Klarinet Archive - Posting 000149.txt from 2009/04

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Saxophone Mouthpiece Madness
Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:57:53 -0400

At 09:26 PM 4/26/2009, Kevin Fay wrote:

>$134.95 - This is the "pro" model, with a hard rubber blank made to order by
>Babbitt and hand-finished by a guy named Steve at for the Kessler store.
>It's not a cheap alternative to the current Meyer, which has a street price
>of about $100; it costs a third more. The lore is that somewhere along the
>way, perhaps when the Meyer brothers "sold out" to the Babbitt people, the
>design changed from the short-shank loved by beboppers everywhere to the
>current too-bright design. I thought it curious that Babbitt would make a
>short-shank blank for some dude in Vegas to peddle a recreation of the "Holy
>Grail," so was pretty interested in trying it.

Babbitt will make blanks to order for anyone. On my tenor I
currently play a T. L. Zappe St. Louis 7*, which is a Babbitt-made
hard rubber Otto Link blank, modified to Tom's specifications to have
a chamber more like the original New York Links, to which he applies
the facing. It was not cheap, but it outplays anything else I have,
including 2 metal Link NY chambers, Meyer, Brilhart, etc.. I know an
actual professional sax player (Air Force band, etc.), who also plays
one and sounds GREAT on it. If the facing is right a mouthpiece will
speak easily and respond smoothly, but the baffle and chamber design
make it sing.

Bill Hausmann

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is TOO LOUD!

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