Today, I am excited to be reviewing the new BSS (Boston Sax Shop) E-Series 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece released by Jack Tyler at the Boston Sax Shop.
I have already reviewed the excellent Boston Sax Shop S-Series tenor sax mouthpiece and the Boston Sax Shop R-Series tenor sax mouthpiece. Both of which I was very impressed with. When I heard of the new BSS E -Series tenor saxophone mouthpieces Jack was developing, I had to try one!
Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
Jack Tyler is the owner of Boston Sax Shop and has been my saxophone repairman for the last ten years. I usually head down to Boston about once a year for Jack to check out my saxophones and while he is giving them a look over, he always gives me the inside scoop on all the saxophone gossip around the world as well as updates on the new saxophone gear that he is working on. Of course, I always let him know about the latest saxophone goodies sitting on my desk waiting for a review as well.
Besides being a phenomenal repairman, craftsman and incredibly fashionable fellow, Jack is always up to some new saxophone related endeavor. Whether it be straps, cases, ligatures, saxophone necks, reed cases, reeds, etc….. Jack always seems like he has a new project on the horizon.
The other quality I have always loved about Jack is that he is a straight shooter. You ask him a question and he tells you exactly what he thinks whether it helps him get a sale or not. I love this about him!
Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
The Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece is described by Jack as being a reference to the “Early Babbitt” Otto Link tenor saxophone mouthpieces of the past. From what I understand from Jack, he wanted to capture the essence, sound and power of the vintage Early Babbitt tenor saxophone mouthpieces but without sacrificing evenness of tone. To quote Jack:
“Modern players playing the Boston Sax Shop E-series can enjoy more of the power and brightness that these mouthpieces deliver when playing in a louder setting but still get the lushness and warmth required in a more intimate jazz setting.”-Jack Tyler
Here is how Jack Tyler describes the Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece on his website at BostonSaxShop.com:
“The E Series is the all-rounder, the tenor sax mouthpiece that can both cut through a loud band but still whisper sub-tones on a ballad. Inspired by the tonal characteristics of the coveted ‘Early Babbit’ transitional Otto Links, I really wanted to find that perfect balance of brilliance and warmth that the best vintage tenor sax mouthpieces have. The end result (after many many prototypes) ended up with a interior profile that utilizes a unique longer roll over baffle. As opposed to the shorter and higher baffles found in the vintage EB models, I find the gentle roll over shape to provides an equal amount of power without sacrificing evenness which is so important to me. The end result is once again, incredibly versatile: punchy, warm and easy to play.”-Jack Tyler
Boston Sax Shop R-Series 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
The Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece is made of quality hard rubber. You can smell a little bit of that hard rubber smell that you typically smell on vintage hard rubber mouthpieces when you hold one up to your nose.
The mouthpiece has the BSS logo engraved in white on the top of the mouthpiece. The tip opening of 7* is not machine engraved on the mouthpiece but is hand engraved on the left corner of the body next to the butt end of the table. “Made in the USA” in engraved on the bottom of the bore of the mouthpiece.
Each of the Boston Sax Shop tenor saxophone mouthpieces (there are three models at the time of this review: the S, R and E Series) have different stylish designs around the shank of each mouthpiece. I like how each model has a different design. The BSS E-Series tenor sax mouthpiece has two white lines with a row of circles between the lines encircling the shank of the saxophone mouthpiece.
Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
The Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece looks great to the eye. The tip, rails and table look even, flat, precise and well crafted. The mouthpiece tip rail and side rails are even and thin, and the shape of the tip rail perfectly matches the curve of the BSS (Boston Sax Shop) saxophone reeds I used on the E-Series mouthpiece.
The baffle of the Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece is a medium height, long and gradual rollover baffle. The floor of the baffle during the decent is slightly curved from side to side and the scooped-out sidewalls on either side of the baffle floor come inward as the baffle travels down into the chamber.
