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I had never played on a metal mouthpiece before, so with some extra cash and a lot of GAS, I decided to give them a try.
I'm very happy with my Jody Jazz Jet 7 alto mouthpiece, so no need to try anything else there. I ordered an Otto Link Super Tone Master New York 7 Star tenor mouthpiece. On a whim, I also ordered a Super Tone Master link 7 Star for my soprano.
I've spent two weeks trying them out. First the tenor. I had been playing on a Beechler L8L. I liked it and still do. My tone was nice, I could play over the entire range and with good dynamic control. But I am still developing my tenor sound so I thought trying metal was a good idea.
I like the Link. It gives me more of a vintage sound. I can play the entire range pretty easily. It's responsive and I find I have more tonal color available to me. I can get a husky tenor sound or a lighter tone, in the vein of Stan Getz. It didn't take long to get used to the feel of metal rather than hard rubber. I'm going to keep it and keep practicing with it.
The soprano was a different story. I had been playing a Meyer 9 M. My tone was developing nicely. I wasn't sure I needed a different mouthpiece, but i figured, it wouldn't hurt to try. It did not work for me at all. I had lots of trouble playing the lowest notes, anything under G. My tone was thin, and very inconsistent. I think a big part of the problem was that I had never played on a mouthpiece that small. Metal of course, has smaller dimensions. I didn't have that problem on tenor, because I do play alto and soprano so the smaller size was still familiar.
The small soprano piece was tricky. I also noticed that the window was considerably narrower than my Meyer and the reed overhung on both sides. I just couldn't get any kind of consistent tone. So, I am sending the soprano Link back. My Meyer works very well.
A worthy experiment, I think. One keeper, one that didn't work for me. But I'm glad I gave metal a try.
I'm very happy with my Jody Jazz Jet 7 alto mouthpiece, so no need to try anything else there. I ordered an Otto Link Super Tone Master New York 7 Star tenor mouthpiece. On a whim, I also ordered a Super Tone Master link 7 Star for my soprano.
I've spent two weeks trying them out. First the tenor. I had been playing on a Beechler L8L. I liked it and still do. My tone was nice, I could play over the entire range and with good dynamic control. But I am still developing my tenor sound so I thought trying metal was a good idea.
I like the Link. It gives me more of a vintage sound. I can play the entire range pretty easily. It's responsive and I find I have more tonal color available to me. I can get a husky tenor sound or a lighter tone, in the vein of Stan Getz. It didn't take long to get used to the feel of metal rather than hard rubber. I'm going to keep it and keep practicing with it.
The soprano was a different story. I had been playing a Meyer 9 M. My tone was developing nicely. I wasn't sure I needed a different mouthpiece, but i figured, it wouldn't hurt to try. It did not work for me at all. I had lots of trouble playing the lowest notes, anything under G. My tone was thin, and very inconsistent. I think a big part of the problem was that I had never played on a mouthpiece that small. Metal of course, has smaller dimensions. I didn't have that problem on tenor, because I do play alto and soprano so the smaller size was still familiar.
The small soprano piece was tricky. I also noticed that the window was considerably narrower than my Meyer and the reed overhung on both sides. I just couldn't get any kind of consistent tone. So, I am sending the soprano Link back. My Meyer works very well.
A worthy experiment, I think. One keeper, one that didn't work for me. But I'm glad I gave metal a try.
