Buescher mouthpiece

brucemacdonald · Jun 23, 2006

I tried asking about this on SOTW but didn't get very far...

I have the stock mouthpiece which came with my 1925 Buescher True Tone tenor sax. I have tried playing it and found that the bottom end is nice but it sounds thin at the top. It is also very quiet.

The chief difference between this piece and my Otto Link 7* hard rubber piece is the tip opening: much smaller, maybe a 3 or a 4.

Apart from using a harder reed than my Marca Jazz 3, are there any other tips for improving the sound? I probably will not use the Buescher piece as my main one (I've been playing the Link too long for that) but as a back-up and for situations where the Link may be too overpowering for other instruments.

Bruce

Pete Thomas · Jun 23, 2006

Really the original Buescher is quite different beast. Apart from the tip opening, it probably has a bigger chamber, or at least very different internal dimensions.

I keep one of these for my soprano just for when I want to recreate the sound of that era, it's never going to give you a more modern sound IMO, even if you opened the tip up, had the curve changed and added a baffle. (You'd probably just ruin a perfectly good museum piece, although these are common enough not to worry - it may be fun to experiment)

Definitely worth keeping though. I also have a vintage Conn tenor mouthpiece.

saxismyaxe · Jun 23, 2006

Mouthpiece designs evolved quite a bit after the 1920's, and as a result few examples of this early vintage are what most players are looking for these days. They do tend to be rather tubby sounding, with much smaller facings/tip openings in general than what is desired by contemporary horn players, even those seeking a "vintage" sound. The late 1930's through to the 1960's MP makes/vintages are another story!

As Pete hit upon, keep it for it's historical/collectible worth and give some of the later MP designs a test drive till you find one to your liking. You have a nice horn and it deserves a better setup IMHO.
I find my Otto Links play nicely on just about every vintage tenor in my collection, so you are doubtless on to something with yours as well.

BTW, sorry we couldn't help you on Sax on the Web.

brucemacdonald · Jun 24, 2006

At 1:31:40 PM 23/06/06, Saxismyaxe wrote:
Mouthpiece designs evolved quite a bit after the 1920's, and as a result few examples of this early vintage are what most players are looking for these days. They do tend to be rather tubby sounding, with much smaller facings/tip openings in general than what is desired by contemporary horn players, even those seeking a "vintage" sound. The late 1930's through to the 1960's MP makes/vintages are another story!

As Pete hit upon, keep it for it's historical/collectible worth and give some of the later MP designs a test drive till you find one to your liking. You have a nice horn and it deserves a better setup IMHO.
I find my Otto Links play nicely on just about every vintage tenor in my collection, so you are doubtless on to something with yours as well.

BTW, sorry we couldn't help you on Sax on the Web.

Not a problem Michael. I was after any specific advice on how to play a closed mouthpiece. I have forgotten how to do it! (My first mouthpiece was a Yamaha 4C which was stock with my old YTS-23.)

I will definitely keep the Buescher as-is. Considering that this was a stock piece, the workmanship on it is remarkably good. Yes, the sound it produces is unfashionable these days, but that is OK. As it is, when I checked my Link side by side with the Buescher, the chamber on each looked remarkably similar (mine is a Florida Tone Edge).

Best wishes

Bruce