The BSS E-Series mouthpiece chamber looks to be what I would consider a large sized chamber similar to a typical hard rubber Otto Link sized chamber. The roof of the mouthpiece chamber under the table is thin at the start but then the roof angles down slightly as it travels through the chamber area to the bore.
Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
The diameter and beak profile of the Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece is very close to the diameter and beak profile of a typical hard rubber Otto Link tenor saxophone mouthpiece.
All of my saxophone ligatures that fit comfortably on hard rubber Otto Link tenor saxophone mouthpieces fit on the Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece. I chose to use the Boston Sax Shop Gold Superlative ligature that I reviewed last year for this review.
Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
I found the BSS (Boston Sax Shop) Black Label and Silver Label #3 and #3 1/2 strength tenor saxophone reeds to play very well on this 7* E-Series tenor saxophone mouthpiece. The BSS #3 reeds worked great right out of the box. I could just slap one on the mouthpiece after wetting it and play.
The #3 1/2 reeds were a bit stiffer as you would expect and I had to play for a little bit and break them in before they were perfect for me. Those three BSS reeds were hard enough to give some healthy resistance to blow against while not being so hard that it felt stuffy or too resistant to me.
I added the BSS Black Label 3 1/2 reed sound clip after I drove down to the Boston Sax Shop to have Jack replace a pad that had fallen out of my tenor sax. I was curious how the E-series tenor mouthpiece would sound with BSS 3 1/2 reeds as well and Jack was nice enough to hook me up with some 3 1/2 reeds to try for this review.
In keeping with the BSS brand, I also used a BSS Gold Superlative ligature on the BSS E-Series mouthpiece as I mentioned earlier.
Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
When first playing the Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece, my first impression was that it was definitely brighter than the BSS R-Series and S-Series tenor sax mouthpieces that I have already reviewed.
In the BSS S-Series review, I described the S-Series mouthpiece as having a more focused and dark sound to it as the tone sounded more concentrated and warm to my ears. In the R-Series mouthpiece review, I described the tone as still being a warm tone but the tone sounded more spread and bigger in width when compared to the S-Series tenor mouthpiece.
The new BSS E-Series tenor saxophone mouthpiece is a brighter and more powerful tenor saxophone tone compared to the S-Series and R-Series mouthpieces. This is not like an Otto Link on steroids as many tenor sax players like to describe an Otto Link with an added baffle but more like an Otto Link that leans more towards the brighter even tone that a mouthpiece with a medium high rollover baffle can provide.
I describe it like this because for me, the E-Series is still in that ballpark of a brighter leaning Otto Link type of sound. In my experience, many “Link on Steroids” mouthpieces play and sound very different than a typical hard rubber Otto Link type of tone. When too much baffle is added to an Otto Link, it basically becomes a different mouthpiece which is way too bright even though it still looks like an Otto Link from the outside.
I have also experienced quite a bit of unevenness in tone with those “Link on Steroids” tenor sax mouthpieces. Almost like someone added a baffle to a Link to add brightness and power, but evenness of the timbre from note to note was not a consideration. Very often, these mouthpieces would play with different notes and registers sounding a lot brighter than other notes.
I write all this because I don’t notice this huge difference in timbre from note to note with the BSS E-Series tenor saxophone mouthpiece. The range of the saxophone sounds very even in timbre from note to note to my ears without any notes being substantially brighter than others.
Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
The intonation on the Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece was very good and the mouthpiece was a great match for my Selmer Super Balanced Action tenor saxophone (from the 50’s). I actually thought the intonation would be quite a bit sharper on certain notes on my SBA because they usually are with higher baffled mouthpieces but the BSS E-Series was pleasantly close to perfect when I checked my tuner while warming up.
The BSS E-Series did sit out a bit further on my neck cork compared to a typical hard rubber Otto Link but that is because the raised rollover baffle takes up more chamber volume and the E-Series has to be placed further out on the cork to be in tune.
