My V16 alto has the ring and looks like the current tenor V16's. But I got it a few years ago. The pic in the recent WWBW catalog shows it without the ring. My Optimum alto doesn't have a ring.
And V16's and Optimums are really 2 different pieces. The V16's are jazz pieces and the Optimum is a classical piece. I suspect the reason V16 and Optimum are in the title of that package is because it includes a V16 mouthpiece and an Optimum ligature.
But yeah, the ring is just decoration. It's just a part of the mouthpiece painted gold. I've never heard it called a "resonator ring". It doesn't really mean anything.
And V16's and Optimums are really 2 different pieces. The V16's are jazz pieces and the Optimum is a classical piece. I suspect the reason V16 and Optimum are in the title of that package is because it includes a V16 mouthpiece and an Optimum ligature.
But yeah, the ring is just decoration. It's just a part of the mouthpiece painted gold. I've never heard it called a "resonator ring". It doesn't really mean anything.
