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Mouthpieces Question about Ted Klum Focustone Precision metal

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chrispotter
Hi!

I am still looking for some good metal mouthpiece and after trying a few Retro Revival pieces, I become interested in Ted Klum Focustone Precision metal piece.

Do you have any experiences with this mouthpiece? Is it worth trying?

Cheers!
 
Generally a smaller chamber and brighter than a link.
Most RR pieces are not precise revivals of those they claim. It would be more accurate to say they are inspired by certain pieces.
Frankly Im the only maker I know that makes an authentic florida chamber in conjunction with Theo. Everyone else just uses toe word Florida as a marketing gimic.
That, however may not be what you are looking for.
 
Is this Focustone Precision louder that typical Link? Is it like ,,Link on the steroids"?
 
Is this Focustone Precision louder that typical Link? Is it like ,,Link on the steroids"?

No, I wouldn't say that. It's free blowing, even across the registers. More of a full than a focused sound, but Ted hand finishes all mouthpieces that leave his shop. When I bought my Focustone it was from a retailer, so I had no chance to give him thoughts on my sound concept. I just bought his Florida model, and after a brief phone conversation he did some baffle work on the piece when hand finishing it. The result was the punchy brightness I was looking for, but all new mouthpieces require a learning period.

If you want one of his mouthpieces, I would recommend emailing him with your questions. I loved mine until it took an unfortunate fall onto a tile floor. (Put a small dent in the tip, still played reasonably well but upper harmonics suffered).
 
Hi!

I am still looking for some good metal mouthpiece and after trying a few Retro Revival pieces, I become interested in Ted Klum Focustone Precision metal piece.

Do you have any experiences with this mouthpiece? Is it worth trying?

Cheers!

I have a 7* Precision and although it is a well made mouthpiece I have reservations about it. I am not engaged by the sound and moreover I am not inspired by the few players who do use Precisions. My personal feeling is that it is dark-ish but without much character. I suppose you could argue that it is up to the player to inject their own character and that Ted Klum's mouthpieces are deliberately a 'blank canvas' , but I have had metal Links that were much more engaging to play despite being less well made. I have had this mouthpiece for a good few years now, and I keep going back to it in the hope that I will form a relationship with it, but so far, not.
I also have reservations about Ted Klum's plating longevity. I have had other metal pieces from him and all of them lost flakes of plating when removing worn bite patches.
I also had a Focustone at one point which I had asked Ted to make brighter for me. It was a very disappointing piece I am sorry to say.
I have an Acoustimax 5 alto piece in the black composite material which, conversely, plays great and is a favourite of mine.


Is this Focustone Precision louder that typical Link? Is it like ,,Link on the steroids"?
Louder? Maybe, because Klum's mouthpieces are very efficient.
Link on steroids? Do you mean greater aggression and projection? No, not really, but again the efficiency makes it much easier to manipulate than a standard Link.
 
Generally a smaller chamber and brighter than a link.
Most RR pieces are not precise revivals of those they claim. It would be more accurate to say they are inspired by certain pieces.
Frankly I'm the only maker I know that makes an authentic Florida chamber in conjunction with Theo. Everyone else just uses toe word Florida as a marketing gimmick.
That, however may not be what you are looking for.
I have to second Phil's statements. Of all the pieces that take the Florida as a basis, the Phil-Tone Tribute is currently my favourite metal piece. I also have a Mosaic which I love equally, but which takes it's inspiration from a blend of Link and Dukoff Stubby.
But, neither the original Tribute nor the Mosaic are what I would call 'on-steroids'. Efficient, even toned, great to play - yes. To my mind 'steroids' has the connotation of aggression and hyped-up performance, which are not what comes to mind with Phil's pieces. Even the Mosaic Ltd. which I trailed a couple of years ago was simply brighter than the original Mosaic without loosing it's original quality. Maybe Theo Wanne's original Amma or Kali, or some of 10mFan's mouthpieces could be described as 'on steroids'?
 
