[Dave Wright]

I'd really like to know peoples experiences with this vintage mouthpiece. I'm torn between saving for one of these or trying a couple of other options in my eternal quest for a warm non nasal tone. I'm liking the sun of the 'son of slant ', and I have a Morgan which is great.
I use a vintage soloist on the tenor, and am lookign for the same sound concept on soprano. Thanks guys .
Dave

 

[JazzManCan]

Everyone has their own experiences with mouthpieces... however I can say that I had a very similar experience to you. After playing a short shank on tenor for many years, I was looking for a similar concept on my sop. I went through a ton of soloists on soprano, really way too many to justify, and really none of them ever worked for me. And they are expensive, as I'm sure you know, so I was feeling a bit bummed about spending a good chunk of change on pieces that weren't quite working for me. That's when I heard about Joe G and sopranoplanet, and I decided to try some of his pieces. After trying his open sky 2 (about half the price of a vintage sop soloist) I knew that it was perfect. Just had everything I wanted in the soloists I had previously and even more and I've been on it for many years now, I've yet to find a piece better. So in the end, if you get a chance to try, definitely try out some soloists on sop to see if you dig them, but if you are looking for another killer piece with a similar vibe, I would highly suggest giving the sopranoplanet pieces a shot. Happy searching

 

[Hipparion]

My first idea would be also to talk to Joe Giardullo from Sopranoplanet: he would be able to help you find what you really want/need.
Not that others wouldn't be able to do that too - I've read about other very good soprano MP - but he really specializes in soprano (and is extremely nice).
I know he found what I needed quite easily.

 

[B Flat]

Aizen SO
These are great alternatives to a Soloist piece.

 

[museman]

A good original Selmer 'Soloist' (or 'scroll-shank' soloist type) in the right tip size can be a beautiful thing. I've had a couple of original facing soloists/ scroll shanks (C**, and E), and one re-faced one, and currently am using the orig.'scroll-shank' E facing (.055) which works well for me in giving a warm, rounded non-edgy tone without nasal quality: even tone and in tune, nice resistance, and easy to play.....qualities I most was looking for in a soprano piece......this on a modern Yanagisawa sop sax. (I use a vint. Buescher large chamber mpc, refaced (.057) by Joe G on my vintage '20's curvy Buescher, and King Saxello horns.) Added benefit for me of the Selmer 'scroll shank' mpc. is that it works well with Legere Signature synth reeds. I've other excellent choices in sop mouthpieces I could be using: a vintage Slant Link, a NY Meyer, Drake 'Son of Slant', Morgans, etc.

For sure, one major difference between the 'Son of Slant', or Morgan (assuming the 'Vintage') you currently are playing and liking, is that the chamber size on your mpcs. (son of slant, morgan) are larger.....the Soloist has a small chamber with a squeeze throat.....so these play very differently. A question would be.......what are you looking for different than what you are already getting with the current mouthpieces you're using? You will really need to try a smaller, squeeze throat design before you will know if this will work for you. And the point was already made that a good scroll-shank or Soloist will cost you $$$ (more open tip pieces can be pricey indeed). There are perhaps a number of similar designed modern pieces substantially less expensive. Actually, it is perhaps a good suggestion contacting Joe G. of 'Soprano Planet' to discuss what you are looking for and what may best work to meet your needs. Good luck.

 

[Samusax]

I haven't tried many soprano mouthpieces but I currently use a soloist-type "Scroll Shank" original E facing like museman and enjoy it. Beforehand I owned the same mpc in a C* facing. I have the same experience really as museman - the scroll shank has a warm rounded sound that is not nasal or "tinny" in the high register. Intonation is good and it's easy to play subtone/straight tone in the low register. I use a Selmer Modele 26 soprano and before that played on a Buescher True Tone.

I've tried some newer Selmer S-80 pieces and liked the scroll-shank better because of the warmer tone (had more of a richness to it as well). I had a newer metal Otto Link that I used for a while but switched back to the Selmer because the intonation was better. If you can try a few before buying that would be ideal to really get a sense of what kind of chamber and tip works for you.

 

[whaler]

I’ve had scroll shank soprano mouthpieces but prefer the S-80s. I do still like a metal soprano F I have.

 

[Grumps]

… my eternal quest for a warm non nasal tone.

Never played a vintage soloist, but have played both Selmer's Metal Classic and a variety of Super Sessions for soprano. All well made mouthpieces needing no alteration, currently available that can give you that warm, non-nasal tone. If you haven't already tried them.

 

[Dave Dolson]

As was said above, mouthpieces are SO subjective . . . so dependent on the player's own embouchure . . . so dependent on the actual reed being used to test them. I have a lot of soprano mouthpieces collected over the years.

True, my Selmers (many S-80's, Super Sessions, a scroll-shank Soloist style, and a Concept) are mostly consistent in that they required NO after-market finishing. Only one, an S-80D required me to send it to Joe Giardullo. When it returned, it is among my best soprano pieces.

Right now, I am really enjoying the new Concept over all others. The sound I get out of it belies the small tip-opening (allegedly .042). I never would have believed it to be possible but Dave Kessler convinced me to give it a try - and I love it.

Having said that, my scroll-shank (some say it is an Airflow), which looks like a Soloist without that marking, is a C* and it plays very nicely - FOR ME - close to the playability of my Concept. What I like about these mouthpieces (the smaller tipped ones) IS the more nasal sound I can achieve with them. They are more focused for me. Still, even that depends on the actual reed I'm using at the time. One reed will give me a more nasal sound than another reed from the same box.

In the past, when using the open-tip mouthpieces (like Morgan Vintage 7, PhilTone Sapphire .070, Super Session J, Joe's Missing Link .072, etc.), the tone I got from them was very warm and round - and LOUD. The focused tone was unfamiliar to me until I reduced my tip-openings. But maybe your results will be different. DAVE

 

[Gange]

Have you tried the Selmer Concept and Vandoren S15? If you did, wait a bit until the new Vandoren Profile hits the shelves.

 

[Ken]

I find my Selmer short shank Soloist C* has a warm sound but is brighter and has less volume than my Lamberson Fma7. A friend recommends trying the S-80's which he reckons play great and aren't as bright.

 

[tomsch]

I also agree that you should work with Soprano Planet.

 

[Saxaholic]

I find the soloists inconsistent on soprano, but when you find a good one there is nothing that compares IMO. Now I can't claim to have tried everything on soprano, but I have tried my fair share. A great soloist D or E could do nearly anything.

They're expensive but worth it for a good one.

- Saxaholic

 

[DaveR]

Ed Pillinger makes a number of beautiful soprano pieces at very reasonable prices. I have an 'S' (Soloist style) chamber and an 'SL' (Lelandais style) which are both small throated pieces; also a 'PJ' (more open throat) and an 'NY' (much more open throat).
What I find is that the character of the sound, the focus if you like, changes with the different throats (given the same CNC'd facings). It's as feasible to get a warm tone on the 'NY' as it is on the 'S', but the quality of the timbre changes between the pieces.
You may well find that a refaced original Soloist actually becomes much brighter in tone than it was originally - but Selmer's production has been notoriously uneven over the years, if you compare it to the CNC'd production of the present day. I have what was originally a beautiful C* soloist that gave an excellent warm tone, but it did so by the 'faults' in it's facing and internals. I had to have it refaced after many years and the refacing totally changed the piece (despite being done by someone with an excellent reputation).
Also, bear in mind that the Selmer Soloist has a very small throat indeed: I find this can cause intonation problems on modern sopranos. Mine worked a treat on a Mk6 (which it was designed for) but disturbs my S3 and my Sequoia. (As ever YMMV).