10mFan “The Classic” Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

Mark Sepinuck, 10mFan as he is known in the saxophone world, came out with a line of tenor saxophone mouthpieces five years ago that have been very popular with saxophone players.  Mark, created a very detailed three category system of tenor saxophone mouthpieces and he designed  what he considered to be the best tenor sax mouthpieces in each of those three categories.  Mark offers four hard rubber mouthpieces that cover these three categories whether you’re playing warm ballads, funk music or straight ahead jazz. These models are the Merlot, the Robusto, the Black Widow and now the Classic which I am reviewing today.

10mFan Classic Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece

Here’s the description of the Classic in Mark’s own words from SOTW (Sax on the Web):

“I made my mouthpieces to play better for me than the vintage mouthpieces in the different categories I have them in.  I am well aware that many people who play vintage pieces want something that feels and sound  familiar to them. As a player always wanting more than what the vintage pieces could do for me, I made my Merlot, Robusto, and Black Widow hard rubber pieces.

There are loads of guys out there who love the vintage feel and blow who have asked me to make something that’s right in that classic zone BUT with LOTS OF POWER AND BODY available— and more focus than my other pieces….so now I have.

The 10MFAN “Classic” plays with a powerful warm, full, OPEN sound– and is super even blowing top to bottom. I don’t consider it “dark”…its warm and it can let loose. For me, my main objective has been to make a piece that has a vintage focused feel, but also records incredibly well. Fullness with tons of power, fatness, depth, richness, core, etc…  This new piece projects incredibly well.

This will satisfy all of you players who love the classic large chamber hard rubber vintage tenor pieces, especially in the Link vein, but want more clarity and power than those without sacrificing originality and uniqueness.  It’s got a larger round chamber and undercut sidewalls. There are lots of Link copies out there, so I didn’t feel we needed another.

*** WHAT I FELT WAS NECESSARY, WAS MAKING A PIECE THAT HAD THE GOOD STUFF THAT THOSE VINTAGE MOUTHPIECES OFFER, PLUS MORE STUFF THAT THOSE PIECES DIDN’T OFFER! ***

This will give players the openness and power they want, but unlike anything they have had with the vintage pieces.  An opportunity to have a piece that is more Link-like, but not dull, stuffy, or boring.  Powerful, open, and focused with a warm and incredible sound. More power than the original Resos, Slants, and Early Babbitt hard rubber pieces. We have really done it right here. ” 

10mFan Classic Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece

Mark was nice enough to send me a sample 10mFan “The Classic” tenor mouthpiece in a 7** tip opening to try out.  I was excited to try this mouthpiece after reading Mark’s description above because I really love great Otto Links and this was reported to be a sax mouthpiece more along those lines.

From above, the 10mFan “The Classic” saxophone mouthpiece looks very similar to the rest of the other 10mFan hard rubber sax mouthpieces I have already reviewed.  It has the signature three white lines on the shank which I think is a great marketing idea.  You can spot these three lines from pretty far away and know what mouthpiece brand a player is using.

The mouthpiece has “The Classic” engraved in white on the top as well as 10mFan in cursive engraving.  When you look at the table side of the mouthpiece the table is flat and smooth and the rails and tip look even and perfect.

The baffle and chamber is where you see the difference between the Classic and the other 10mFan mouthpieces. The Classic has a more traditional rollover baffle. After the baffle’s rollover, it angles straight down towards the back of the chamber.  The chamber really doesn’t have a flat bottom to it because the baffle is traveling at an angle though it.  The sidewalls are really scooped out also.  I don’t think I have seen another mouthpiece with sidewalls as scooped out as this one.

The beak height is a little bit higher than the other 10mFan hard rubber sax mouthpieces.  I was a bit concerned about this as I really love the beak heights on the Robusto, Black Widow and Boss models that I have tried.  The Classic did feel a little higher to me at first but I found that after a few days of playing it,  I got used to it and didn’t notice it anymore.

I asked Mark why he went with a slightly higher beak and he said that he felt like a lower beak would brighten up the tone too much. A slightly higher beak would help keep the tone warmer.  I found this to be an interesting concept that I hadn’t thought of before.  (On a side note: I do remember really digging a piece and sending it to Brian Powell to have the beak taken down so I would feel more comfortable.  Interestingly enough, I remember thinking the piece was brighter when I got it back even though nothing else on it had been touched………Interesting…….)

10mFan Classic Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece

The scooped side walls and the long baffle slope extending into the Classic’s chamber makes the chamber of the Classic more oval shaped as you look in from the tip side of the mouthpiece.  When looking in from the bore side,  the chamber looks round to the eye but you really can’t see how the sloping baffle affects the chamber shape from that side.

As I look at the Classic in comparison to my Early Babbitt hard rubber Link (made from the mold of the Otto Link Slant), the first half inch of rollover baffle looks very similar to the EB.  They both have a similar height in the beginning of the baffle and they rollover at a similar spot.  After that, they differ in that the baffle of the Classic looks to be a bit higher in it’s angle of slope into the chamber. The sidewalls of the Classic look and feel as if they are much more scooped out than my EB Link also.

