I have an Ishimori Woodstone hard rubber tenor sax mouthpiece to review and play for you today. This is a 7* tip opening (.105) hard rubber mouthpiece. I have been eagerly wanting to play one of these Ishimori mouthpieces for quite a while. I reviewed an 8 tip last week and wanted to try a 7* to see how it compared.
Ishimori Woodstone 7* Hard Rubber Tenor Mouthpiece
Over the past few months, I have heard of Ishimori Woodstone mouthpieces from a number of players on the web. They were all raving about how good these mouthpieces were which really peaked my curiosity. I had a problem though, when I searched around for these mouthpieces I couldn’t find them anywhere except for the Ishimori site in Japan and the whole site was in Japanese. (I am not fluent in Japanese) I gave up after that but then a month later I heard another player raving about them again. This time I decided to try contacting Ishimori directly through their website. I sent them an email asking about their mouthpieces and a few days later received a courteous response from Norikiyo Yaguchi who handles Overseas transactions for Mr. Ishimori. He was nice enough to send me 5 mouthpieces to review- 2 alto, 2 tenor and one soprano mouthpiece.
This tenor sax mouthpiece is beautiful. It has a perfect looking facing curve and tip. The baffle is medium low and slopes down to a medium to large sized chamber. The shape of the baffle is similar to the classic Otto Link Slant Signature mouthpieces that play so great. The baffle slides smoothly and evenly down into the chamber and there’s not an edge or blemish anywhere. Absolutely perfect looking.
The sound of this Ishimori 7* is dark and rich sounding to my ears. The tone seems to be more compact and thicker than the 8 I tried last week. It has a sweetness to the sound that I really liked. The subtone was beautiful sounding and was very easy to attain. To me it has that dark rich sound that is a classic tenor sound. (Think Hank Mobley) Compared to the .110 tip Ishimori I reviewed last week I felt like this .105 and a tighter more compact sound to it. I also felt like it was a bit darker than the .110. Now when I go back and listen to that clip I feel like the .110 has more of a spread and hollow sound compared to this .105. Listen to both clips and I think you can hear what I’m talking about.
Ishimori Woodstone 7* Hard Rubber Tenor Mouthpiece
I used a Woodstone #2 1/2 reed on it which was perfect for this mouthpiece. As you listen to the clip below, I think you can hear the rich thick sound this piece has. This would be a perfect mouthpiece for those of you who like that “slant” link type sound and want to sound great on a jazz set. It’s on the darker side of things but at the same time it is very rich sounding which I really loved.
The intonation was also great on this mouthpiece as it has been on every Ishimori mouthpiece I have tried so far.
Every mouthpiece and reed that I have received from the Ishimori company has been perfect. They pay attention to the smallest details and it is obvious when you see and play their products. Believe it or not, I have played about 40 of their Woodstone reeds and haven’t found a bad one yet. They all played great right out of the box!
Let me know what you think in the comments below. Thanks, Steve
Ishimori Woodstone 7* Hard Rubber Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
Steve, you sound really great on this piece, it’s one of your very best tenor clips.
Hi Steve
I love your Mouthpiece Reviews !
What I would like to know…the Ishimori Tenor Chamber is smaller than
the typical large Link chamber more Medium ??
Because I look for more centered/focused Sound on the Tenor.
Thanks Tom
I don’t have the Ishimori with me anymore and I didn’t compare to a typical link mouthpiece so I am not sure. Sorry. I would consider it close to a great slant link type sound though.
Hello Steve,
Where can I buy Ishimori products?
Ted
Did you try Sax-ccesories listed in the review? They are the only place I know of in the US. Steve
Thanks, got it.
-Ted
where is the 8 tip review
On the top right of the site is a search box. If you type in “Ishimori Woodstone Tenor” it will come up in the results. Steve
Lol I saw it, wrote too fast, great MPs, I have a 7 was considering an 8* any advice, also considering Ambika
No advice to give. They are great mouthpieces. Some people love the more open tip openings. I prefer a 7*. Anything over 8 usually feels too spread and hollow to me depending on the baffle. I like a nice core to the sound and feel like I lose that when I go past an 8. Everyone’s different though……. Steve
the only reason for the 8* was a deal, typically i like a .098, how do you compare the darkness with Ambika,
Hi Steve, I’m juggling up between this mp and the Theo Wanne Slant Sig 2, just wondering which one you found more comfortable as I recall you saying the Slant Sig had a low beak profile? Also I love Stan Getz’s sound, and could probably attain something similar more easily on the Slant Sig 2, just wondering your opinion about this as well.
Thanks,
Finn
Finn, I found these two mouthpieces to be very similar in sound. I like the lower beak profile of the TW Slant so I felt more comfortable on that but that is mostly because I am a metal mouthpiece player on tenor for the most part…….
i have a 7, and it is sweet, dark and clear, well made good on the low notes
How does this mpc compare to the Alexander superial Jazz tenor 1.
They seem to have very similar features.
Which one has the darker tone?