I have a 7* Precision and although it is a well made mouthpiece I have reservations about it. I am not engaged by the sound and moreover I am not inspired by the few players who do use Precisions. My personal feeling is that it is dark-ish but without much character. I suppose you could argue that it is up to the player to inject their own character and that Ted Klum's mouthpieces are deliberately a 'blank canvas' , but I have had metal Links that were much more engaging to play despite being less well made. I have had this mouthpiece for a good few years now, and I keep going back to it in the hope that I will form a relationship with it, but so far, not.
I also have reservations about Ted Klum's plating longevity. I have had other metal pieces from him and all of them lost flakes of plating when removing worn bite patches.
I also had a Focustone at one point which I had asked Ted to make brighter for me. It was a very disappointing piece I am sorry to say.
I have an Acoustimax 5 alto piece in the black composite material which, conversely, plays great and is a favourite of mine.



Louder? Maybe, because Klum's mouthpieces are very efficient.
Link on steroids? Do you mean greater aggression and projection? No, not really, but again the efficiency makes it much easier to manipulate than a standard Link.

Oddly enough, what seemed to bother you about this piece is what I found to be it’s best feature. The plating did wear down quickly, but that aesthetic. I also hate switching gear. I’ve only really played 3 mouthpieces in my life if you exclude my youth (high school) where I ran through all kinds of crap. Took me a solid 4 months to feel comfortable on the Focustone. I found playing a #4 jazz cut reed added a lot of life to the sound. Worth the extra work
 
I found playing a #4 jazz cut reed added a lot of life to the sound. Worth the extra work
This is always in the back of my mind, that Ted Klum favours quite hard reeds. I don't particularly. Also I prefer Vandoren reeds for the most part, and I think Klum tenor pieces work better with Rico/D'Addario types.
 
Hi,
I'm familiar with both, Florida Klum and Philtone Tribute.
I agree the Tribute sounds much more like a Link.
The Klum on the other hand is much louder with less effort than the Philtone.
But the Tribute (with my style and technique of playing) didn't change the sound as much as the Klum did with higher volume. To be honest, I would have preferred the Klum only if I had to play in very loud bands.

Cheers, Guenne
 
Guys, thank you so much for your answers! I'm still looking for something to replace my EB metal Link, so I'll check out this Ted Klum mouthpiece.
 
Guys, thank you so much for your answers! I'm still looking for something to replace my EB metal Link, so I'll check out this Ted Klum mouthpiece.
Bear in mind that @Guenne is talking about the Florida model Klum, not the Precision. I have no experience of the Florida, although by some accounts it might have suited me better.
I agree that the Tribute is not necessarily to be considered a 'loud' mouthpiece (although that really is up to the player), but fine quality it does have. 20 years ago I would have killed to have had the Tribute: I was doing a lot of studio work where I had to tread a line between different genres and it would have been a heck of a lot easier with such a refined and adaptable piece.
 
Bear in mind that @Guenne is talking about the Florida model Klum, not the Precision. I have no experience of the Florida, although by some accounts it might have suited me better.
I agree that the Tribute is not necessarily to be considered a 'loud' mouthpiece (although that really is up to the player), but fine quality it does have. 20 years ago I would have killed to have had the Tribute: I was doing a lot of studio work where I had to tread a line between different genres and it would have been a heck of a lot easier with such a refined and adaptable piece.



The Florida is nothing like the Focustone. Although they are both good. It’s voiced more ‘up’ due to more baffle material. Not necessarily bright....more crisp. Very centred at all ranges and dynamics.

the Focustone has more spread to the sound when pushed. It’s a tad more flexible sonically, but a little less free blowing.

However all things are subjective in the world of mouthpieces.
 
Bear in mind that @Guenne is talking about the Florida
Yes, and he should have kept his mouth shut. Sorry.
I have owned the Focustone, but I can't remember how it played :), but it's so much that I can say that indeed it was totally different compared to the Klum Florida model.
I also owned the Tribute Ltd some months ago, and it was louder than the original Tribute.

Cheers, Guenne
 
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