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Your mouthpiece is the most crucial element in the creation of your sound.
We stock only the mouthpieces we play:
American OTTO LINKS... metal/ebonite... alto and tenor, British LAWTONS...
metal... alto and tenor, American MEYERS… ebonite… altos and
good beginners' mouthpieces such as WOLFE TAYNEs. Although beginners could
always just go for a MEYER or an OTTO LINK ebonite, and cut immediately
to the chase.
If possible, come and be recorded trying out any and all of these mouthpieces
on our digital 16 trax at the Blowout Sax School.
The
OTTO LINK mouthpiece
These are beautifully shaped gold metal and black ebonite mouthpieces.
The sound of Otto Link is massive, gorgeous, sleazy and lewd. For a taste
of its capability listen to Ben Webster or Stanley Turrentine on metals
or 'the beautiful sound' of Stan Getz on ebonite. Blowout Sax's Stan Scott
uses an Otto Link 7* on his Borgani tenor (the Joe Lovano model). It offers
a punchy, strong tone with plenty of warmth and Stan reckons it is probably
the most versatile mouthpiece around.
The
Great British LAWTON
Mark says this mouthpiece, made and created by Geoff Lawton himself, with
its rocket-shaped design, produces a firework of sounds, stunning in volume
and ease of playing. The Lawton has a spectacular kick and, with time,
a diversity of tone, but overall has a more brilliance of tone than the
Otto Link.
Craig Crofton says that Lawton gives you a versatile sandwich which can
be used for playing anything from rock/funk to jazz. He also says one
can still get a puffy sound on the bottom end and sharp sound up top.
It has a brilliant rich tone and offers varying degrees of sharpness:
* = normal
*B = more edge
*BB = really edgy
Craig also says that you have to be careful if you are changing from an
ebonite mouthpiece to a Lawton. It may take you several months to get
used to it. You need to have your embouchure well developed to switch
to all metal mouthpieces, and this is especially true of a Lawton.
The
STATESIDE MEYER mouthpiece
Craig says the Meyer is the perfect all round alto mouthpiece. It is particularly
good for students to start using when they have been playing the sax for
six months to a year. Its open bore design provides a fullness of sound
and ease of playing that makes it a perfect choice. Meyers were used by
the great Cannonball Adderley and Ian Donaldson. Stan Scott has always
played Meyer ebonites on alto sax. They're versatile with a full warm
sound. He currently plays a Meyer 7 which is one up from the Meyer played
by the late great Art Pepper.
Patches
BG produce black patches that some saxophonists like to put on their mouthpieces. The advantage is your two front teeth are then resting in the same place every time you blow - these are especially good for metal mouthpieces as the taste of metal on your teeth ain't always pleasant. Replace them when you begin to taste metal!
