Mouthpieces I tried an HR tenor mouthpiece with a florida/tonemaster vibe. Need your thoughts

[fabriziodalisera]

Hi, I just added this new mouthpiece review to my youtube channel.
The mouthpiece is made with CNC machines and then carefully handfinished by Alessandro Degola in Modena, Italy.
It is made of German hard rubber, overall the mouthpiece is inspired by vintage Otto Links.
It has some charachteristics of the "tone master" (large chamber) and the "florida" (medium baffle shape).
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this video, don't skip! I put many photos and comments (turn on English subs) in the last part.
Do you like the sound?
Leave a comment please, every feedback is appreciated.
Bye, Fabrizio

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3-dQM1dwLQ

 

[brianr]

Hi Fabrizio, thanks for putting this up here.

I really like it. Full, dark, centered, and with a singing quality.

Of course, much of that is you, and your concept.
I like your sound concept !

So, I went to your site and listened to three other examples.

Theo wanna slant, Aizen, Florida otto Link.

I would say this new one is the darkest of the 4. Possibly least in terms of volume/projection, although that is difficult to assess in a video.

My favourite of your clips is the vintage link.
They have a kind of grittiness that modern pieces don’t seem to have, and you can see why many companies try to link (oops ! ) themselves to that particular sound. I played vintage otto links for years, until I changed to a modern piece about 18 months ago. I like this modern piece and it works well for me. But I still miss the grittiness of my old links!!! One day, I will look them out again!
For me, None of the modern versions have managed to recreate that Otto Link vibe that they claim.

Having said that, this new one of yours is for certain to my liking, and does have elements of that “Linkish” sound that they are aiming for.
I liked it a lot.
I wish this new venture best of luck.

 

[fabriziodalisera]

@brianr Thank you. Maybe you could be right, vintage Links has a tendency to add a kind of "overblowing" or "grit" especially in the middle register of the horn.
Some of the moutpiece videos on my website were shot almost 9 years ago.
During the years I surely moved to a darker sound, maybe because I am older haha!
The most relevant thing is that once you have a sound concept you tend to reproduce it on every set up.
When I hear my clips or records that I did 8, 9 or 10 years ago I think that overall I am a better player now, but tonewise I tend to sound similar on every horn/mouthpiece set up.
Maybe this is true for everybody...it is like those thriller movies...You can't escape from your past.

 

[Adrian63]

@fabriziodalisera : hi man..sounding good !
Briefly; if you are into the slant link vibe you may want to check out Ed Pillingers sl.
I had one quite a few years back and it remains one of the best tenorsax mpcs I have owned. I have been tempted to get another but one's sound concept changes .But in time , yeah , I will replace the Pillinger for sure.
Ciao
M

 

[ellinas]

Very nice.
I got a similar experience with a tenor kanee large chamber mouthpiece.
Pretty nice!

 

[Wade Cornell]

It sounds like low volume at the bottom of the horn is a little difficult, Otherwise very even and nice tone.

 

[fabriziodalisera]

@fabriziodalisera : hi man..sounding good !
Briefly; if you are into the slant link vibe you may want to check out Ed Pillingers sl.
I had one quite a few years back and it remains one of the best tenorsax mpcs I have owned. I have been tempted to get another but one's sound concept changes .But in time , yeah , I will replace the Pillinger for sure.
Ciao
M

Thank you Malachi! I have never tried a Pillinger, but I would love to. After many years of playing different mouthpiece I need to come back to the classic Otto link style mouthpiece, large chamber and low/medium baffle. The most important thing is the player and his/her sound concept. The more experience has the player the smaller sound differencies are. Everyone tend to reproduce his sound concept on different setups. However I personally think that the Link design in 7 and 8 openings seems to be the most flexible.

 

[fabriziodalisera]

It sounds like low volume at the bottom of the horn is a little difficult, Otherwise very even and nice tone.

It was a new hard reed....you are right, but I love "fighting" with the low register. That kind of hard reeds plays great on the high notes! Maybe I could find a balance