Today, I am reviewing another mouthpiece made by Carlo Atti in Italy. I had never heard of Attisound mouthpieces but Carlo contacted me last year and asked if I would be interested in reviewing some of his mouthpieces on my site. I was curious after looking at some pictures and agreed to try them out. He sent me a package with various sample mouthpieces to try. The first mouthpiece to be reviewed was an Attisound “Black Mamba” brass tenor saxophone mouthpiece (I say “Black Mambo” in the sound clip but it is “Mamba”). This review is on the Black Mamba made of black anodized aluminum.
Attisound Black Mamba Aluminum Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
The Attisound mouthpieces that I received were a mix of various tenor mouthpieces, an alto mouthpiece and a soprano mouthpiece. I received two Black Mamba tenor sax mouthpieces both of which are 8* tip openings and have the same design. One is this brass mouthpiece I reviewed earlier and the other is black aluminum which I will be reviewing now.
When I first took the Attisound Black Mamba out of the box I assumed it was hard rubber at first look. When I touched it though, it was cold like metal and when I put it down on something I could hear a metallic ring. I am assuming that it is black anodized aluminum. It is incredibly light! Could be the lightest tenor sax mouthpiece I have ever held.
Attisound Black Mamba Aluminum Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
Like the brass Black Mamba, the tip and rails of the aluminum Black Mamba don’t look particularly thin but they aren’t as wide as I have seen on other mouthpieces either. My Rigotti and Vandoren Java reeds matched perfectly with the tip curve of the mouthpiece which I always like. Every reed that I tried on all the Attisound mouthpieces sent got suction and retained it also. That coupled with the fact that the mouthpieces played well for me makes me think that Carlos knows what he is doing when it comes to the facing curve.
Attisound Black Mamba Aluminum Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
The Attisound mouthpiece came with a Attisound ligature that could be used on all the tenor mouthpieces. You can see the ligature in the pictures towards the bottom of the page. The ligature is made out of stainless steel and fits the tenor mouthpieces perfectly. My only complaint about the ligature is that it fits the mouthpiece body so exactly that you have to be very careful putting it on. (I have double vision which doesn’t help me with that either…….). I accidentally shaved off a corner of a reed with it when putting it on. Later, I found I could slide the ligature on more safely at a slight angle but then found that I was scratching one side of the brass mouthpiece with an edge of the stainless steel ligature. I finally figured out that it was easier to leave the ligature on the mouthpiece, loosen it and slide the butt end of the reed underneath. This was much easier for me.
I really liked the ligature although I would like to see some lines designed into the screw you tighten so you can get more of a grip on the screw and it is not as smooth. I will say that the way the ligature is tightened by the screw on top works so well that it is hard to know how tight the ligature is on the reed. At first, I was tightening down the screw until it wouldn’t tighten anymore but soon realized that I was way over tightening the ligature. With a few turns to loosen it the reed was still held on firmly and it improved the response of the reed greatly.
Attisound Black Mamba Aluminum Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
The Black Mamba has what I would consider a medium high baffle. It shoots down from the tip in almost a straight line until it reaches the small chamber which has a scooped out entrance to the chamber. You see these scooped out chambers in Berg Larsen mouthpiece quite often. These chambers are also commonly called “bullet” chambers.
Attisound Black Mamba Aluminum Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
I tried both Rigotti Gold as well as Vandoren Java reeds on the Black Mamba but there was something about the Java reeds that I just liked more than the Rigottis. Rigotti reeds can sometimes be overly edgy for me on certain shorter facing curves and on the Attisound tenor mouthpieces I found that as well. On one of my other Attisound mouthpiece reviews I will also post a clip with a Rigotti reed so you can hear what that sounds like also in comparison.
The aluminum Black Mamba sax mouthpiece sounded a bit darker and richer to me in the lower end than the brass version. The design looks to be basically the same to my eyes. I think the black aluminum Black Mamba has a little less edge also.
Attisound Ligature
I think the Black Mamba would be a great rock n’ roll, funk or blues sax tone if you like that bright edgier sound when soloing. It can be dialed back a bit with less air and subtone for more straight ahead playing also (Ex. 2:o5-2:39 in the clip….). When pushed I didn’t hear as much of the “overblown” quality that I heard with the brass model.
Like the brass model, the black aluminum Black Mamba was great in the altissimo. Very easy to control and get around in that octave of the horn. Intonation was also excellent.
Attisound Ligature
You can contact Carlo Atti on his website at www.attisoundmouthpiece.com. I will be reviewing some of his other models shortly. Tell him Steve sent you………….Great work Carlo!!
Let me know what you think in the comments below. Thanks, Steve
Also check out this Attisound video which is totally cool!
Attisound Black Mamba Aluminum Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-Dry No Reverb
Attisound Black Mamba Aluminum Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-Reverb
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