Today, I am excited to be reviewing the new 5th generation Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece by JJ Babbitt. Those who know, know there is nothing better than a killer Otto Link tenor saxophone mouthpiece! Let’s see if this Otto Link V tenor sax mouthpiece fits in that category……
Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
The JJ Babbitt mouthpiece company recently sent me three new tenor saxophone mouthpiece models to review: an Otto Link hard rubber LA 7* tenor sax mouthpiece (which I have already reviewed), an Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* tenor sax mouthpiece and an Otto Link Super Tone Master Florida V 7 tenor saxophone mouthpiece.
The JJ Babbitt mouthpiece company has been around for over 100 years! In the 1970s, JJ Babbitt expanded its business by acquiring two of the most prestigious names in the saxophone mouthpiece industry: Meyer Bros. in 1971 and Otto Link in 1977. You can read the full history of the JJ Babbitt Company here.
The vintage metal Otto Link Double Ring, Florida and Early Babbitt tenor saxophone mouthpieces from the past are some of the most sought after vintage saxophone mouthpieces on the market today. When I heard the news that JJ Babbitt was coming out with a new Otto Link V (5th Generation) Super Tone Master tenor saxophone mouthpiece, I was eager to try one of these new Otto Link tenor sax mouthpieces out for myself.
Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
Here is how the JJ Babbitt website describes the new Otto Link Super Tone Master V (5th Generation) tenor saxophone mouthpiece (orange highlighting was added by me):
“The Otto Link Super Tone Master 5 is the latest evolution in a mouthpiece that has been the heart and soul of the saxophone sound in American jazz for much of the 20th and 21st centuries. This fifth-generation mouthpiece is not just a continuation—it’s a masterful evolution of a legacy, refined to meet the demands of today’s musicians. Professional players are calling it, along with the new Florida 5, the best Link they’ve ever played—equal to, and perhaps even surpassing, the classic versions that shaped jazz history. This is more than just a mouthpiece; it’s a piece of history reborn, designed to carry forward the sound that legends like Coleman Hawkins, Dexter Gordon, and John Coltrane made iconic.
The Super Tone Master 5 was crafted with both the precision of modern engineering and the insights gained from extensive historical research. In this latest iteration, we have returned to the “core” sound that defined its predecessors while enhancing it for modern versatility. Over the years, the original forging dies had fallen out of spec due to wear and tear, leading to subtle inconsistencies in production. To remedy this, we created entirely new forging dies, realigning the design to match the exact specifications of the original Super Tone Master models. We also utilized laser scanning technology to analyze vintage mouthpieces, ensuring this new generation captures the rich, warm, and balanced tone that made the originals so revered.”-JJ Babbitt
Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
More from the JJ Babbitt website on the Otto Link Super Tone Master V (5th Generation) tenor saxophone mouthpiece:
“The Super Tone Master V represents the pinnacle of Otto Link’s long-standing tradition of excellence, blending timeless craftsmanship with modern engineering. Each mouthpiece is meticulously hand-finished to ensure smooth airflow and balanced tonal control, while the re-engineered chamber enhances resonance and projection. This combination offers the best of both worlds—the iconic warmth and richness of the original, paired with modern-day precision and reliability. Players have praised the Super Tone Master 5 for maintaining the legendary Otto Link sound while adding a new level of consistency, projection, and playability, allowing musicians to perform with confidence in any musical environment.”-JJ Babbitt
Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
“With the Super Tone Master 5, Otto Link continues to honor its rich history while advancing the future of saxophone sound. This mouthpiece provides musicians with the opportunity to connect with the lineage of jazz legends while creating their own voice in modern music. Each note played is a tribute to the legacy of jazz, enriched with the clarity and control demanded by today’s players. Whether performing on the biggest stages or in intimate settings, the Super Tone Master 5 offers the tonal versatility and responsiveness necessary to make a lasting impression. It’s the next chapter of Otto Link’s storied legacy—where the richness of the past meets today’s precision.”-JJ Babbitt
Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
The Otto Link Super Tone Master V tenor saxophone mouthpiece comes in a classic sealed Otto Link mouthpiece box. Inside the box, the mouthpiece has an Otto Link ligature on the mouthpiece as well as a plastic mouthpiece cover. Although there is no reed on the mouthpiece, JJ Babbitt puts a small piece of plastic between the ligature plate and mouthpiece table to protect the table from being scratched by the ligature during shipping.
