Here’s another Theo Wanne alto mouthpiece for you to check out. I just received a ton of these and I’m working my way through them. This is a brushed gold Kali mouthpiece. It is an 8 tip opening which is around a .080 I believe. This is similar to the Durga mouthpiece I reviewed earlier but the baffle has a smooth rollover to it where the Durga has an edge at the end of the first stage of the baffle. I believe the smoothness of that edge take away some of the brightness found in the Durga. You can click on the photos to see them closer……………………..
Theo Wanne Kali Metal Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
- Appearance:
Beautiful as all the Theo Wanne mouthpieces are. The tip and rails are perfect. The gold brushed finish is gorgeous. It comes with the built in ligature, leather bag, reed replacer cap, screwdriver and extra ligature tone plate. The craftsmanship is excellent.
- Tone:
Brighter than the Gaia and Amma but it’s not as bright as the Durga. As I write this, I’m listening to the clip again. The tone is brighter and has a metallic ring to the sound. In the clip I try to play a variety of styles so you can hear how it sounds on each. To me this sounds like a brighter more focused mouthpiece than the Gaia and Amma models.
- Intonation:
Intonation was great with this mouthpiece and within normal limits.
- Control:
This was a very easy mouthpiece to play and control. Theo really knows what he’s doing with his mouthpiece work. The fact that he can make all these different models that are so easy to play fast and in tune says something about his abilities.
- Volume:
Through the roof. I had to back up a couple of feet and even then I clipped the levels a couple of times in the recording. This isn’t as loud as the Durga but it’s close. You could easily pull back on this piece and play some straight ahead jazz on it. It’s a little bright for that but you can make it work if that’s the sound you want. Lot’s of players love that brighter sound on alto…………….
This is another great mouthpiece by Theo Wanne. For more information on the Kali mouthpiece visit www.theowanne.com .
In this kind of mouthpieces (high baffle metal) it would be a good idea, I think, to do another audio clip playing kind of more modern style, I mean, some Sanborn style, with split tones, altissimo notes, etc.
I second Gerardo. I’d like to hear both styles on these pieces if you have time.
Sorry, I already sent them back to Theo after I did the review. I’ll keep that in mind next time i have a few high baffle pieces at the same time.
Thanks for the review. I just tried the exact same piece a few days ago, and know that I might as well buy it now, as otherwise it will haunt me forever. COmpared it to the JJ DV (which I found to be even louder than this piece!) but the ease of control is just stunning. Low came out without effort, but so did the higher notes, including intonation being right on. Pulling back and playing soft was a “breeze” as well. It is an amazing piece. I do tend to play a bit dark naturally, so the brightness of the piece seems to complement that, altough I did use a slightly darker reed (Vandoren Jazz instead of the usual Alexander NY).
Steve:
Would you explain what you found lacking in response, as I noticed you gave it 3.5 stars – which was lower than the other areas?
I usually give a 3.5 if a piece has a good response but nothing that blows me away. I give a 4-5 for pieces that respond amazingly. When I think of how a piece responds there are many factors I consider. How smooth and even the scale is, How quick the piece responds to my shaping of the sound, how expressive I can get on it. some people think response is all about a mouthpiece being free blowing. I don’t agree with that. For me it has to do with how the piece responds to my wishes. Response varies depending on the player also. The oral cavity size and shape, embouchure style, how much or how little mouthpiece you take, etc………….. I still consider 3.5 a very good rating.
Hi Steve,
U said it’s a bit thin when u play up high with the HR Kali, then what about this metallic Kail? or as fat as the Amma and Gaia?