Would be nice if you could say something about these two. I own an ishimori but it’s a bit too bright for me and I think it only has a medium chamber.
Hi Peter, Unfortunately, I reviewed the Ishimori Woodstone 7* hard rubber tenor sax mouthpiece 12 years ago and don’t remember anything about how it played or sounded. You will have to compare the sound clips to each other and see if you can hear which one might be brighter or darker in comparison to each other. That being said, I still have my Alexander Superial 7* mouthpiece that I reviewed and think it is a beautiful sounding mouthpiece like I write in the review. Steve
Thanks for the reply Steve. Guess I’ll just have to try them out because on recordings it’s quite difficult to get the right feel.
It’s a good sign you still have yours 🙂
Very masculine sound, if this impression makes sense, but also delicate and gentle…
A bit like the story of Lord Byron’s dear dog, Boatswain; the story, the magnificent story.
I Iikes: this story, the Boatswain dog, Lord Byron; and the sound of this mouthpiece: however strange all this, this impression of mine, may seem.
If lawful, I quote from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epitaph_to_a_Dog
From:
Epitaph to a dog.
“… Near this Spot
the Remains of one are deposited
who possessed Beauty without Vanity,
Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferosity,
and all the virtues of Man without his Vices of him…”.
Epitaph to a Dog,
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Boatswain’s Monument at Newstead Abbey
A Landseer dog, the breed Byron eulogized, painted by Edwin Henry Landseer, 1802–1873
“Epitaph to a Dog” (also sometimes referred to as “Inscription on the Monument to a Newfoundland Dog”) is a poem by the British poet Lord Byron. It was written in 1808 in honour of his Landseer dog, Boatswain, who had just died of rabies. When Boatswain contracted the disease, Byron reportedly nursed him without any fear of becoming bitten and infected. … The poem is inscribed on Boatswain’s tomb, which is larger than Byron’s, at Newstead Abbey, Byron’s estate. …
The poem as inscribed on Boatswain’s monument
The sections above the poem form a memorial eulogy to Boatswain, and introduce the poem. Though often assumed to form part of the poem, they were written not by Byron but by his friend John Hobhouse. … A letter of 1830 by Hobhouse suggests that Byron had planned to use the last two lines of his poem by way of an introductory inscription, but found he preferred Hobhouse’s comparison of the attributes of dogs and people. …
Near this Spot
are deposited the Remains of one
who possessed Beauty without Vanity,
Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferosity,
and all the virtues of Man without his Vices.
This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery
if inscribed over human Ashes,
is but a just tribute to the Memory of
Boatswain, a Dog
who was born in Newfoundland May 1803
and died at Newstead November 18th 1808. …
When some proud Son of Man returns to Earth,
Unknown to Glory but upheld by Birth,
The sculptor’s art exhausts the pomp of woe,
And storied urns record who rests below.
When all is done, upon the Tomb is seen
Not what he was, but what he should have been.
But the poor Dog, in life the firmest friend,
The first to welcome, foremost to defend,
Whose honest heart is still his Masters own,
Who labours, fights, lives, breathes for him alone,
Unhonour’d falls, unnotic’d all his worth,
Deny’d in heaven the Soul he held on earth.
While man, vain insect! hopes to be forgiven,
And claims himself a sole exclusive heaven.
Oh man! thou feeble tenant of an hour,
Debas’d by slavery, or corrupt by power,
Who knows thee well, must quit thee with disgust,
Degraded mass of animated dust!
Thy love is lust, thy friendship all a cheat,
Thy tongue hypocrisy, thy heart deceit,
By nature vile, ennobled but by name,
Each kindred brute might bid thee blush for shame.
Ye! who behold perchance this simple urn,
Pass on, it honours none you wish to mourn.
To mark a friend’s remains these stones arise;
I never knew but one — and here he lies. …
Giuseppe,
I wasn’t going to post this comment because I didn’t understand the relation to the mouthpiece sound BUT it is such a beautiful poem and I did lose the best dog ever this year. This made me emotional……Thanks!
I had imagined that my singular exposition of the impression of the sound of this mouthpiece which, truly, seems to me to seem contrasting, virile and, at the same time, gentle, could be misunderstood or, in any case, out of post. I therefore understood the perplexity of posting it and I rewrote it in a simpler way than the one that, immediately, for some reason, had brought to mind the true story of Boatswain…
Oddities of mental synapses… My respect and love for animals… I don’t know.
I thank you, therefore, for having understood and published everything; strange, and sorry, that this coincided, which I couldn’t have known, with the loss you suffered this year for your beloved dog. From personal experience I know that it is true mourning, and true pain, when unfortunately it happens, it is.
I therefore give you my solidarity in sharing your pain and, in doing so, I too am moved… as well as amazed by the coincidences which, starting from the sound of a mouthpiece, have led to sharing something greater.
Thanks for the important sharing,
Giuseppe.
I really like the sound of this mouthpiece and, also, its aesthetics.
Very masculine sound, if this impression makes sense, but also delicate and gentle sound…
Giuseppe.