Today, I am excited to be reviewing the new Soprano Planet Open Sky SL soprano saxophone mouthpiece released by Joe Giardullo at Soprano Planet. SL stands for Steve Lacy and this soprano sax mouthpiece is modeled after Steve Lacy’s personal mouthpiece that Joe Giardullo had for about a year after Steve Lacy’s death. Of course, Steve Lacy’s soprano sax mouthpiece was a 12 tip opening (.096) and most soprano player’s probably could not handle that large of a tip opening so Joe made his Open Sky SL soprano saxophone mouthpiece with a .075 tip opening which is much more manageable for most players.
I have to admit that for whatever reason, I have not listened to much Steve Lacy in my 50+ years of living so I am not only curious to check out the Open Sky SL soprano saxophone mouthpiece but some Steve Lacy recordings as well (I’m playing Steve Lacy “Soprano Sax” from 1958 and Gil Evans & Ten “Just One of Those Things” as I type this review……).
Soprano Planet Open Sky SL Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece
Here is an email I received from Joe Giardullo explaining the Open Sky SL (Steve Lacy) soprano saxophone mouthpiece concept:
“The new mouthpiece, which I call the Open Sky SL (after Steve Lacy) is designed with no baffle at all. That means the chamber shape rules completely. The chamber is medium. It has a similar throat as Steve Lacy’s mouthpiece, which was a kind of race-track oval.
The short story is this: I’ve finally nailed down the real source of the short lived Otto Link Tone Edge model mouthpiece that Steve Lacy played. Turns out, there are four great soprano mouthpiece designs all made from the same blank, which was produced by Riffault. Of course, the Riffault soprano saxophone mouthpieces, and all the stencils, were made from that blank. As was the rare Brilhart ARB soprano sax mouthpiece, the old Beechler soprano sax mouthpiece (20 years ago and earlier) and the short-lived Otto Link Tone Edge soprano mouthpiece that Steve Lacy played.
That gave me the idea for producing the Open Sky-SL soprano saxophone mouthpiece. I wanted to stay away from a huge tip, because there are still too many players that think tip size is so significant, which it really isn’t. I made a few prototypes and .075 produced all the aspects that made Steve Lacy’s soprano saxophone mouthpiece so amazing, only instead of requiring # 1 1/2 reeds, this .075 played with ease on # 2 1/2 and even # 2 reeds.
The aspect that gives it the complete flexibility that Steve Lacy’s mouthpiece had is the complete lack of a baffle, which was what Steve’s mouthpiece had as well. Not even a hint of a baffle. It plays dark or bright or anywhere in between, according to what the player needs. It centers the tone back in the throat/oral cavity of the player, so there is quick and smooth transitions always available.”-Joe Giardullo
Soprano Planet Open Sky SL Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece
The Soprano Planet Open Sky SL soprano saxophone mouthpiece came well packaged with a ligature, cap and two Marca soprano sax reeds that Joe felt played well on the Open Sky SL soprano sax mouthpiece. The reeds were size 2 and 2 1/2 but felt too soft for my tastes on the Open Sky SL soprano saxophone mouthpiece. In retrospect, as I type this and listen to Steve Lacy playing in the background, I realize that using the softer reeds would probably have given me a sound that is closer to Steve Lacy’s soprano sax sound as he sounds like he is using a soft reed in the recordings I am listening to.
The ligature looks a lot like a Brancher ligature and I really dug this ligature on the Open Sky SL mouthpiece. I asked Joe what it was and this was his response:
“I stumbled on that ligature at a music confab in France years ago. It looks like the one sold by Brancher. But when I compared them in terms of sound, I liked this ligature better. The plate is slightly smaller and has a different pattern in terms of interacting with the reed. I have no idea why ligatures do what they do, but I am convinced that it has to do with sympathetic resonance with the vibrating reed/ligature/mouthpiece combination.
It’s like when you strike a tuning fork and just hold it in your fingers, the sound is barely audible. But, anchor the end on a table or hard surface and the sound explodes in volume and resonance. Even if you hold the fork to a sheet of paper held in mid-air, the sound gets louder and fuller. So, that’s my guess on the ligature: they certainly can make a difference, for better or, sometimes, for worse.
