This is the legendary Ron Cohelo 115B hard rubber mouthpiece. I have read so many reviews from people loving this mouthpiece that I felt like I had to try one. This piece is great. It has a pretty high baffle but because of the .115 tip opening it still has a solid core to the sound. Not bright at all but it has loads of power when pushed because of the high baffle. I have played this piece on many R@B gigs and it played great in that setting.
listen………..
RPC 115B Tenor Mouthpiece
August 13, 2009 by 18 Comments
About SteveSteve Neff has been playing and teaching saxophone and jazz improvisation around the New England area for the last 30 years. He is the author of many effective jazz improvisation methods as well as founding the popular jazz video lesson site Neffmusic.com.
Sounds great Steve. I am loving mine. What kind of reeds are you using on this clip? The jazz select 3S aren’t bad, but I feel like they are missing something.
Vandoren Java 2 1/2. It was a long time ago but I’ve been using Java’a forever. I could never stand the Jazz Selects. I’ve tried them 3-4 times and just couldn’t get into them.
Steve: I have a RPC 115 but no “b” indicated on the piece. The sound you are getting must mean that the “b”has a higher baffle or that the plain 115 is much different than the 115b. Any advice? Thanks
Hi Lou, I’m not sure what advice you are looking for………..I’ve only tried the 115B. I’ve never seen a 115 without the B. You might want to email Ron and ask him about that. Steve
He explained that the rollover baffle on the 115 (w/out the “b”) is the traditional jazz model but that the 115 features a higher baffle for rock and a more modern sound. The 115b has a slightly higher price but both are very reasonable and the sound you get from the b is awesome!
I don’t think I would like the regular 115 as that is more open than I like to play on. The 115B was cool for me because the baffle makes the larger tip opening not seem so large.
I’m late to this discussion. I just picked up a Keilwerth Shadow tenor and love the 115b on it. My lawton 8*bb is great too, but the RPC has a bit more versatility. If you want to try something interesting, put a Baritone Plasticover 3.5 on it. The overtones will jump out. I’m thinking about getting a RPC 110 with a rollover baffle for more straight-ahead playing.
Yes, the 115b is very versatile. Great mouthpiece. I’ve never had good luck with the roll over baffle RPC’s. I think I tried two over the years but both didn’t really do it for me like the high baffle RPC’s do.
And just like that you cost me a bunch more cash – guess I’ll have to order a Super New York from Phil for straight-ahead playing 🙂
Steve,
Thanks for suggesting and recommending this mouthpiece to me a few weeks back …finally got mine and been loving it since I received it … It is labeled 115B (despite the fact Ron told me he was going to make me a 120 … and that’s ok by me!) Ron recommended Rico jazz selects 2H …but like you, I can’t get into them … bought a box and no two are alike, with the weaker ones doing a slightly better job. Just to give them a chance I have some 2M’s coming …not holding out much hope for them. The mouthpiece came alive with Vandoren Green java 3’s, but per your suggestion above, I am going to try 2.5’s as soon as they get here .. Greens and reds.
What is so wonderful is that I am now NOT over blowing my mouthpiece trying to get louder and powerful as I was before. Clarence and Parry tunes are coming out so nicely! This mpc may not be the most all around piece on the market, but it sure does the job for the work I am doing now. The one slight negative, it takes bit of getting used to when straight out of the box. I almost felt like a beginner …but in a night or two, I had full control over this … nice, edgy and powerful! I had to rate it 4.5 to 5 stars all the way around.
thanks again for the suggestion!
ah
want to add that with Red Java 2.5’s this mpc comes alive ….very alive … enjoying getting used to the mpc … noticing a bit of intonation problems, but I am assuming it is just me right now with that .115 opening … thanks again Steve!
This is by far the BEST and most versatile mouthpiece I have ever played.It does it all altissmo to sub tone.Jazz to R& B.My RPC 120B covers it all with a Big,Fat,Bright or Dark Tone.A true Masterpiece !
Great Mouthpiece, great Volume and very interesting dark tone !
Steve thanks a lot for reviews, they are very accurate !
Best regards from Italy
Sounds great Steve. I came back to your evaluation after about 5 days of extensive comparisons of the following pieces : Phil Tone Eclipse, RPC 120B, Vandoren metal T8 small chamber. While each of these mouthpieces have great qualities, the one that can make everything, from sub tone to altissimo with an amazing projection potential and that “little something” in the tone that makes the difference is the RPC. It seems like the Conn 10m and the RPC were designed to work together like no others.
I never add to comments but I have to do it this time. I play a old selmer mark vi tenor and bari. I bought a 120b for my bari and a 115b for my tenor from Ron and wow!!! A great setup for me is using a legere 2.75 signature one the bari and a 2.5 signature on the tenor. Unbelievable sound. I have had nothing but praise at gigs. Soooooo easy to play!! Highly recommend this piece!!!!
I have been playing the 115b for few months now and I think my mouthpiece search is finally over after 3 decades of trying pretty much everything in the market- this piece does it all, jazz, R&B,Pop,etc. the altissimo comes out clear and fat, I highly recommend this mouthpiece.
Hello,
I would like to buy a RPC 115B mouthpiece for tenor sax but I do not know how to do it. I would also like a used mouthpiece as long as it is in good condition. Can anyone help me. Thanks from Loris (ITALY)
Buoso,
You would contact the maker Ron Cohelo at RPC mouthpieces to buy one. Just do a google search to find his website. To find a used one you just have to keep a watch on ebay or SOTW. Good Luck, Steve