Here’s another live clip I dug out of my computer. This is a more mellow clip of a solo on the tune “Come Away With Me” by Norah Jones. To be honest, I’m one for staying in the mood of the tune when I solo. I can’t stand it when I hear a slow ballad like tune and then the sax player takes a solo and goes nuts. They play all these fast licks and go into the altissimo and it seems like they aren’t even listening to the tune. Here I’m just trying to play a simple melody based solo. Nothing fancy, just simple yet melodic but still with a little bit of soul and feeling to it.
I’m playing on the Guardala laser trimmed Michael Brecker II tenor mouthpiece from WWBW (Woodwind and Brasswind). I have to say that this was my favorite Guardala that I played back then. I owned a couple of handmade studios but I liked the laser trimmed Michael Brecker II much more. It had that same power and punch to it but a fatter and thicker sound than the studio models I had played before this. It still seemed a little thin up top to me but nothing a little reverb in the mix wouldn’t cure…………….Let me know what you think. Steve
Wow! Great to hear a player who can take a paint peeler and use it to really make a beautiful tune even more pretty!
I thought that the sound cut through with no harshness. Maybe this was the “punch” you were referring to. Did not really hear the “fatter”, “thicker” sound you talked about unless it was in comparison to the previous studio models. Good solo sound.
My $.02, Ron M
Yes, I was comparing it to the “studio”Guardala” which I thought was a bit brighter and thinner sounding. Keep in mind that this is going through a mix and has some effects on it to sweeten it up. A little bit of reverb does wonders for a brighter mouthpiece. For example: if i play my JVW baffled link in my studio it sounds a bit bright and thin to me but if I play it in my garage it sounds completely awesome.
I agree Steve; your solo is totally respecting the vocal/slow ballad. You are basically “singing your heart out” with this solo. Nice !! I also find that reverb helps in the mix when I record using my Link.