The evenness and smoothness of notes throughout the range of the saxophone was nice when playing fast lines. The E -Series sub-toned beautifully as well down in the lower range of the saxophone.
The altissimo register of the saxophone was easy to produce on the Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece and the notes were easy to control and manipulate. That upper range of the tenor sax was definitely brighter and edgier than when playing the BSS R-Series or S-Series tenor sax mouthpieces but it was nowhere near as edgy as most high baffled tenor sax mouthpieces I have reviewed.
Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
The Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece had a good amount of power and volume when pushed. I would say the volume was about a 9 when pushed on my 1-10 volume scale. It wasn’t as loud as some higher baffled tenor sax mouthpieces are when pushed to maximum volume, but where those mouthpieces can tend to get thinner sounding the louder they get, the E-Series mouthpiece retains it’s nice full bodied and thick tone as it gets louder.
Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
On the sound clips below, I try to give a good range and variety of saxophone sounds and textures so that you can hear the Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece perform in different styles. There are five sound clips.
The first sound clip below is a recording of me playing a bunch of random lines and ideas like I usually do with a BSS Black Label #3 reed and no effects on the sound.
The second clip is a more altissimo centered sound clip with the same BSS #3 Black Label reed with some reverb added. I like adding reverb to a clip so you can hear how the mouthpiece might sound through a sound system with some reverb added to the mix like on a live gig.
The third and fourth clips are similar to the first and second clip but I am using a BSS #3 Silver Label reed on those clips. The BSS Silver Label reeds are a new reed for me and I just reviewed them a few weeks ago here: BSS Silver Box Reed Review with Comparison Clips. You can listen to clips 1 & 2 (BSS Black Label Reeds) and compare them to clips 3 & 4 (BSS Silver Label Reeds) and see what differences the different reeds might make.
The fifth clip is an added clip of the E-Series with a harder BSS Black Label #3 1/2 reed with no effects added. I added this clip because I know there are some of you out there that like to use harder strength reeds and I wanted to provide a sound clip demonstrating the E-Series with that harder reed. *This 3 1/2 Black Label reed was broken in and played on for a few days before recording the sound clip.
Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
In my opinion, the BSS Boston Sax Shop E-Series tenor saxophone mouthpiece is a great tenor sax mouthpiece for those of you looking for a tenor mouthpiece with a hard rubber Otto Link type feel and playing experience to it but with added brightness and power without losing that authentic, full and thick sounding, classic tenor saxophone tone. The evenness of scale between the notes and throughout the range of the saxophone really differentiate and elevate the E-Series above most hard rubber Otto Links I have played throughout the years.
If you go to the BSS page for this E-Series mouthpiece you can hear more samples of some great modern tenor sax players such as Joel Frahm, Chris Bittner, Dayna Stephens, Steve Kortyka and Adam Larson playing the Boston Sax Shop E-Series tenor saxophone mouthpiece as well. *My personal favorite clip is the third one entitled “Chris Bittner E Series Ballad”. This is about as perfect a tenor saxophone tone as I have ever heard! Gorgeous!
If you like the sound and look of the E-Series tenor sax mouthpieces by the Boston Sax Shop, you can find them at the Boston Sax Shop website. *Neffmusic also gets a small commission from each sale using this link which helps support this website, so thank you in advance if you use the link.
If you try a BSS Boston Sax Shop E-Series tenor saxophone mouthpiece or have any thoughts, comments or questions on this review, I would love to hear what you think in the comments below. Thanks, Steve
Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-Boston Sax Shop Black Label 3 Reed-No Effects Added
Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-Boston Sax Shop Black Label 3 Reed-Reverb Added
Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-Boston Sax Shop Silver Label 3 Reed-No Effects Added
Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-Boston Sax Shop Silver Label 3 Reed-Reverb Added
Boston Sax Shop E-Series 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-Boston Sax Shop Black Label 3 1/2 Reed-No Effects
Some Sax player !!!