I bought this piece on the recommendation of a friend. I had expressed my discontent with the projection I was getting from my modern hard rubber Otto Link. I’ve been a baritone link player for the last 10 years and hadn’t needed more projection until I began playing venues without enough mic inputs for my wired microphone.

First Impressions: The mouthpiece is slightly shorter than a HR link. Just about 1/4″ shorter at the shank. The table lengths seem to be the same. The rubber feels great and has a handsome gold inlaid engraving. The table seems flat and has a slight denim pattern.

Reed friendliness: Reeds used in play test (Rico Orange Box 3, Hemke 2.5, Fibracell Medium, LaVoz Medium Hard, Legere 2 1/4) It is friendly to the reeds at my disposal but prefers a reed slightly softer due to the larger tip opening. The legere is wider than the mouthpiece so placement is tricky with the Rovner Dark Tenor Ligature I use.

Response: The reed I settled in on was the Fibracell and the response was was quick at all volume levels. In fact i discovered that my horn had a ever so slight leak at the octave vent when I found articulating a low B difficult. Quick repair and the mouthpiece speaks well throughout the range. There is slight resistance to it but not too much so that you have something to push against.

Tonal/Dynamic Flexibility: The piece has a very focused and centered tone. Easily modified with reed choice and embouchure. With the fibracell the tone is edgy and projects whereas with the cane reeds (rico, lavoz, hemke) the sound is woodier and warmer. This is the first mouthpiece that I have been able to subtone easily. The tone with the fibracell is similar to an Otto link but with lots more edge. It’s not as much edge as you’d find with a Berg but it really speaks. It reminds me of the edge you can get with a V5 but with more tonal flexibility. YMMV

Other: I will be trying it with a few different ligatures to really help fine tune this piece. I will also be moving to some softer Fibracells as well. This mouthpiece has an interesting baffle, walls, and chamber shape.  The walls squeeze in towards the center of the piece, focusing to a tight medium to small chamber.

Intonation: This piece is best on a modern horn the chamber is medium/small and would be tough to keep intune on a vintage horn.

Take Away: This piece offers the projection of a squeeze chamber and the tonal depth of a medium baffle. I would recommend trying this piece before you pop for a hard rubber Berg Larsen. You might find yourself liking the tone and the wad of cash you just saved.

Please feel free to share your comments on my post or your opinion the piece being reviewed.