What's up SOTW!
For the past few months, I have tried a few different Otto Link bari mouthpieces on my 12m, and I have come up with some observations that I think could help others on a bari mouthpiece quest - much like SOTW has helped me on mine.
A little background - when I switched to bari as my main horn in 2008 (1934 Conn 12M 260xxx) I bought an Erik G Vandoren double chamber V5 mouthpiece with the horn, then an even better Erik G Vandoren special, and I only used extra large chambered mouthpieces until last summer. So, I was a little curious as to whether the Links (still large chambered but not HUGE like my other mouthpieces) would tune as well on my horn that had mouthpieces made specifically for it. But, I also knew that I really wanted to experiment with a few Links, having seen so many people report success with them (call it GAS exacerbated by quarantine...)
The first one I bought last summer was a new STM 7* from WWBW. The moment I tried it, I immediately liked everything about it. So rich and beefy, and yet so easy to blow. I play it mostly with Vandoren Blue Box 2.5 and La Voz MH and both reeds are a good match, but the Blue Box are my favorites with this mouthpiece. Also, it passes the pop/suction test better than any other mouthpiece I've tried. So I think it came out of the factory with a nice facing. It was a tad sharp for me at first, but over time, I have learned to relax my embouchure a bit and it plays in tune just fine now. It may have had something to do also with the fact that I was so used to playing rubber mouthpieces for so long that the metal mouthpiece was much slimmer and I needed to get used to it without biting. Now, I really like this mouthpiece and feel like I hit the Link jackpot.
Oh - another thing re: ligatures - as many have noted in other threads, the stock Link ligs can be just terrible. I think it's good that this is so well-known because then you don't have to count on their ligature working -- just account for the fact that you'll need another lig from the get-go. For me with this lig/mouthpiece combination, the reed will come loose unless I'm really careful when adjusting for tuning, etc. I bought a Rovner 3MVL (the one specifically made for bari metal Links) with the mouthpiece, and it works like a charm. I know some folks hate Rovners but I'm not one of them - with this metal Link in particular, it just works.
I then bought an STM 8* to try a bigger opening. When I got the 8*, I saw what people mean when they say that Links can be a little inconsistent out of the box. The 8* has noticeably more rollover baffle - about twice as much - and much thinner side rails than the 7*. Most importantly to me, it was 1/4" shorter. So while the 7* tunes okay for me as-is, this piece did play sharper in a way that was harder to control. I don't know that it's impossible - maybe with time and practice I'd get the pitch right. But what I did instead was send it to Mojobari to have the shank extended and have him analyze the piece and let me know what he thought could be perfected. Mojo, being a man of impeccable integrity, told me that he thought the facing was fine - it had a couple of minor imperfections but that it was okay and didn't need work, other than the tuning part. So, I had him just do the shank extension, and he did such an amazing job. Check out the attached pic. It now plays in tune really well. I still like the way the 7* plays better all-around regarding tone and response, but if something happened to the 7*, I've got a good backup now -- it's a "no excuses" mouthpiece.
If you check out the pic, you'll notice that the 7* has some discoloration in the mouthpiece -- unpictured areas of the mouthpiece have that corrosion as well. That happened almost immediately, and I'm not sure why, but I don't care. It's just cosmetic. But if that's something that would bother you, be warned that it's a possibility. Oh, and the stock lig doesn't work with the 8* at ALL. The body of the mouthpiece is ever so slightly slimmer than the 7* and that makes the lig way too loose. My Rovner again came to the rescue.
Lastly, I bought a rubber Tone Edge 8 to see how it compares to the metal pieces. My Tone Edge plays really nicely with a slightly less edgy, slightly more "woody" tone than the STM 7* - SLIGHTLY. Same blue box 2.5 and La Voz MH reeds - I slightly prefer the latter on this piece. I feel like the STM has a little more power and edge in reserve, which is why I like it more, but the Tone Edge is another no excuses mouthpiece. The key word that I keep using is slightly -- ultimately, they both help me sound like me. Whether you prefer rubber or metal is also going to make a huge difference, of course. The Tone Edge takes a pretty open embouchure because the beak is pretty thick. The ligature that came with this mouthpiece is trash - literally, I threw it in the trash immediately, because it was so small that I couldn't get a reed to even fit in it. A Rovner hard rubber TENOR ligature, in my case the Rovner light L-8, does the trick.
So, in conclusion, though they have their inconsistencies, all three Links play well out of the box. One plays exceptionally well, for me. The STM 7* is the only one that I had been playing outside of the house (back when that was a thing), in big band and small group - it has earned my trust. Without the shank extension, I don't know that I could get along with the 8* tuning on my horn, but Mojo fixed that beautifully, and this is definitely a plug for his services if that's something that could help you, depending on your horn and how you blow and all that. The Tone Edge is a really good mouthpiece too, and if you know you prefer hard rubber mouthpieces, or you are on a budget and don't really know where to start with bari mouthpieces, it is almost $100 less, so a Tone Edge would be a great place to start, on a vintage horn or on any horn. You might find that you want to upgrade later, or you might find that any of these are the mouthpiece for you right off the bat. Just make sure you have a Rovner or some other lig that you know will work with whatever Link you decide to go with. Bari Links are great mouthpieces. Bari Links for the win!
Thanks for reading my long, quarantined thoughts -- it helps to get them out. My wife likes the finished product when it comes to music, but sometimes we need to share the process with folks, too.
I hope everyone is safe and doing well.
