[Dan Forshaw]

Firstly, why did I want to purchase a new mouthpiece? Well, apart from the fact that nearly every player I know is still on the search for that elusive ‘magical mouthpiece’, I had a important recording date at the start of November and I knew that the “new vintage” hard rubber slant that I had just wasn’t up to it. I had the HR Link (purchased in Jan 2010) re-faced by Morgan Fry in June, and whilst Morgan did a great job, the piece was still a little bright, and if I’m honest, not suited to my 1937 Selmer BA at all (the piece was hanging off the end of the crook and was still # up the top). The HR Link was awesome on my MACSAX Magnum, (a larger bore than the SBA), but as the SBA is my main jazz horn, I wanted a mouthpiece that would do the horn justice and yes, help my achieve that sound in my head.

I did some research, asked a few friends, fellow SBA owners and some of my past tutors, and the common thread was to try and get my hands on a early Florida, or NY link, as many people reported that these pieces worked really well on the SBA. Unfortunately, no-one in the UK or Ireland had any for sale and I wasn’t willing to spend £500+ buying blind from the US or beyond! I saw Eric’s thread on Sax on the Web advertising his new mouthpieces, emailed him (receiving very prompt and detailed replies) and decided to take a ‘punt’.

It was a gamble that has really paid off the piece is fantastic. The depth to the tone is something to behold and the intonation is flawless. Compared to the HR link it’s so much more suited to the SBA. This is without doubt the best piece I have played on my SBA. Much darker than my previous favourite, a Guardala Crescent and yet not lacking in punch, tonal or dynamic compass.

Find the rest of the review here: http://www.danforshaw.com/DanForshaw.com/News/News.html

ps I have no sponsorship or endorsement from Warburton, I do this for the benefit of the community..

 

[gold soundz]

Dan, if your tenor was made in '37 it's definitely a Balanced Action, not a Super Action.

Glad your new Link is working for you .

 

[Dan Forshaw]

Sorry, I was using the Acronym is Selmer Balanced Action (SBA) - I supposed I should stick to BA! But it sounds like an 80s TV star....

 

[rsclosson]

Dan - I read your entire review with quite a bit of interest. I had an old New York Tonemaster and when I got my Warburton NY Vintage model, I was extremely impressed. The Warburton was going to be a backup to my old NY, but it turned out to sound and play better. I sold the vintage one and will eventually get a second one from Warburton. I know you are going to enjoy that piece!

 

[gold soundz]

Sorry, I was using the Acronym is Selmer Balanced Action (SBA) - I supposed I should stick to BA! But it sounds like an 80s TV star....

That aspect of your post was just confusing me . Anyway, no worries, and I'm glad you got things sorted .

 

[ptung]

Not surprised that you all are pleased. I don't know if it was ever written up here, but there was a Warburton pass-around that was going to happen and the pieces ended up with me when a friend thought I needed to check them out first. I was sent 2 tenor, 2 soprano, and 2 alto pieces and ended up buying one of each and sending the whole box back to Eric so that he could replenish it.

The Warburton J-series alto piece is especially good on my Conn transitional (1932) 6M, which can be difficult to match.

I liked the .084, which feels more like a .076 to me, I guess because it plays so smoothly. I liked the .060 for sop, despite that I normally like something larger, and the same for a .105 for tenor, though I normally like a .110 or .115 for tenor.

I would imagine the same goes for the tenor, but on all these pieces I found that the high notes spoke exceptionally well and readily, including the G3. That's what sold me on the sop piece, how easily the high notes spoke. Usually, when you get that from a piece you end up having to sacrifice ease and comfort in the low notes, and in the low note subtones -- not with the Warburton; the low notes on the tenor and alto pieces are still smooth and comfortable, like on a good Link.

When I buy pieces for myself, of course, they're beating out all the pieces that came before, and many, many pieces have come before.

I put in an order for a custom Link as well, after getting the (intended) pass-around box.

Very high opinion of these pieces.

 

[oregrif]

Just to throw my 2 cents worth in here - I received my modified Link from Eric just in time for Christmas and so far I am loving it. I have been looking for a piece that would match up with my '59 Buescher Super 400 and this definitely seems to be THE piece. Went with a 6* - produces a nice full rich tone throughout the range of the horn and most importantly, intonation is much improved. Eric was great to deal with and the appearance of the piece is awesome to boot (went with the silver finish). I would have to second the very high opinion for these pieces - Two thumbs up.

 

[LiAm84]

Sorry, I was using the Acronym is Selmer Balanced Action (SBA) - I supposed I should stick to BA! But it sounds like an 80s TV star....

Sorry to be off topic but 'SBA' stands for 'Super Balanced Action' the model Selmer made between 1948 - 1954. Balanced Action horns are generally abbreviated to 'BA' and where made between 1936 - 1948. The devil is in the detail as they say. Nice Review btw

 

[tinpalaceroach]

Yes nice reviewDan Forshaw on the mod Otto Link but what really got my attention was that you Macsax Magnum has a larger bore than a Selmer Balanced Action tenor sax? please explain besides telling me you own both and can hear the difference. i am very curious on this and your thoughts are welcomed.

 

[Dan Forshaw]

Tim, it's a little off topic and I don't have a measuring instrument but i know for certain that the Magnum is based on a VI and the BA is a BA. Read my review on the Magnum for how it compares Vs the BA (& why I own one)...If you want anymore info, PM me, but I'm on holiday @ the moment so might not reply for a few days..Thanks for the comments guys, have some tracks ready to go shortly, infact check out www.myspace.com/danforshaw the 'Santa C is coming to town' is on that setup.

 

[kingsax]

Dan, not suggesting for one minute you don't know what you are doing, but as you know Morgan, why the hell dident you ask him about his Floridated Link? before going down the Eric Falcon route?

 

[Dan Forshaw]

Hi Kingsax. Basically I found Morgan's pieces a little too bright for me. He did some work on one of my links, & I tried 3 of his pieces in Howarth's. Whilst his workmanship is 1st class it just didn't work out for me, so I decided to take the advice of some of my American buddies and give Eric a call...like I said in the review, the search for that perfect mouthpiece continues...

 

[kingsax]

Hi Dan, hope i dident seem rude in any way with my previous post, to much Argentinian Chardonnay last night:shock: i recently had Morgan do the floridation job on one i bought cheap.......completely transformed it and yes i suppose it is quite bright, good look with the Warburton and i hope it all works out for you...