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You are here: Home / Reviews / Mouthpiece Reviews / Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews / Poll of 9 Tenor Mouthpieces

Poll of 9 Tenor Mouthpieces

October 20, 2008 by Steve 6 Comments

I decided to run a poll for 9 sound clips I just made of my last 9 tenor mouthpieces.  I’m having a heck of a time deciding which ones to sell and I figured it would help me to play them side by side and record them.  On all 9 clips I’m just playing a simple Bb blues( C for tenor) I’m trying to keep it relatively simple so the clips are similar.  Each one was with the same Java 2 1/2 reed and I was standing about 2 feet from the mic. Take a listen and let me know which one you like the best and help me decide. I haven’t even listened to these yet so i haven’t made a decision myself yet. All 9 pieces play great for me but they all have slightly different characteristics to their sound. I could play any of them and be happy I think. I’m doing this as a blind poll because I think when people see a name before they listen they go into it with a pre-conceived idea of what they will like before they even listen. The mouthpieces heard here are a Lamberson J7, Jon Van Wie STM Link with baffle, Brian Powell Modern STM .108, Early Babbit HR Link .110, Phil Tone HR .105, Ponzol SS M2 .110, Modern NY Link Brian Powell refaced to .108(with my own baffle in it), Metal Florida Link Brian Powell refaced to .105, SP HR Link refaced to .110 by Brian Powell
Update: I added 9 more clips of me playing as loud as i can on the pieces. I’d say around 95% so you can hear how they sound playing all out. Obviously, some are better loud and some are better soft I think. I also added 9 clips that were recorded from across the room about 6-7 feet away so you can hear the difference if any from across the room.
Listen………

Which tenor mouthpiece clip do you like the best? (Poll Results)

  • Florida STM Otto Link .105 (22%, 74 Votes)
  • Phil-Tone Hard Rubber .105 (13%, 45 Votes)
  • Ponzol SS M2 .110 (12%, 41 Votes)
  • JVW STM Otto Link .110 (10%, 35 Votes)
  • EB Hard Rubber Otto Link .110 (10%, 34 Votes)
  • Lamberson J7 .110 (9%, 30 Votes)
  • They all sound the same to me……….. (7%, 23 Votes)
  • SP Hard Rubber Link .110 (7%, 22 Votes)
  • Modern NY Link .108 (5%, 17 Votes)
  • Modern STM Otto Link .105 (5%, 15 Votes)

Total Voters: 336

Modern NY Link (BP .108 with my own baffle)

https://public.neffmusic.com/1018.mp3    Laid Back Blues
https://public.neffmusic.com/1037.mp3    Loud Blues
https://public.neffmusic.com/0994.mp3   Across the Room

Lamberson J7

https://public.neffmusic.com/1020.mp3    Laid Back Blues
https://public.neffmusic.com/1042.mp3    Loud Blues
https://public.neffmusic.com/0995.mp3    Across the Room

SP Link (BP refaced to .110)

https://public.neffmusic.com/1021.mp3    Laid Back Blues
https://public.neffmusic.com/1028.mp3    Loud Blues
https://public.neffmusic.com/0996.mp3   Across the Room

JVW STM Link .110 (JVW baffle)

https://public.neffmusic.com/1011.mp3    Laid Back Blues
https://public.neffmusic.com/1035.mp3    Loud Blues
https://public.neffmusic.com/0988.mp3   Across the Room

EB HR Link (BP reface to .110)

https://public.neffmusic.com/1022.mp3    Laid Back Blues
https://public.neffmusic.com/1031.mp3     Loud Blues
https://public.neffmusic.com/0997.mp3    Across the Room

Ponzol SS M2 .110

https://public.neffmusic.com/1019.mp3     Laid Back Blues
https://public.neffmusic.com/1040.mp3    Loud Blues
https://public.neffmusic.com/1003.mp3    Across the Room

Florida STM 8 (refaced to .105 by BP)

https://public.neffmusic.com/1009.mp3    Laid Back Blues
https://public.neffmusic.com/1038.mp3    Loud Blues
https://public.neffmusic.com/1004.mp3    Across the Room

Modern STM

https://public.neffmusic.com/1014.mp3    Laid Back Blues
https://public.neffmusic.com/1034.mp3    Loud Blues
https://public.neffmusic.com/0990.mp3   Across the Room

Phil-Tone HR .105

https://public.neffmusic.com/1024.mp3    Laid Back Blues
https://public.neffmusic.com/1033.mp3    Loud Blues
https://public.neffmusic.com/0998.mp3   Across the Room

Filed Under: Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: blues, Brian Powell, mouthpiece poll, solo sax, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews

Steve

About Steve

Steve Neff has been playing and teaching saxophone and jazz improvisation around the New England area for over 30 years. He is the author of many best selling jazz improvisation methods as well as founding the popular jazz video lesson site Neffmusic.com.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarPeter Sommer says

    February 3, 2010 at 1:59 pm

    Wow! The results for the top three were exactly as I picked them.

    Reply
  2. Avatarjrsopsax says

    February 4, 2010 at 7:50 am

    I voted for the Florida .105 for overall sound texture. It has a bit of brightness that I like. I was surprised by the Phil-Tone which would be my #2 choice. Thanks for sharing your quest with us.

    Reply
  3. AvatarMojoBari says

    February 4, 2010 at 4:12 pm

    Results from a “blind” poll would have been more interesting…

    Reply
    • stevesteve says

      February 4, 2010 at 9:45 pm

      It was a blind poll when it first came out but I had to give the answers after awhile. Sorry.

      Reply
  4. AvatarRalph Munnings says

    April 6, 2013 at 8:31 am

    6/4/13
    Hi Steve,
    I have three of your books and they are an excellent resource for
    advanced students as well as pros. I took a listen to samples of the Tenor mouthpieces and since I’m in the market for a good piece, from the poll results I chose in order of preference, the Florida STM 8 .105, SP Link .110, RB HR Link .110 and the Phil Tone HR .105. Question, which one is for sale and how much? By the way, you are one helluva player.
    Regards,
    Ralph

    Reply
    • stevesteve says

      April 11, 2013 at 8:38 pm

      Thanks Ralph. I already sold the SP Link and the Phil Tone. I still have the EB Link and the florida link but they aren’t for sale right now. Steve

      Reply

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