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Message: <blockquote data-quote="rhysonsax" data-source="post: 505544" data-attributes="member: 59">I know that Geoff Lawton use of the same model designations changed over time and that you can find Lawton mouthpieces with the same markings but having different baffle and chamber dimensions.Having done quite a bit of research on Lawton mouthpieces I put together a website of Lawton history and other information.  <a href="https://sites.google.com/view/lawton-mouthpieces-history/home" target="_blank">Lawton Saxophone Mouthpieces History</a> On the website I have included a timeline of changes to the design of the "Plain" and "Model B" Lawtons:Timeline of Changes to Plain & Model B From 1967 the tenor mouthpiece was offered in two types of tone chamber, the A (standard) and the B with more brightness/edge. The baritone and alto had the standard chamber design. The B model proved to be more popular and so in the late 60s / early 70s Lawton standardised all three sizes (alto, tenor, baritone) on the popular design which became the new “Plain”. In 1973 Lawton produced a design with more edge still and this became the “new” B model (tenor first and then alto and baritone a couple of months later), as Geoff said: “with what I consider to possess the maximum edge that I would wish to incorporate into my mouthpieces.” In 1984 the design of the “Plain” models was changed by using “a slightly lower baffle” and “opening the throat a trifle to give a slightly fuller, darker sound”. This made for a greater difference in sound between the Plain and the B or BB models. The throat modification was also said to help intonation on the soprano.Often mouthpiece makers are careful not to give too much information away about the precise design of critical internal areas, particularly the baffle and the chamber.  Back in 1972 Frederick Wyman wrote his PhD thesis called "An Acoustical Study of Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Chamber Design" (available online as a PDF).That thesis describes in detail how Wyman measured what he called the "roof contour" of 16 alto mouthpieces.  He tabulated the results and also presented drawings of each mouthpiece at a scale of 2:1, including cross-sections that show the shape of the baffle, chamber, throat etc.Although that thesis is 50 years old it is about the best information I am aware of.Rhys</blockquote>

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