Here we have a John Thomas tenor saxophone mouthpiece. I actually played this about a year ago but the recording has been sitting on my computer since. I totally forgot about it until this morning when I read a thread on “Sax on the Web” asking about John Thomas and his mouthpiece work.
This mouthpiece is a .115 tip opening and is a bit larger than I usually prefer. It had a big robust sound to it that leaned towards the brighter side of the tonal spectrum in my opinion. Because of the larger tip opening, I found that I could blow tons of air through this mouthpiece. It is one of the louder mouthpieces i have played on my website. I didn’t feel totally comfortable with the larger tip so I put the recording in a file on my computer and forgot about it. I just listened to it this morning though and think you can get a good idea of the sound of the mouthpiece from it.
If you are interested in John’s mouthpieces you can contact him on his website. I hope in the future I can get a chance to try a .105-.110 tip which is more to my liking. Let me know what you think. Steve
Audio Player
Beautiful tone! I’d really love to hear this in a more comfortable tip, but the sound is great on it! I might just have to grab one
I have a John Thomas mouthpiece with the tip 115. It is just an AMAZING piece!!!! Buy it!
Hey Steve,
I’m tossing up between this and the Warburton J series – in a smaller tip opening what are your thoughts on this piece compared to the Warburton in terms of volume and response?
Jono,
I played both these piece a long time ago but from what I remember the John Thomas mouthpiece was a powerhouse. I could get really loud with it! The Warburton J had a nice beautiful tone but didn’t have the power of the Thomas piece. Hope that helps in your decision. Steve
Thanks for your help Steve!
Steve,
Sorry to flog a dead horse here, but comparing this soundclip with that of the Warburton it appears that the Warburton had the clear edge in tone and articulation. Would you attribute this to the smaller tip opening or is it to do with the piece design? And I know you use to rate these pieces out of 5 stars in terms of power, tone etc. This was a pretty good indication for me, how would these two stack up in terms of power alone? Thanks,
Jono, which Warburton are you asking me to compare it to? I believe I reviewed 4 or 5 different Warburton pieces back then. Thanks, Steve
Sorry Steve, I’m looking to directly compare the Warburton J series with the John Thomas, both on tenor.
Thanks
Jono, it’s been a long time since I played both but I remember the Warburton J as having a very traditional hard link type sound. Like a great slant. The biggest difference with the Thomas piece is the Thomas piece had loads of power and was brighter. It might have been because of the bigger tip but I remember when I pushed it it was really loud. Much louder than the Warburton J. I’d be interested in trying another Thomas piece on a .110 but haven’t come across one as of yet. Hope this helps.
Hi Steve. To my ears, this is the best you have ever sounded on a piece!
Thanks Phil. I don’t see too many John Thomas mouthpieces around……….maybe that’s because everyone that has one isn’t selling them………..that one played great!
Old post, but I’ve been looking into these. For a hand faced mouthpiece with genuine HR, these might be well be worth investigating. I don’t think you sound particularly bright on this piece, Steve.