[Bob42]

While recently watching videos of Sam Butera I see something I noticed the last time I saw Sam in person. It looks like a strip of adhesive tape around his mouthpiece between the ligature and his mouth. does anyone know why?

 

[mrpeebee]

I have no idea, but it might help if you could share a video link or picture which shows that..

 

[datsaxman]

Yes, a picture would help. Maybe he cracked it and needed to get through the gig?

 

[bandmommy]

Sometimes if a ligature is a hair too big a strip of tape is enough to snug it up.
But yes, a photo would be very helpful.

 

[1saxman]

Yes, a picture would help. Maybe he cracked it and needed to get through the gig?

Its a steel Berg - not cracked.

 

[1saxman]

Hey, I took a look at it - its probably not tape - its on the beak like an added bite area or possibly something to ease upper lip contact if that was bothering him for some reason. But its white or some other light color instead of black. Bottom line, I've noticed some odd things done on mouthpiece beaks while looking at the great videos available today. Jr. Walker comes to mind - he played a Lawton (thought it was a Berg since the '60s) and he apparently had a black strip of material on it all the way up the beak to the crown of the mouthpiece. I think in both cases, today they would simply cut out a patch to suit them and stick it on, but if patches existed then, I never saw anyone using one.

 

[Bob42]

I have no idea, but it might help if you could share a video link or picture which shows that.

I have no idea, but it might help if you could share a video link or picture which shows that.

Here are few different views of it at different times so it wasn't a one-time thing.

 

[Dr G]

It looks like a white bite plate.

 

[1saxman]

Whatever, Sammy Butera was a monster sax man and a wonderful entertainer.

 

[mrpeebee]

It looks like a white bite plate.

Or something (tape, or something thicker) put over the bite plate, maybe to protect his teeth against the vibration. It seems to cover also the sides of the mouthpiece on below detail, but I can't imagine it goes over the facing, that would impact how the reed hits the facing curve (and cause leaks).

 

[Sacks Of Phones]

He always "taped" himself while playing.........

 

[milandro]

The question is very intriguing

I looked long and hard any and everywhere to find close ups but found none, he certainly used it throughout his career.

If it was only a biteplate (tape) why would that include the sides (unless he was affected by some allergy but sounds unlikely) , I began wondering if he wanted to tape off part of the mouthpice opening, the so called window. say one does that only for the part after where the reed touches the rails...
I have no idea.

There must be some of his family around and since he didn't pass away such a long time ago his things may have been preserved.

 

[Fader]

It's a marker....take in MPC until your teeth hit tape and that's where you stop...It goes all the way round so it wont fall off....

 

[Guto]

I believe it's just a home made (white surgical tape?) tooth guard patch. it goes around so it doesn't peel off so easily.
it's very apparent in this video:

 

[milandro]

but if it goes all around it has to close the ‘ window” at that point in the mouthpiece.

Anyway, the mouthpiece must belong to the family and maybe someone knows them so, one day, we may know, these rare the archive possibilities.

 

[Guto]

I meant it goes around the side edges down the sides. Of course it’d have to stop before it hits the table. Or maybe he did apply the tape all around once the reed was already in place. Doesn’t seem too far fetched to me but hard to know for sure indeed.

 

[milandro]

Maybe someone knows the family , he had two daughters and two sons: Cherry, Dee, Sam and Nick, they too must be aging (Mr. Butera was born the same year as my late father)

 

[soybean]

You can see the white "object" better in this video.

 

[turf3]

I'd guess he had trouble with his upper incisors (sensitive? Decayed roots?) and wrapped some white adhesive tape over the MP to reduce vibration. He might have wrapped several turns around and then cut it off where the reed goes. He could even have put a wet reed on and then wrapped the tape (would have to re-do with each reed change).

You younguns need to keep in mind that this was pre-Internet, pre-mail order saxophone shops. If your teeth hurt when you played and you weren't in easy reach of a music store that sold cushy MP cushions, you improvised. A roll of white adhesive tape is available for short money in a drugstore in any town where you might happen to be. Mouthpiece cushions, not so much. If the bus rolls into EBE, Nebraska with half an hour before the show, you can probably take that roll of tape out of your bag and wrap the mouthpiece, or run to the local drug store and lay a buck on them.

 

[jazzznbluezzz]

I tried this. I had never noticed the tape around Sam's mouthpiece before reading this thread.
And to my surprise it does have some effect and it actually works nicely. I think it was Sam's Secret.
The tone gets a little brighter and edgier and I feel it gets some more punch. Definitly more R&B and R&R.
Tried it on a steel Berg 115 and on a hard rubber Personaline. And it worked on both.
I think if you have a dull sounding mouthpiece lying around you might be able to juice it up with this tape trick.
O and the color does not matter. White or black, Both have the same effect.