. Been sold out for quite a while (unless he found more.). But he does wonders refacing old Bueschers, which are not hard to come by.

(I had a Son of Slant tenor piece that sounded wonderful on a friend's Conn, so it's still at his place.)

Yeah that's true. But I guess being the blank is the only real resemblance. As, if you start with one of those actual Buescher mouthpieces, it's already got this cavernous chamber so it's a little difficult to add material. In comparison the 868 have, I think, has almost nothing in common with the original Buescher mouthpieces. I wonder if it's design is similar to his new S440 model. Maybe I should ask...

 

[bmisf]

I have a son of Slant and Like it but just picked up a SYOS Dayna Stephens mp (which they list as having an “XL” chamber) with an 8* tip opening, and I’m really loving it, even thinking of trying a larger tip opening with it. Maybe worth a try if you’re wanting to explore that large chamber, large tip opening direction.

So I guess I'll just continue playing both for now. The main thing I want to try is a large tip, large chamber piece. I've been advised against it by plenty of people, but I've never had a chance to try one. On tenor I play a Benjamin Allen, Link type piece with less than normal baffle in a 12*. This 8 just feels toooo small.

 

[John_Dikeman]

I have a son of Slant and Like it but just picked up a SYOS Dayna Stephens mp (which they list as having an “XL” chamber) with an 8* tip opening, and I’m really loving it, even thinking of trying a larger tip opening with it. Maybe worth a try if you’re wanting to explore that large chamber, large tip opening direction.

Interesting. Never heard of that brand... The chamber is bigger that the Drake?

 

[bmisf]

Interesting. Never heard of that brand... The chamber is bigger that the Drake?

It’s an interesting brand, been around for a few years doing 3D printed mouthpieces. They’ve sold a ton of the Chad Lefkowitz tenor pieces, seem to have a strong following, and even create custom pieces for people at a quite reasonable price. I‘ll look at my Drake and the SYOS and compare the chambers shortly, but in the meantime, here’s a link to the piece I got (and like):

Dayna Stephens' soprano saxophone mouthpiece by Syos

"My Syos soprano mouthpiece plays from top to bottom without getting squeaky or bright. It takes all the air I can put into it without hitting a ceiling."

www.syos.co

 

[Henk]

Hi John, I have some original Buescher mouthpieces with a big chamber and a large tipopening you can try. I also have some 868 pieces, which are actually Buescher C soprano blanks (some of which I sold to Joe G). I have been on a mission regarding soprano mouthpieces with big tipopenings for 20 years and have made many. I have figured out what works for me. The big chamber big tip opening pieces are a good match for larger bore horns such as my R&C. On my Selmers medium/smaller chambers work better for me.

 

[bmisf]

PS—I finally put the Drake and SYOS side by side, and...it's really hard to tell which has the larger chamber. They're fairly similar, both with subtle rollover baffles and pretty wide chambers. I see a subtle constriction in the middle of the Drake, while the SYOS goes more straight through, but the Drake may have ever so slightly more volume. They sound fairly different to me—I get a warmer, slightly fuzzier tone on the SYOS, and find it slightly more stable on intonation.

 

[John_Dikeman]

Hi John, I have some original Buescher mouthpieces with a big chamber and a large tipopening you can try. I also have some 868 pieces, which are actually Buescher C soprano blanks (some of which I sold to Joe G). I have been on a mission regarding soprano mouthpieces with big tipopenings for 20 years and have made many. I have figured out what works for me. The big chamber big tip opening pieces are a good match for larger bore horns such as my R&C. On my Selmers medium/smaller chambers work better for me.

Ah I'd be very curious to try some of those. What did you have in mind? Where exactly are you located? Maybe I'll shoot you a Pm.

 

[John_Dikeman]

PS—I finally put the Drake and SYOS side by side, and...it's really hard to tell which has the larger chamber. They're fairly similar, both with subtle rollover baffles and pretty wide chambers. I see a subtle constriction in the middle of the Drake, while the SYOS goes more straight through, but the Drake may have ever so slightly more volume. They sound fairly different to me—I get a warmer, slightly fuzzier tone on the SYOS, and find it slightly more stable on intonation.

Interesting.
One big difference is the Syos comes in sizes up to 9* standard as opposed to a custom order. The Drake pieces i think are priced very fairly. But if you add customisation plus international shipping and customs it starts to get expensive....

 

[bmisf]

The Drake prices are definitely reasonable. Same with the SYOS prices for the signature pieces (and they occasionally have sales). Mine showed up from France to California in less that a week, no duties or extra taxes - I was surprised how easy it was. I guess we are fortunate to have such great options...