[Sharkey]

Does anyone have or have played a metal Wolfe Tayne #6 on alto sax ? I have read they are a good piece for the price and also they play better on newer horns as opposed to old, as in horns from the 20s -30s , example : Buescher true tone . Also wondering if they fall into the Brilhart level aire type of piece sound wise , play wise . Thanks

 

[JayeLID]

They are bright, cutting mouthpieces sonically speaking. I would doubt they would match up well with an old TT or most split-bellkey horns. They do match decently on some later era vintage horns, like 50's-60's ones.

 

[GT]

I had a Wolfe Tayne metal 4 (.080) that I played on a Noblet (Beaugnier) alto with great success on orange box Rico's.
However, it wouldn't make a sound with a Fibracell...literally (if that is of any concern to you)!

 

[1saxman]

They are nothing like a Level Air. They are 'rollover baffle' pieces like a Link. Wolfe Tannenbaum was an engineer at Otto Link. I've always played high-baffle pieces myself. I tried a WT back when they were in music stores and it wasn't good for me. If you like Link, etc., you could probably use one.

 

[StuartSax]

I had one, a #5, a long time ago along with a 30s Aristocrat. Although I never used it for classical or big band, it posed no serious problems for jazz or pop. It probably would be fine for big band lead alto.

As to modern pieces and 20s horns, I have a 1922 Martin tenor. I bought it from an 80+ gentleman who was using a Dukoff D6 in a community big band. While I'm not recommending one thing or another, the circumstances should dictate. A Rascher mp will probably tune better on a TT but not make much sense in a Sandborn cover band.

Edit: as to 1saxman's above post, I think the WT is inherently brighter than the Otto Link. For a darker Wolfie, look for the Guy Hawkins.

 

[Sharkey]

Thanks for the input guys , want to try this on a king Cleveland from the 60s , soon as the horn comes out of the shop . Ive never used a link , use a Meyer 5m on a true tone and like it .