10mFan Classic Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece

I played the Classic for about three weeks and used it while practicing, jammin’ to tunes and on Skype lessons all month.  Testing different reeds on the Classic was interesting also.  I found that the Rigotti Gold reeds I usually use tended to be a lot brighter on the classic than some other reed brands.  I tried a LaVoz medium, Gonzalez 2 1/2 and a Rico Select Jazz 3S which were all much darker and warmer than the Rigotti Gold reeds in my opinion.

The 10mFan “The Classic”  was incredibly reed friendly for me also.   I don’t know how Mark does it but the Classic seems to work with almost every reed I put on it.  Usually when I try a mouthpiece,  I have no trouble finding the best reed strength and settling in.  On the Classic mouthpiece,  I had more trouble doing this because every reed played really well on it.   One day I played a bunch of Rigotti Gold reeds trying to figure out what strength to use and I seriously played a 2 1/2 Strong, 3 Light, 3 Medium, 3 Strong and a 3 1/2 Light.  They all played great for me and I couldn’t figure out which one was the best. For the sound clip below, I ended up going with a Lavoz medium reed because I liked how warm and lush it was on the Classic mouthpiece.  I found the Rigotti Gold reeds to lean to the brighter edgier side for me and I found the darker warmer tone of the Lavoz to be more compelling and beautiful to me.

10mFan Classic Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece

The sample recording below is almost 6 minutes long.   I apologize for that as I usually try to keep the clips under 3 minutes in general.  I was having such a good time playing the Classic mouthpiece that I totally lost track of time.  When I came back to my senses, I played the clip and realized I had been playing for 22 minutes!   I had to trim this sucker down!  What you hear on this clip are what I decided to keep because I feel like it shows a good range of characteristics of the 10mFan The Classic mouthpiece.

I start the clip with “The Man With the Horn” which to me is an amazing tune that highlights the low end of the tenor.  I love the subtone and lush warmth of the Classic on this tune.

At the :55-1:36 and the 2:32-3:05 mark I demonstrate some faster jazz lines and slurred lines to show how smooth, buttery and even the range of the horn is.

At the 1:36 mark I demonstrate some subtone falls which I seem to always do when I am playing a warmer lush tenor mouthpiece.  I just love the way these sound on a mouthpiece like this.

At 1:40 I go into a more full tone “Someday My Prince Will Come” which I think demonstrates how focused the tone can be but still remain warm. Of special note for me is the 2:12-2:23 mark where I play a high B and High D in the melody of “Someday My Prince Will Come”.  These notes stuck out to me because usually they pop out as brighter and edgier than the rest of the melody when I play this tune.  On the Classic,  they come out full, warm and round in my opinion.   They don’t stick out but are the same timber as the rest of the horn in my opinion. I really dug how these notes sounded!

At the 3:06-5:21 mark I go into Stella By Starlight.   It seems like overkill to keep over two minutes of soloing on Stella in a mouthpiece clip but I really dug this solo because I found myself playing unique lines I don’t usually play.  I was kind of going for a Rich Perry kind of laid back vibe on it.  I know this can be attributed to many things but I played this mouthpiece for about 3 weeks and I experienced many moments like this.  I felt like the ease of playing and the beautiful tone brought me to different places in my improvisations.  The day before I recorded this clip, I spent about 3 hours playing in my garage and it was one of the  most enjoyable practice sessions I have had in a very long time.  I just felt like the creative juices were flowing and the sound and playability of the mouthpiece was just stoking those creative juices even more.   It’s a great feeling to have!

Lastly, at the 5:22 mark I going into a small bit of a funkier more full tone bluesy line with altissimo.  I didn’t do much of this on the demo but thought it would be good to add this little part in to hear what it sounds like for me.

10mFan Classic Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece

In my opinion, the 10mFan “The Classic” is a great tenor mouthpiece for those of you looking for a more “classic” mouthpiece along the lines of a vintage hard rubber Otto Link.  Although I use the Vintage Link as a comparison,  I think the “Classic” has it’s own thing going on.  I find it to have a focus to it that I don’t find in many darker and warmer Links I have tried.  Usually,  these vintage hard rubber Link mouthpieces play with a very “spread” tone for me.  The 10mFan classic is much more focused in my opinion.

As an example of what I mean by this, when I play a spread toned mouthpiece into a big room I hear a big wash of sound coming back to my ears.  When I turn towards a wall and play into it the sound dramatically changes because it is immediately more focused as it bounces back to my ears. With a focused mouthpiece, I can play into a room and I don’t hear as much of that “wash” of sound.  It sounds more focused and distinct as it comes back to my ears.  When I turn to the wall I hear a much smaller difference in sound.   It’s slightly more focused but is basically the same sound I heard in the room.   That for me is the big difference between focused and spread saxophone tones.

I have played Early Babbitt hard rubber tenor mouthpieces with more focus than the more spread Otto Links but in general those EB Links are a lot brighter also.  The 10mFan “The Classic” is unique in that it keeps the warmth and depth of tone while also adding a focus and center to the tone.

I think Mark Sepinuck at 10mFan did a great job with the Classic tenor saxophone mouthpiece.  Mark is great with his descriptions of his mouthpieces and I feel like he has come out with another “gem” of a mouthpiece.  Well done! If you are interested in the Classic tenor saxophone mouthpiece you can find out more information at 10mfan.com.    Mark is a great guy and he can answer any questions you might have about his mouthpieces…….

10mFan Classic Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece