zootsaxenberger
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- kent
I promised TomMapfumo that i would post my thoughts after i had given this mouthpiece(9m tenor) a bit of a workout, so here goes, firstly, let me explain that my reason for trying this particular "piece" was that i had a couple of important gigs and my usual mouthpiece (Claude Lakey 7*3)was just a little out gunned, so having heard a lot of reports about Metalites i decided to give it a try.
firstly it is,free blowing, my immediate reaction was one of slight disappointment because whilst it played easily enough, it didn't scream the way i thought it would.
but when i checked the reed i found that i had inadvertently put on a number 3 rico instead of the softer reed that Rico recommend, this made all the difference, it came alive, i was really very impressed by not only the extra volume but also the fact that it added definition to the core sound from top to bottom, very often with metal mouthpieces you gain on brightness but lose when you go for low notes,but i was able to subtone in glorious Technicolor!
as an experiment i tried used both the Lakey and the Metalite on a dep gig with a local blues band on the first set the Lakey did work fine, but when i swopped for the second set, at the same settings on the p.a., the Metalite was just so much easier to play,it cut through without any extra work on my part infact i have found that you actually need to "back off" a bit and let the mouthpiece do the work.
which again cannot be said for all metal pieces.
in conclusion, this mouthpiece is worth every penny i paid for it and more,would it stop me from buying or using another metal mouthpiece? no!
but it is a good, inexpensive "tool" and for someone who wants to try a mouthpiece with more punch without the expense of going "high end" this is a great option.
firstly it is,free blowing, my immediate reaction was one of slight disappointment because whilst it played easily enough, it didn't scream the way i thought it would.
but when i checked the reed i found that i had inadvertently put on a number 3 rico instead of the softer reed that Rico recommend, this made all the difference, it came alive, i was really very impressed by not only the extra volume but also the fact that it added definition to the core sound from top to bottom, very often with metal mouthpieces you gain on brightness but lose when you go for low notes,but i was able to subtone in glorious Technicolor!
as an experiment i tried used both the Lakey and the Metalite on a dep gig with a local blues band on the first set the Lakey did work fine, but when i swopped for the second set, at the same settings on the p.a., the Metalite was just so much easier to play,it cut through without any extra work on my part infact i have found that you actually need to "back off" a bit and let the mouthpiece do the work.
which again cannot be said for all metal pieces.
in conclusion, this mouthpiece is worth every penny i paid for it and more,would it stop me from buying or using another metal mouthpiece? no!
but it is a good, inexpensive "tool" and for someone who wants to try a mouthpiece with more punch without the expense of going "high end" this is a great option.
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