Miguel AKA Rahspeak
For the past few months, I have tried a few different Otto Link bari mouthpieces on my 12m, and I have come up with some observations that I think could help others on a bari mouthpiece quest - much like SOTW has helped me on mine.
A little background - when I switched to bari as my main horn in 2008 (1934 Conn 12M 260xxx) I bought an Erik G Vandoren double chamber V5 mouthpiece with the horn, then an even better Erik G Vandoren special, and I only used extra large chambered mouthpieces until last summer. So, I was a little curious as to whether the Links (still large chambered but not HUGE like my other mouthpieces) would tune as well on my horn that had mouthpieces made specifically for it. But, I also knew that I really wanted to experiment with a few Links, having seen so many people report success with them (call it GAS exacerbated by quarantine...)
The first one I bought last summer was a new STM 7* from WWBW. The moment I tried it, I immediately liked everything about it. So rich and beefy, and yet so easy to blow. I play it mostly with Vandoren Blue Box 2.5 and La Voz MH and both reeds are a good match, but the Blue Box are my favorites with this mouthpiece. Also, it passes the pop/suction test better than any other mouthpiece I've tried. So I think it came out of the factory with a nice facing. It was a tad sharp for me at first, but over time, I have learned to relax my embouchure a bit and it plays in tune just fine now. It may have had something to do also with the fact that I was so used to playing rubber mouthpieces for so long that the metal mouthpiece was much slimmer and I needed to get used to it without biting. Now, I really like this mouthpiece and feel like I hit the Link jackpot.
Oh - another thing re: ligatures - as many have noted in other threads, the stock Link ligs can be just terrible. I think it's good that this is so well-known because then you don't have to count on their ligature working -- just account for the fact that you'll need another lig from the get-go. For me with this lig/mouthpiece combination, the reed will come loose unless I'm really careful when adjusting for tuning, etc. I bought a Rovner 3MVL (the one specifically made for bari metal Links) with the mouthpiece, and it works like a charm. I know some folks hate Rovners but I'm not one of them - with this metal Link in particular, it just works.
I then bought an STM 8* to try a bigger opening. When I got the 8*, I saw what people mean when they say that Links can be a little inconsistent out of the box. The 8* has noticeably more rollover baffle - about twice as much - and much thinner side rails than the 7*. Most importantly to me, it was 1/4" shorter. So while the 7* tunes okay for me as-is, this piece did play sharper in a way that was harder to control. I don't know that it's impossible - maybe with time and practice I'd get the pitch right. But what I did instead was send it to Mojobari to have the shank extended and have him analyze the piece and let me know what he thought could be perfected. Mojo, being a man of impeccable integrity, told me that he thought the facing was fine - it had a couple of minor imperfections but that it was okay and didn't need work, other than the tuning part. So, I had him just do the shank extension, and he did such an amazing job. Check out the attached pic. It now plays in tune really well. I still like the way the 7* plays better all-around regarding tone and response, but if something happened to the 7*, I've got a good backup now -- it's a "no excuses" mouthpiece.
If you check out the pic, you'll notice that the 7* has some discoloration in the mouthpiece -- unpictured areas of the mouthpiece have that corrosion as well. That happened almost immediately, and I'm not sure why, but I don't care. It's just cosmetic. But if that's something that would bother you, be warned that it's a possibility. Oh, and the stock lig doesn't work with the 8* at ALL. The body of the mouthpiece is ever so slightly slimmer than the 7* and that makes the lig way too loose. My Rovner again came to the rescue.
Lastly, I bought a rubber Tone Edge 8 to see how it compares to the metal pieces. My Tone Edge plays really nicely with a slightly less edgy, slightly more "woody" tone than the STM 7* - SLIGHTLY. Same blue box 2.5 and La Voz MH reeds - I slightly prefer the latter on this piece. I feel like the STM has a little more power and edge in reserve, which is why I like it more, but the Tone Edge is another no excuses mouthpiece. The key word that I keep using is slightly -- ultimately, they both help me sound like me. Whether you prefer rubber or metal is also going to make a huge difference, of course. The Tone Edge takes a pretty open embouchure because the beak is pretty thick. The ligature that came with this mouthpiece is trash - literally, I threw it in the trash immediately, because it was so small that I couldn't get a reed to even fit in it. A Rovner hard rubber TENOR ligature, in my case the Rovner light L-8, does the trick.
So, in conclusion, though they have their inconsistencies, all three Links play well out of the box. One plays exceptionally well, for me. The STM 7* is the only one that I had been playing outside of the house (back when that was a thing), in big band and small group - it has earned my trust. Without the shank extension, I don't know that I could get along with the 8* tuning on my horn, but Mojo fixed that beautifully, and this is definitely a plug for his services if that's something that could help you, depending on your horn and how you blow and all that. The Tone Edge is a really good mouthpiece too, and if you know you prefer hard rubber mouthpieces, or you are on a budget and don't really know where to start with bari mouthpieces, it is almost $100 less, so a Tone Edge would be a great place to start, on a vintage horn or on any horn. You might find that you want to upgrade later, or you might find that any of these are the mouthpiece for you right off the bat. Just make sure you have a Rovner or some other lig that you know will work with whatever Link you decide to go with. Bari Links are great mouthpieces. Bari Links for the win!
Thanks for reading my long, quarantined thoughts -- it helps to get them out. My wife likes the finished product when it comes to music, but sometimes we need to share the process with folks, too.
I hope everyone is safe and doing well.Miguel AKA Rahspeak
