Today, I am reviewing a new Marmaduke large chambered tenor saxophone mouthpiece that is made by Alex Miyatake in Japan. This tenor mouthpiece has a larger chamber than the first Marmaduke mouthpiece I reviewed here. If you click on this link you can compare the clips to see how these two mouthpieces sound. They were both recorded the same.
Marmaduke Large Chamber Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
This Marmaduke LC (Large Chamber) tenor saxophone mouthpiece looks great. The tip and rails are thin and even. The tip matches the shape of my Vandoren reeds perfectly. The mouthpiece has a slight rollover baffle. The chamber looks to be similar in size to a hard rubber Otto Link size chamber.
Marmaduke Large Chamber Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
The 7* (.105 tip opening) had a very rich complex sound to my ears. In comparison to the normal Marmaduke mouthpiece in the review above, I feel that this mouthpiece is a bit darker and richer in tone. I played a Vandoren Java 2 1/2 reed on it and that reed was perfect for it. The intonation was normal and the response was clean and immediate. The low end had a smokey round quality to the tone. I had a lot of fun sub-toning on this mouthpiece. I loved the rich low end.
Many times, with a large chambered piece you will gain a darker richer tone but lose a bit of volume and brightness from other mouthpieces that have a smaller chamber and/or higher baffle. This mouthpiece had a nice full tone and volume even with the larger chamber. I don’t think I would choose it for a loud rock gig because of the darker tone but this would be a great mouthpiece to go out and play a burning jazz set with.
Marmaduke Large Chamber Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
If your interested in trying one of these mouthpieces yourself, visit Marmaduke Mouthpieces and talk to Alex Miyatake yourself about how to order one.
Marmaduke Large Chamber Tenor Mouthpiece
About Steve
Mark Turner trying one out….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikSoyrvps-k
Your written description states this is a 7 star 105, but in the audio you say it is a 100 tip opening. I’d be interested in knowing which it was. But either way, I thought this was a good sound for you, with a gentler tone in the upper range. Did you play any altissimo on the piece, (none was recorded) and if so, how did that feel? Also, I don’t know if you bought the piece, but if you did, and decide to sell it, I’m interested. Thanks.
Can you address the resistance of this mouthpiece? Is it similar to an Otto Link?
It’s hard to compare it to an Otto Link because I have played tons of Otto Links with different resistance. It played pretty freely and had a big sound. Besides that, I can’t say much more about the resistance as I don’t remember exactly. Steve
Leon,
No, I had to send this one back to the maker. I’m not sure what happened there with the tip opening. I made a mistake it seems. I’m sure I did play altissimo on it. It was a long time ago so I can’t remember any specifics about how it played up there. Sorry. Steve
Hello. I know it has been awhile since you reviewed this, but how do you feel this would compare to a V16? I have played on a V16 for awhile now but I feel like it has no body to the sound and altissimo is a struggle.
Hi njc, From what I remember the V16 has a slightly smaller chamber than the Marmaduke LC mouthpiece. I seem to remember the Marmaduke as having a bigger darker sound than the V16’s I have played. Steve
There must surely be hundreds of super proficient saxophonists around the world who for some reason write or post comments or write reviews about mouthpieces. I have not found one single article, post. blog, or comment for the past twenty years of my searching , related to the actual size of the so called large chamber.A mouthpiece is like the saxophone itself a very real physical entity possessed of dimensions, form , substance yet writers persist in referring to large chamber , medium chamber, no chamber as if these exist only in some ethereal sense and cannot be precisely described or identified by shape, size and other real physical dimensions which are easily measurable using ordinary engineering measuring tools. Would it be considered obscene were I to request that the actual length and diameter of the large chamber be specified for the mouthpiece being reviewed in the accompanying post? Also the shape of the side walls are they flat or concave or what?
Vivian, I no longer have this mouthpiece as I was borrowing it from the maker. He called it a large chamber model and indeed the chamber looked larger than most mouthpieces I have seen. The sidewalls were concave. I have gotten other requests for more measurements and scientific info from some readers but the truth is that I am not a scientist or engineer. I have no idea how I would go about trying to measure the interior volume of the chamber. I honestly wouldn’t know where the chamber starts in relation to the baffle and throat, and where it ends in relation to the bore. Any measurements would of course be affected by these things. Hope this helps, Steve