Tim's Picks

This page is dedicated to products that I have come across that I think are worthy of special mention in the saxophone world.This edition features the products of P. Mauriat Saxophones, Hahn Synthetic Reeds, Mouthpiece Cafe Saxophone Mouthpieces, SR Technologies Mouthpieces, Fred Rast Custom Saxophone Mouthpiece and Fred Lamberson Custom Saxophone Mouthpieces and Vandoren Saxophone Mouthpieces.

 

P. MAURIAT SAXOPHONES

Sax Alley is the #1 dealer in the U.S. of the P. Mauriat, Professional saxophones. These fine instruments are made out of French Brass by an excellent Taiwanese manufacturer, which gives them the warm sound quality that, before the P. Mauriat saxophone, has been missing in Taiwanese made instruments. I played these next to what I believe is the best major Taiwanese brand and the sound was very obviously warmer, richer and better overall. Keywork is similar to the Selmer Series II and the price is great, making them a super playing instrument that is affordable.

The dark lacquer alto and tenor have an antique, vintage finish, much like the Selmer Reference 54 only with a nicer texture and are now completely hand engraved as well. Roger Greenberg, Professor Emeritus of the University of Northern Colorado, is now endorsing and playing these instruments. Dealers are being added weekly, but we are still selling more than anyone else in the country. These instruments are getting great reviews in "Jazz Times" and "Downbeat" magazines and many great players are now playing and endorsing these great instruments including James Carter (picked up a bari from Sax Alley in June 2006 to go along with his 66R tenor), Aaron West (Carson Daly Show and Mariah Carey) and Darren Rahn (Smooth Jazz Artist and Producer). I think you will be impressed with the sound and quality of this very well made saxophone. People come in and compare the Mauriat Saxophones with the major brands and they end up purchasing the Mauriat, not because of the price, but for the sound!

The PMXT-66R and PMXA-67R, rolled tone hole, tenor and alto have been a big hit. Both have a bigger, warmer sound than the straight tone hole models (PMSA-67 and PMST-66), but with a bit less focus.

The newest, unlacquered models, PMXA-67R UL and PMXT-66R UL are absolutely out of this world . They have more presence than the dark lacquer horns and still have that same huge sound. The alto, played next to a vintage Mark VI, had a very similar sound quality, but with a bigger bottom, more responsive middle D and more power in the palm keys as well. The tenor has more of the vintage VI sound as well, but with a fatter core due to the rolled tone holes.

The new System 76 Soprano is the best soprano Mauriat has offered to date. Some of the slight problems in the previous models have been overcome in this model. The response is even from top to bottom, the intonation is very good and they play the way a soprano should at a much lower cost than the other major brands.

Mauriat just keeps making them better and better and their instruments are right up there with the "Big Boys" in terms of playability, but with a lower price. My thanks to Alex at Mauriat who set out to make a GREAT new saxophone and succeeded!

 

HAHN SYNTHETIC REEDS

Dieter Hahn, formerly of Germany, now Argentina, has produced the best synthetic reed I have ever seen or played. It is made of Carbon Fiber, white in color with a black rubber patch on the top side which makes the reed thick enough for most ligatures. Mr. Hahn says the patch can be removed if you wish, but the reed sounds so good with it, I hesitate even trying. I played a #2.5 Hahn in comparison to a #2.5 Vandoren V16 tenor reed and could not tell any difference in the sound quality! I even played them for my associate and he couldn't tell either. Most everyone that has purchased one of these reeds has been extremely happy with it. Hahn is also going to be making a sonically darker version in the future. It will be available for sale here at Sax Alley as soon as he offers it.

If you are a player who doubles frequently on various saxophones and can't keep your reeds wet, these are a great choice. In our climate in Colorado, where we deal with low humidity and high altitude, these reeds can be a great relief, especially if you are having to play a gig in Leadville, Colorado at 10,000 Feet in altitude! I have also been selling these to players who are touring all over the country, playing in outdoor summer venues, and need at least one reed in their case that they count on, no matter where they are.

After selling these reeds for some time now, the feedback I am getting continues to encourage me to carry this fine product. I have had players who formerly played Bari Plastic, Bari Star, Fibracell and even Legere purchase these and like them much better. That is why Sax Alley is the Sole U.S. Distributor of the Hahn Synthetic Reed!! If you want this reed in the US, we are the place to get it.

We are happy to annouce that Pete Christlieb (former Tonight Show Band member under Johnny Carson), Gerald Albright (smooth jazz recording artist) and Ted Thompson (bari player with the Tommy Dorsey band) are all Hahn Synthetic Reed Artist/Endorsers!

Congratulations Mr. Hahn and Hahn Synthetic Reeds for making a synthetic reed that is actually VERY close to a cane reed in both response and feel! We will continue to carry this product and sell them mail order so more players can find out about this great alternative to cane. Check out our special prices on the Reeds page.

 

MOUTHPIECE CAFE SAXOPHONE MOUTHPIECES

Brian Powell and Erik Greiffenhagen (www.mouthpieceguys.com) have just released these fantastic mouthpieces and Sax Alley is honored to be one of first dealers to offer them for sale. They are made from an outstanding resin that is so close to hard rubber in sound and feel that I couldn't tell they weren't hard rubber. The material they make them from is also FDA approved to be safe and non-toxic. These are, without a doubt, the best mouthpieces I have played in years! They have several models and all of the ones we tried were outstanding.