But, I liked that one and started importing them for my mouthpieces.”-Joe Giardullo
Soprano Planet Open Sky SL Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece with Ligature
Here is a description of the Soprano Planet Open Sky SL soprano saxophone mouthpiece from the Soprano Planet website:
“The OPEN SKY SL soprano saxophone mouthpiece is an absolute amazing mouthpiece with NO BAFFLE at all, just like the legendary mouthpiece that inspired its creation: the mouthpiece played by the great Steve Lacy. There is no baffle! The mouthpiece opens up directly into the medium chamber and ends with a “racetrack” shaped throat, like Steve Lacy’s mouthpiece. You’ll be amazed when you play it.
The new OPEN SKY SL soprano sax mouthpiece is a working man’s version of the legendary mouthpiece played by Steve Lacy. It has all the qualities that made that mouthpiece so special and it’s been produced for soprano players that want the freedom, flexibility, feel and sound world that we love about Steve Lacy’s sound and spirit.
Here is a part of an email from a player in Great Britain. I think he nailed the thing that makes the OPEN SKY SL a powerful and utterly unique soprano mouthpiece:
“My surprise with this mouthpiece is that it is both fat and focused at the same time…it has a rich fat tone but also is incisive with lots of bite…It has edge and volume when needed and a fat velvety tone too! – best of both together. It is exceptional.”
Recent discoveries led me to recognize that I could use my OPEN SKY 2 blank as a basis for this new piece, allowing me to design the ultimate chamber shape and size, things that made Steve Lacy’s mouthpiece so special. I played Steve Lacy’s mouthpiece many times and had it in my possession for almost a year after he passed in 2004. I knew it well then and I know it well now.
But, with a # 12 tip opening, that legendary mouthpiece would pose a lot of challenges for most players. As you know, it takes much more skill to play very light reeds well than it does to play firmer reeds. Steve played on # 1 1/2 and even # 1 reeds at times.
With the OPEN SKY SL soprano saxophone mouthpiece, I was able to bring the tip opening down a lot so that the mouthpiece would play with moderate strength reeds.
I am currently making this mouthpiece with a .075 tip, which is about a #9 tip, and it plays easily with # 2 1/2 reeds. The intonation is solid throughout the range of the horn, the altissimo is quick and singing, it subtones with ease and it is flexible in terms of sound and texture.
Like Steve Lacy’s mouthpiece, there is no baffle at all. It’s one of the things that makes this piece sing as it does. The same air delivery that plays the lowest notes will play the highest notes with no workarounds requires. Like a lyric soprano singer, it’s all one, perfect continuum, from bottom to top.”-Joe Giardullo
Soprano Planet Open Sky SL Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece
The Soprano Planet Open Sky SL soprano saxophone mouthpiece is made of quality hard rubber (ebonite). It comes in one tip opening of .075 which is about a 9 tip for soprano saxophone mouthpieces. The Soprano Planet Open Sky SL soprano saxophone mouthpiece has “Open Sky SL” and “Soprano Planet” labeled on the top of the mouthpiece. I don’t see any tip opening markings or any other markings on the mouthpiece.
The table looks flat and even. The side rails look fairly even although the left rail has a bit of a waver to the inside line of the left rail. The tip rail is a bit uneven with the left side of the rail being thinner than the right side (photo below). In my mind, this kind of unevenness doesn’t really matter as long as there is enough tip rail there for the reed to seal, which it does.
Soprano Planet Open Sky SL Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece
Joe Giardullo describes the Open Sky SL soprano sax mouthpiece as having no baffle and I see very little signs of one. As I examine the baffle under the light, I believe I do see a very slight roll to the baffle where the low baffle rolls a little bit to then decline into the medium chamber at a steeper angle but it is very subtle. From the tip down to the chamber, the baffle looks pretty darn straight.
Besides the tip rail being a little thinner on one side than the other, there are some other markings that show that this mouthpiece has been worked on by hand including some marks in the hard rubber at the bottom of the baffle and some marks in the wall of the bore as well.
