[tjontheroad]

I just want to offer a shout out to the great service and sopranino mouthpiece I ordered from Ed Pillinger. Last summer, I had originally contacted him to see if he was still making sopraninos to use on my Kessler Custom I had just received. They are not shown now as being offered on his website. He told me he could still offer either a larger chamber open throat design or a small chamber "pea shooter" model. I elected to go with the larger chamber.

When it arrived, I was impressed with the easy response and broad tone. That's not something you'd think of with 'nino, but there it was. I was happy until I found the intonation in the upper end was sadly way off. It was nearly a half step sharp on anything at or above A2. I didn't ever experience that with the other mp's I had already bought for my 'nino (a Yani metal 5 and a Selmer C* refaced by Soprano Planet).

So, I contacted Ed and he offered a full return or an exchange for his pea shooter model. I went for the exchange since I was happy with the great communication I had received from Ed. He shipped out the second piece in mid-November. Somehow, it got lost in the mail and I was thinking I'm screwed now. I should have just got my money back when I had the chance. Well no worries because he right away made another piece for me and shipped it immediately. I got it today and it works great with my horn.

Thanks for excellent service and product.
TJ

btw. Ed also included a nice press fit type ligature in the deal :thumbrig:

 

[Saxlicker]

Ed has a good reputation and not one I want to try to tarnish but in the interest of a balance.

There have been two occasions by e-mail (the only two times I have contacted him) enquiring about his services where he has said 'I will get back to you' and he hasn't bothered or has not been able to for some reason.
Once was about making a duplicate of a piece which is a standard service he offers and the second time was about a possible reface.

 

[rhysonsax]

Ed's always be excellent to deal with for me and I have his pieces for all my saxes from 'nino to bass.

Are you sure Ed didn't try to email and the messages went into a Junk folder somewhere ?

Rhys

 

[Saxlicker]

Ed's always be excellent to deal with for me and I have his pieces for all my saxes from 'nino to bass.

Are you sure Ed didn't try to email and the messages went into a Junk folder somewhere ?

Rhys

Hi Rhys,
Pretty sure yes.
I got replies to say he would be in touch, they didn't go in the junk and my filter is set pretty low. He replied to an email while he was out of the country and he very politely said he would give it full attention on his return to the UK. It never happened.
I will check junk folder because I never thought to.
Any way as I said, I'm not out to try to tarnish things. I only post my genuine experience, I am fully aware of his excellent rep and that comes with satisfied customers.
Perhaps i've been unlucky.

EDIT = nothing in junk folder

 

[rhysonsax]

Shame, but you could try him again.

Maybe his memory or email inbox are nearly as bad as mine !

Rhys

 

[tjontheroad]

He was often traveling over the last few months while we exchanged emails. He likely just missed you Saxlicker. Try him again.

 

[Uwe Steinmetz]

Ed Pillinger is a very gifted and very dedicated craftsman with an incredible richness of experience - and he listens to your imagination and ideas you have.

I am very happy to come always back to his mouthpieces on soprano and alto.
beyond the models he offers on his website he has so many prototypes and simply customized options that I am always recommending him. I like his diversity of mouthpieces that he offers in comparison to other refacers and mouthpiece designers in Europe. I find him quite unique in a sense that he is able to customize a mouthpiece exactly for your needs but according completely to his own very high standards of mouthpiece design - regardless where you come from as a player.

He teaches about these processes in Universities and is always involved in lots of research...new designs, new materials.

So - BE PERSISTENT in trying to get hold of Ed!:bluewink:

 

[florian]

I only can agree to what Uwe said. Uwe once told me about an Brilhart copy Ed is selling for alto. I bought one and it turned out to be great. He is a very nice guy to talk to.
Sometimes it takes a little longer for him to answer but simply try several times.
I had the same problem with several refacers or mpc-producers (even some that i already had bought mpcs from) and he was answering faster than many others. Seems to be normal for this branch of trade, but it can be frustrating for customers.

 

[jamiejazz]

Thumbs up here for Ed. I go back and forth between two NYUSA Meyers that he refaced. They both play great and I can never decide which one to play.
Ed's so into what he does, and it's great listening to him as all these ideas come out. I've tried many one-off pieces that he's come up with over the years.