The alto piece, that is very similar to an old New York Meyer, is called the "NY Cafe Bros." and is absolutely great! It is easy to play with a big, full sound quality and a very slight amount of edge that makes the mouthpiece cut through better than some alto pieces while retaining that fat core. They are offered in the more tradiditional New York Meyer facings of the past with a #5 (.072"), #6 (.077") and #7 (.082).

The tenor has 3 choices. The "House Blend" has edge and power yet maintains the fat core that so many brighter pieces don't have. They offer this in a #6* (.095"), 7 (.100"), 7* (.105") and 8 (.110"). The "Bergonzi Slant Supreme" is similar to a Link Slant Copy modeled after one of Jerry's personal pieces. It plays fat, dark and beautiful! Only available in a 7* facing. The "Soloist Espersso" is designed to replicate the sound of Joe Henderson, Rich Perry and others who play the opened up Selmer Soloist. Didn't get one of these yet, but I assume it will be equally as good as the rest. Also only in a 7* facing.

My sincere thanks to Brian and Erik who have finally created some new mouthpieces worth owning and playing! These are the best I have seen in my career in this business and I hope to be able to keep them in stock. Once my customers start playing them they won't stay on the shelf!!! Lord bless you guys and keep up the great work!

 

SR TECHNOLOGIES

I have found these mouthpieces to be exceptionally well made and easy blowing with a rich, warm body to the sound in all models, including the metal pieces, that you rarely find today.

The Zelux M alto mouthpieces have a good, extremely fat, core to the sound. The sound is somewhat brighter than some people like, but they do have good "punch" to their sound.

The metal "Pro" Baritone piece is very good. Nice, big, somewhat warm sound that is not edgy or bright, but not dull and unresponsive. A very good bari piece.

SR Technologies has recently introduced an new line of Hard Rubber pieces for Alto, Tenor and Soprano. These play with more warmth than the metal and Zelux pieces, but are still a bit brighter than other rubber pieces. They have found a type of rubber and a way to use their same CNC milling processes to produce these pieces so the quality of construction is excellent.

My congratulations to the guys at SR Technologies and I hope they keep up the good work. We are very proud here at Sax Alley to be the only Colorado dealer for SR Technologies.

FRED RAST Custom Saxophone Mouthpieces

I have recently begun receiving mouthpieces from Fred Rast of California and have found that I cannot keep them on the shelves. He is providing us with Custom Made alto, tenor and soprano saxophone mouthpieces that work beautifully and are hand crafted and fine tuned to our performance desires. The alto pieces are vintage Meyer Bothers copies full of body and warmth and the tenor pieces are vintage Otto Link copies that respond quicker than the current production Links. The tenor pieces have a slight baffle in them that gives them just a bit of "punch" that some people really like. The alto pieces are just better sounding than a standard Meyer with more body and less edge. Great playing mouthpieces, well made and worth the price.

 

FRED LAMBERSON Custom Saxophone Mouthpieces

Fred Lamberson has been making custom mouthpieces for some years now, but I just recently have had the pleasure of carrying them at Sax Alley. Fred's pieces are very well made and we have a hard time keeping his tenor "J" series pieces in stock. They play with a bit more body and power than most of the modern Link mouthpieces and seem to allow you to use more air without losing the quality of sound. The alto pieces play very wll also. The "M" series are great lead alto pieces with a lot of projection, some edge and a good core to the sound. The F Maj 7 alto pieces are warmer and less bright than the "M" series, but still produce a big sound with lots of power. These are difficult to keep in stock since Fred only makes a limited number of pieces per year and they play so well. These are really fine mouthpieces!! Unfortunately for saxophonists, Fred has just retired. He may go back to making them down the road, but we don't have any available now unless he gets back to his fine work.

 

VANDOREN

The Vandoren mouthpieces are the best mass production mouthpieces out today. They are what they say on the box, a standard that other mouthpiece manufacturers might want to consider. The facings are accurate and the pieces are very playable.

The new "V16 Hard Rubber Alto" mouthpiece is a Meyer equivalent that is more accurately manufactured and oten times plays more consistently than most current production Meyer's. I encourage players, frustrated with other pieces, to try the V16's because I think they will be pleased. They are available in #5, 6 and 7 facings with a small or medium chamber.

The "Java" (not Jumbo Java) mouthpieces also play very well and are one of the few good hard rubber, production tenor sax mouthpieces made today.

Do you play a Keilwerth saxophone? Consider the classical "Series 5" mouthpieces for players who own a Keilwerth and can't get that Selmer C* to work with it. The Keilwerth requires a round chamber mouthpiece that is shorter in overall length than the Selmer. If you are having intonation problems playing classical saxophone with your Keilwerth and it is getting more flat in pitch the higher you go, then you should try a Vandoren "Series 5" mouthpiece.

The new "Optimum" classical saxophone mouthpieces for alto, tenor and bari are also a great choice. I have had some great classical players try these out and they were very impressed. A lot of the same qualities you get from a Selmer classical piece and very well made.

The V16 Metal Tenor has not been one of my favorites, but I have found it to be an excellent match for a King Super 20 tenor. If you own a Super 20 and can't find a vintage metal Berg Larsen, try the V16 Metal Tenor. You will be glad you did!

My compliments to Vandoren for striving to make consistently high quality, accurate mouthpieces and actually achieving that goal!