The tip rail curve has an outer curve that is a bit steeper on the edges than the more gradual outer curves of my soprano reeds (Vandoren Java, Roberto’s Winds, BSS, Rigotti) but the reeds sealed well and always got suction.
Soprano Planet Open Sky SL Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece
The side walls of the Open Sky SL mouthpiece look and feel straight to me. The roof of the chamber is thick which I would assume helps to squeeze the air into and through the medium chamber and through the oval throat shape that exits into the larger bore of the mouthpiece. Joe Giardullo describes the chamber as “race track” shaped. It’s like a circle with the high point and low point being stretched away from the circle slightly to make it oval shaped.
Soprano Planet Open Sky SL Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece
Once I found the right strength reed for me which was a Roberto’s Winds 3 soft soprano saxophone reed, I was ready to go. The Soprano Planet Open Sky SL mouthpiece had a big powerfully crisp sound to it right out of the gate. I was surprised by how much power I could get out of it by blowing a little harder. With soprano mouthpieces, I am always concerned about resistance and back pressure but the Soprano Planet Open Sky SL mouthpiece had no uncomfortable resistance while I was playing it.
While blowing less air, the Open Sky SL mouthpiece produced a lighter more delicate soprano saxophone sound but when I pushed more air through the mouthpiece the Open Sky SL produced a more in-your-face fat tone that you could shade to be more aggressive or really fat and beautiful sounding. I try to demonstrate these contrasts in the sound clips below.
Soprano Planet Open Sky SL Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece
The intonation on the Soprano Planet Open Sky SL soprano saxophone mouthpiece was excellent and I detected no issues intonation-wise while playing. The Open Sky SL mouthpiece played easily throughout the range of the soprano saxophone from low Bb up to the higher notes. I particularly liked how the high notes really had a fat resonance and “singing” quality to them. I could also easily sub-tone notes on the lower end of the soprano saxophone.
Soprano Planet Open Sky SL Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece
The Open Sky SL responded well to vibrato, dynamics and bending of the notes as well as “voicing” of the notes. I really believe Joe Giardullo is on to something special with the “no baffle” aspect of this mouthpiece allowing the player to mold and shape the sound. I have a similar experience on my Lamberson J7 tenor saxophone mouthpiece that has little to no baffle yet I have played Top 40 gigs on that mouthpiece and it can really wail as far as volume and brightness when pushed in that direction. The Soprano Planet Open Sky SL soprano sax mouthpiece is similar in that regard.
The Soprano Planet Open Sky SL soprano saxophone mouthpiece responded cleanly and quickly to articulation and the tone was even and resonant throughout the range of the soprano saxophone.
Soprano Planet Open Sky SL Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece
On the sound clips below, I try to give a good range and variety of soprano saxophone sounds and textures so that you can hear the Soprano Planet Open Sky SL soprano saxophone mouthpiece perform in different styles. I have provided three sound clips below.
The first is a sound clip with reverb added that I think sounds amazing. You can hear the resonance, fullness of tone and beauty that the Open Sky SL soprano mouthpiece provides in this sound clip. Although the reverb is added to the clip, it provides the listener an idea of how the Soprano Planet Open Sky SL mouthpiece might sound for them in a recording studio with effects or while played in a big hall, or room with a lively natural reverb.
Soprano Planet Open Sky SL Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece
The second sound clip is a clip of me playing with a bit more volume and energy at times. The tone is fuller, fatter and brighter sounding. I love how the Open Sky SL mouthpiece could be pushed to a louder volume but I felt no bad resistance or back pressure while playing. As I mentioned earlier, this is really important to me because of medical reasons. There are many soprano mouthpieces that give too much resistance when played at full volume and I find my throat and head filling up with back pressure. This has adverse effects on my health and luckily the Open Sky SL soprano sax mouthpiece has none of these negative effects on me.
As far as soprano mouthpiece volume goes, I felt like the Soprano Planet Open Sky SL could really provide ample volume when pushed and the more you pushed the volume the fatter the tone would get which is a real nice side benefit.
The third sound clip is a demonstration of the Open Sky SL soprano mouthpiece with a lighter tone at a more medium volume.
