[Nefertiti]

Today, I am posting a battle royal, fight to the death, comparison between six Theo Wanne tenor saxophone mouthpieces that I have already reviewed here at Neffmusic. Here are the six Theo Wanne mouthpieces doing battle in round one today: the Ambika 3, the Lakshmi, the Gaia 3, the Gaia 4, the Durga 5, and lastly, the Shiva 3.

For this Battle Royal-Round One, we are starting with 8 bars from the ballad entitled “My One and Only Love”.

Who will win this battle? Who will die? Decide for yourself...... (Don't forget to let me know your thoughts in the comments on my site.)

Theo Wanne Battle Royal Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Showdown: Round One-Ballad

 

[saxmsy]

Nice job Steve! I'd vote for the Gaia 4 bc this is the piece I own😄.

 

[chknbon]

Thanks, but I'm waiting for your Phil-Tone tenor Rift review.

 

[Nefertiti]

Thanks, but I'm waiting for your Phil-Tone tenor Rift review.

I actually just put that on my horn to play today.......

 

[vbluesman]

Durga 5 although the Gaia is a very close second... Is this where I vote?

 

[KennyZ]

Nice picture of $4650... 😁

 

[Ivan M]

Durga 5 although the Gaia is a very close second... Is this where I vote?

Same here, just ordered the DURGA 5.

 

[whaler]

Nice picture of $4650... 😁

Ridiculous prices and not even a bite plate.
$4650 worth of kazoos.

 

[ROC]

Ridiculous prices and not even a bite plate.
$4650 worth of kazoos.

I hesitate to add negativity on what is a fun and helpful exercise from Steve. I’ve gained so much from these reviews and remain grateful.

But the value of TW mouthpieces is so dubious. If they work for you, then great. But comparing the materials, finish and overall design/quality of these pieces with other, smaller mouthpiece manufacturers leaves me scratching my head.

I’ve owned four TW pieces and they have all been sold on, as they didn’t suit my sound concept. But the prices were almost twice that of comparable designs with no additional benefit.

While I’m curious about the Lakshmi, I wouldn’t dream of buying one new due to the high cost and immediate loss of resale value. I really hope TW provides retailers good margins so the pieces are very profitable for stores to sell. But, if that’s the case, TW are making double margin if you buy directly from them.

 

[coleAK]

My takeaway is that in all of them Steve sounded like, well Steve….

for my own exercise I listened to them over and over and mixed them up. I could tell minor differences from the brightest to the darkest but the middle pieces from either end, who knows???

Also this is well timed, I am working with the local high school sax section, doing a (mostly ) weekly clinics and right now I’m focusing on how to develop “your” own sound. Just for fun next week I’m going to play all these and see who can pick out the bright piece from the dark.

 

[reedsburn62]

Durga 5

 

[Nefertiti]

Durga 5 although the Gaia is a very close second... Is this where I vote?

Gaia 3 or Gaia 4?

 

[Dr G]

Also this is well timed, I am working with the local high school sax section, doing a (mostly ) weekly clinics and right now I’m focusing on how to develop “your” own sound. Just for fun next week I’m going to play all these and see who can pick out the bright piece from the dark.

Another fun exercise for the clinic is to play the same mouthpiece and explore its response from dark to bright just adjusting embouchure, air stream, and concept. Number them 1 to 4, or whatever, and have them pick their favorite mouthpiece - then show them that all the different sounds are coming from the same piece.

 

[Nefertiti]

Ridiculous prices and not even a bite plate.
$4650 worth of kazoos.

We have had this discussion before but I still don't know why you're so insistent on a mouthpiece having a bite plate. Why does it matter? There is an area for a bite pad that you can replace whenever you need to. That's better than a bite plate in my mind as a bite plate I would just wear out over 5-7 years and have to have replaced.

 

[Nefertiti]

Another fun exercise for the clinic is to play the same mouthpiece and explore its response from dark to bright just adjusting embouchure, air stream, and concept. Number them 1 to 4, or whatever, and have them pick their favorite mouthpiece - then show them that all the different sounds are coming from the same piece.

I love the video where Don Menza does this.......

 

[Nefertiti]

Durga 5

Yeah, I liked the Durga 5 a lot also........

 

[marc]

Gaia 4 for me, although the differences are very marginal from the listener point of view. The difference is IMO about how the player perceives it. In general for me TW pieces were rather thin sounding in the upper register, and this was confirmed during the few recordings I made. I sold all of them and now playing a wonderful all rounder ... a 190 US$ d'Addario Jazz select D7

 

[reedsburn62]

Gaia 4 for me, although the differences are very marginal from the listener point of view. The difference is IMO about how the player perceives it. In general for me TW pieces were rather thin sounding in the upper register, and this was confirmed during the few recordings I made. I sold all of them and now playing a wonderful all rounder ... a 190 US$ d'Addario Jazz select D7

I was playing on the D'Addario for awhile but it didn't cut it for the type of commercial gigs I'm doing. The Durga 5 is surprisingly versatile as is the Gaia 3.

 

[vbluesman]

Durga 5 although the Gaia is a very close second... Is this where I vote?

Gaia 4

 

[Bkenes]

What a magical view you've got there! That's a really beautiful place.