This a Lawton 8*BB Special tenor saxophone mouthpiece. I’ve never tried a Lawton before so I was looking forward to playing this one. This a special one that Geoff Lawton made without the typical sliding ligature track he usually puts on his mouthpieces. This is a great playing mouthpiece. The 8* tip is a bit above what I am used to at .115 but I have a feeling that if I played this for a little bit I would get used to it.
The bigger tip opening requires a bit more air from me and the intonation is more flexible because of the larger tip. I found the tone to be in the middle of the dark/bright spectrum. Depending on how I play I could get it to head in either direction pretty easily. To me the tone of the mouthpiece sounded dense and rich. Kind of a thick kind of sound. The baffle was a pretty high rollover baffle that traveled pretty far into the chamber and squeezed together smoothly as it narrows into the chamber creating a smaller chamber that gives you more power I think. This is a very nice mouthpiece. i think anyone out there that likes a .115 tip would really love this piece. Let me know what you think. Steve
Wow. I think that’s the best clip I’ve heard you play. Wasn’t really expecting to like a Lawton but it sounded awesome. Yeah, rich and thick. Nice one.
Is this mouthpiece still available? $?.
Dr. A
Nope. I was borrowing it from a friend. Sorry.
Oh Yes,,, I really agree, I have this mouthpiece , but suddenley as you know I had a fever about different sounds by using other different mouthpieces, I went for a Bobby Dukoff Special with a serial number limited edition Nu 8 D Chamber made from sterling silver, it had a certain colour of sound, but it sacrified the full-body of my Tenor, then after 3 years one day a tryed my Lawton again, from the first blow I found out that this is my sound and this mouthpiece is a jewell that I’ve forgotten for 3 years while I wasn’t using it !!!
So I feel myself realised now !!
I had been playing Bergs for 50 years…they’re hard to beat. Last year I got the mp itch and discovered a Lawton. This is after getting a Dukoff, Vandoren, Guardala, Wanne Durga (all in different sizes). I’ve kept the Vandoren V16 T95, Durga 9* and a few Bergs, But the Lawton is something else. It has power AND character. Recently, I picked up other Lawton sizes and they all have the same basic great qualities.
The ONLY downside is they like lots of air, especially the larger openings.
My favorite is a 10*B. A 6*BB makes me play Jr. Walker.
I accidentaly discovered that if I blow my 180/2 Bronze Berg for 10 minutes (which is all I can do), the Lawton feels like a little straw after that.
I’ve listened to most of Steve’s clips, and even though he makes them all sound great, I find it hard to tell a difference in most. But this clip was OBVIOUS…..pure Lawton.
You probably already know this but make sure you have really good computer speakers. I can hardly tell a difference on my wife’s laptop or my Mac’s built in speaker. I bought some Klipsch speakers and the difference was huge. There are many speakers even better than those too.
Hi Steve:
You sound great. I play on a Lawton gold Plated 11*BB on a 98000 Selmer Mk VI Tenor and a CannonBall Black Laquer silver tube Custom Tenor sax made for me I have had my Lawton for over 30 yrs. I love it. Wish I had bought two of then when I had a chance.
Dave Schiff