[GerhardO]

I have been lucky in the past and bought 2 otto Link Tenor Tone Edge Mouthpieces (together with some a Lawton Tenor and a Soloist Soprano and 2 clarinet mouthpieces) - one Slant Sig with a 10 Tip opening and one Straight Sig with a 9 Opening. (I can provide pics of course)
I had sent pictures to Theo Wanne and he was so nice and gave me his opinion - as I feared that they were just one of these counterfeit pieces (especially since I did'nt know that Link produced Slant Sigs in a 10 opening).
Theo said from looking at the pictures he believes them to be a late transitional Florida Slant Sig and a Early Babbit. They do smell like rubber when I rub the shank.
They both play ok as they are although I believe the table of the EB is probably not completely flat and I believe both could play even better. The "plop test" for the Slant works well, for the EB it works well in some positions of the ligature, in others not so.

I do like the sound that I get out of both of them, but the 10 (Slant Sig) is definitely too open for me and the 9 also feels more open than I feel comfortable with. I can play it with a strength 3 reed but I get tired quicker.
I normally play a Marantz SL in an 8 opening or a James Bunte ARC in 8 opening.

I wonder if I should have the mouthpieces refaced (in order to decide if I want to play them or then sell them) or if I would destroy their value by having them refaced.
An additional complication on my side is that I live in Munich - and I would probably wnat to have them refaced - maybe by Matt Marantz in the USA, other recommendations are welcome of course.
Sending the mpcs to the USA would mean a lot of customs formalities for me which I am not very keen on (although I have not exactly clarified this yet).

So it comes down to the question - would I destroy their value by having them refaced?

I'd be happy to get valuable information or insight.

Thanks

 

[Sigmund451]

Some will say to preserve the original because they are vintage etc…
The flip side is they belong to you.
The bottom line for me is are they investiments or are they tools?
Do you want to play them? It sounds like they are clearly too large. A reface can remedy that and other issues. They wont still be original but they might be better.
There are arguements for not refacing but I prefer playing mouthpieces as opposed to looking at them.

 

[Grumps]

Do not wreck a valuable mouthpiece in only the hope it will play better for you. Simply flip it and move on. If you wish to have no regrets, that is.

 

[J-Moen]

So it comes down to the question - would I destroy their value by having them refaced?

The answer is yes, especially since the 10 tip opening is quite rare and desirable. Whether that matters to you is something else entirely.

Have you considered seeking a trade for an 8 tip opening slant sig?

 

[whaler]

Do not reface ever just because it doesn’t work for you.
If it’s damaged or warped, I’d let somebody look at it and decide If it needs to be fixed.

 

[ving]

I inherited a similar EB link a few years ago, and I have played it time to time but same as yours, the facing /table was wonky. I finally got around to having Erik Grieffenhagen touch it up very minimally, only evening the facing and slight flattening of the table. I figured since I had not planned to sell the piece it was worth getting it playing as it should. It’s great, but as it measures .115 it’s a bit too big for me. Haven’t decided if I’ll have it adjusted again to bring the opening down some yet.

 

[Tenor Mattness]

Have you actually done the sandpaper test to confirm they're hard rubber? Some of those counterfeits are extremely convincing. Photos, alone, are not always enough.

 

[Sigmund451]

If you arent crazy about them and you already have your setup you can always try to sell it an a crazy price and get what you want. If you want an eb there are better take offs of it out there. Probably just as good of slants too.

 

[Sacks Of Phones]

Sell

 

[Chicken 'Lil]

Agreed. A 10 and 9 are very rare. Closing them down would certainly lower their value. Sell, look for something that fits you, and be patient. Finding a vintage mouthpiece that works takes time and luck. Refacing an original, unless it was warped or otherwise unplayable, usually doesn’t solve problems, in my experience.

 

[GerhardO]

Have you actually done the sandpaper test to confirm they're hard rubber? Some of those counterfeits are extremely convincing. Photos, alone, are not always enough.

Yes I did, but I didn‘t have paper of the right grain. The result looked neither braun nor grey. I also discussed this with Theo and an other refacer from NY - I need to look up my old emails -both said it would be quite probable that the color of the residue would look differently on a finer sand paper.
But - I guess I willget me some of the 1000 (I believe) sandpaper to doublecheck again.
thx for reminding me

 

[GerhardO]

ave you

Well - actually, no I haven‘t as I don‘t even know the value of the mpcs. I am aware that they ARE valuable to some, but I do not know what a rare 10 would be worth compared to a 8.
In Europe people seem to pay less for these compared to the USA it seems. A friend has a very good Slant in 8 and wants to sell it for 1.500 € - He‘s been sitting on it for more than a year I believe.
But I will also think about a swap.

 

[Chicken 'Lil]

An original slant 8 sells for more than $2500 in the US. Check eBay for current prices.

 

[Grumps]

I inherited a similar EB link a few years ago, and I have played it time to time but same as yours, the facing /table was wonky. I finally got around to having Erik Grieffenhagen touch it up very minimally, only evening the facing and slight flattening of the table. I figured since I had not planned to sell the piece it was worth getting it playing as it should. It’s great, but as it measures .115 it’s a bit too big for me. Haven’t decided if I’ll have it adjusted again to bring the opening down some yet.

You gotta get off that merry-go-round man. The only thing worse than an altered mouthpiece in particular regard to value, but not limited thereto, is one done more than once.

 

[Sigmund451]

If they are selling for that much then definitely don’t reface it. Sell it and buy a good piece. Shipping international is not hard with a mouthpiece. Pocket the rest or buy a horn.

 

[GerhardO]

Thanks Everybody so far for your valuable Input. I will sleep over it
i guess my tendency so far leans towards selling it, but I‘ll let the matter sit for a few days and then decide

 

[ving]

Self -deleted

 

[Dr G]

Sell it.