Soprano Planet Open Sky SL Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece
I would have thought the more open .075 tip opening would have felt a bit too open for me as I usually play .070 tip openings on the soprano saxophone but I honestly didn’t notice the .005 increase in tip opening size. The Open Sky SL soprano mouthpiece felt incredible easy and effortless to play at the .075 tip opening.
The Open Sky SL soprano saxophone mouthpiece really struck me as a mouthpiece design that allows the player to really shape and mold the sound to their particular tastes. I would really suggest listening to all of the clips below because I found the sound of the mouthpiece would change depending on how I wanted to play and if you just listen to one section of a sound clip you won’t get the full picture of how varied the Open Sky SL soprano sax mouthpiece can sound.
Soprano Planet Open Sky SL Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece
In my opinion, the Soprano Planet Open Sky SL soprano saxophone mouthpiece is a great soprano saxophone mouthpiece for those of you looking for a soprano sax mouthpiece with very little baffle whose tone can be molded and shaped to your desires. It can be played with energy and a brighter sound that is fat and in-your-face or it can be played with a warmer more laid back beautiful sound. The sound spectrum you get with the Open Sky SL soprano sax mouthpiece is really up to you.
Due to this fact, I believe the Open Sky SL is a soprano mouthpiece that the player should spend ample time with. Sure, you could buy an Open Sky SL mouthpiece, slap it on and go to the gig but my experience from playing this mouthpiece over the last month has taught me that there are multiple layers and unexplored dimensions to blowing this mouthpiece that leave the possibilities open for the player to discover through playing, experimentation and time. That makes playing the Soprano Planet Open Sky SL soprano sax mouthpiece all the more exciting to play in my mind.
If you like the sound and look of the Soprano Planet Open Sky SL soprano saxophone mouthpiece by Joe Giardullo, you can find them for sale at Soprano Planet. Joe Giardullo has been excellent with responding to questions so if you have any, reach out to him through his website.
If you try a Soprano Planet Open Sky SL soprano 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
*To hear the most detail from these clips it is best to listen to them from a computer with nice audio speakers or headphones rather than from an iPhone or laptop speakers. It makes a world of difference!
Soprano Planet Open Sky SL Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece-Roberto’s Winds 3 Soft Soprano Saxophone Reed-Reverb Added
Soprano Planet Open Sky SL Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece-Roberto’s Winds 3 Soft Soprano Saxophone Reed-No Effects Added
Soprano Planet Open Sky SL Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece-Roberto’s Winds 3 Soft Soprano Saxophone Reed-No Effects Added
Wow. That is an amazing sound. You really sound like you were enjoying every minute playing the mouthpiece. What a huge sound. Thanks for posting Steve.
Thanks, Paul. Yes, I really enjoyed the Open Sky SL mouthpiece!
A dreamlike, primordial atmosphere…
Magical classic bucolic atmosphere:
I feel like I’m in Greece, in a forest populated by nymphs, Fauns and with Pan jumping around.
Very nice.
Wow! I’m not sure what all that means sound wise but it sounds good to me. Thanks!
Hi Steve,
sorry for what at times could seem my hermetic comments.
Mine was a compliment for the sound of the mouthpiece and, above all, your interpretation which reminded me of the classical settings described for the first and second soundclip, as if this mouthpiece is excellent for classical music; in the third soundclip, however, we can see the versatility of the mouthpiece also for jazz phrasing, after a few moments.
I’m sorry to have created a doubt with what my mind visualized while listening.
Sounds very great!
Giuseppe.
Sounds great Steve😎
The sound clips are fabulous, Steve. You played that piece like you’ve been playing it a lifetime. Many thanks for taking the time to try it and review it. All the best.
Thanks Steve-i am going to order one now.
Cool! Let me know what you think when you get it. I hope you love it!
Dear Steve, thanks a lot for the instructive review. I’m thinking of getting one of these to have a more wayne shorter (slant link) sound on the soprano. Do you think this mpc can produce this type of vibe?
Sure. Depending on your approach. I’ve always loved Shorter’s sound on soprano. It has a beautiful brightness and ring to the tone in the higher notes that I believe the Open Sky SL has as well.