Today, I am reviewing a Fred Lamberson F Major alto saxophone mouthpiece. Fred Lamberson has been making great mouthpieces for years. He hasn’t been making as many in recent years so they are harder to find recently. Most of the sax players who have one seem to be hanging on to them, as you don’t see them for sale very often. This is a testament to how good they are. The Lamberson mouthpieces I have played have all been excellent mouthpieces!
Lamberson F Major Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
This F Major alto mouthpiece is made out of Delrin, also called acetal. This is what Fred says about it on his website:
“I am now making mouthpieces from acetal. This is a type of nylon that has a translucent milky white color and it has it’s own unique sound. It’s a hard, very tough material and is louder and stronger than rubber, just not as warm. Even though it is pure plastic, it has a lot of the warmth and playing characteristics of rubber. I think this is so because it is flexible and vibrates freely like rubber. It’s not a brittle material at all and it’s so tough you could drive a truck over it.”
Lamberson F Major Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
The F Major alto mouthpiece is described as having little to no baffle on The Lamberson website. Contrary to that description, this mouthpieces has what I would consider a medium baffle in it and is quite a bit brighter and crisper in tone than the other F Majors I have played. It doesn’t have a high rollover baffle at the tip but the baffle gently slopes to a medium height at the chamber and then drops into the chamber at that point. The tip and rails look perfect and the mouthpiece played very easily with a Woodstone #3 reed. The Delrin material, although really hard, has a very soft and smooth texture to it.
Lamberson F Major Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
The tone of this mouthpiece was brighter in comparison to other F Major alto mouthpieces I have played before. It has a strong centered core to the tone. My first thought when I played this mouthpiece, was that it has a killer lead alto tone. The tone has a enough brightness and power that I believe it could be heard over a sax section easily. Even though the tone is brighter, it is still jazzy and would sound great playing bebop type lines. If you wanted you could easily morph into a Sanborn type sound on this mouthpiece also.
If you are interested in a mouthpiece like this, you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled for one. They are not very common. You could try contacting Fred Lamberson and get on his waiting list but that could take a while. In the meantime, check ebay a lot. This mouthpiece is actually for sale on ebay by the owner even as I type this so if your quick…………….
Thanks again to Fred Lamberson for his service to the saxophone community. He is a true artist when it comes to making mouthpieces and has helped many saxophone players find their perfect mouthpiece.
Lamberson F Major Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
About Steve
Steve: How do you get in touch w/Fred. I tried his website but it didn’t work. I’m interested in a tenor mpc.
Larry, I just emailed his email address to you. Steve
Steve: Thanks however I decided to get the Retro Revival Tru Slant 8* HR mpc. I was looking for a HR tenor mpc as a backup to my metal FL Link 8*. However from what I’ve seen of Fred’s prices they are kind of high, around $500.00. That is out of my price range.
Larry W
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