I have never been a big fan of Otto Link ligatures in the past because I found that the ligature plate moved around too much for my liking when placing the ligature on the reed. The ligatures that come with the new Otto Link V mouthpieces don’t seem to have this issue because the plate on these ligatures is thicker that the plate on many of my old Otto Link ligatures I have in my drawer. I don’t know if it is because of this added thickness but the plate doesn’t seem to move around as much and it is easier for me to place the ligature on the mouthpiece and reed that the many older (80’s-90’s) Otto Links ligatures I have.
Although I really liked the Otto Link ligature that came with the V mouthpiece, I decided to use my Selmer silver 404 metal ligature that I have been using on metal Otto Links for the last 20 years just for consistency. Since I have used the Selmer 404 ligature on every Otto Link I have reviewed on this site over the last 20 years, I thought it best to continue with that tradition. I’ll experiment later with swapping the ligatures to see which one I like the best.
Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
The new 5th generation Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* tenor sax mouthpiece looked beautiful upon opening the box. The gold plating looks thick and rich and the bite plate and engraving looked perfect.
One detail (flaw) I noticed right away while taking the mouthpiece out of the box is that you can see fragments of the seam where the two sides of the mouthpiece were joined together. You can see this clearly in the very first photo of the review if you look at the beak of the mouthpiece in that photo. Right in the center of the beak, above the bite plate and below is that seam I am talking about. I don’t think it makes any real difference in how the mouthpiece might play but it is a flaw and imperfection in the overall aesthetic of the mouthpiece.
I’m not sure if this is a flaw in just my mouthpiece or if this seam can be seen in all the new Otto Link V mouthpieces JJ Babbitt is making. I will add at this point in the review, that people in the past have accused mouthpiece companies of picking perfect mouthpieces out of their production line to send to me to get a great review and while I can’t prove this never happens, I do think this seam showing on this mouthpiece does tend to make me think that someone at JJ Babbitt just grabbed this mouthpiece in the sealed box and sent it to me to review rather than picking out a special mouthpiece that had the seam showing. That seems logical to me.
Although this is a brand new 5th generation Otto Link mouthpiece, there is no mistaking the obvious Otto Link design features that are a signature of the Otto Link metal tenor saxophone mouthpieces. The 5th generation Otto Link Super Tone Master mouthpiece has the classic metal ridge along the top of the mouthpiece that is engraved with “Otto Link” as well as the classic black bite plate across the beak that is common to all metal Otto Link mouthpieces.
The shank of the mouthpiece has two rings around the shank with “Super Tone Master” engraved between the rings on the top and “V” engraved below the rings. On the bottom side of the shank, “U.S.A.” is engraved between the rings with the tip opening of 7* engraved below it.
Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
The Otto Link V tenor sax mouthpiece has rails that I would consider as wide rails. As you can see in the photos, the side rails are a bit wavy and uneven and the tip rail is a bit uneven as well.
Of special note, the thickness of the metal on the shank of the mouthpiece is much thicker than the thickness of the metal on all of my other vintage Otto Links. I believe modern Otto Links all have this thicker design of the shank but I have never noticed until now as I compare this V mouthpiece to my Florida, Early Babbitt and Double Ring Otto Link mouthpieces.
The baffle looks to be a medium rollover with what I can only describe as a very unique shape. The unique baffle shape and rollover reminds me of the look of water rolling in the bottom of a container while being in a vehicle that is moving. The baffle is uneven but has a flowing effect to the irregular shape. I’m very curious if this baffle shape is exactly the same for each mouthpiece or if the baffle shape is variable from mouthpiece to mouthpiece.
After the flowing irregular baffle rollover, the baffle heads down to what I would describe as a large chamber. The sidewalls are scooped out nicely. The chamber roof is of a medium thickness but is also uneven in width along the top with the right side of the roof being a little bit thinner.
I have to be honest in admitting that all of these irregularities in the mouthpiece made me a bit nervous about how the Otto Link Super Tone Master V tenor sax mouthpiece would play but I also know from past experience that an uneven baffle or wide tip rails do not necessarily make a bad playing mouthpiece. Some of the best mouthpieces I have played over the years are ones with irregularities. The only way to find out is to play it.
Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
Now, to the most important part, how did the Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece play?
Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by this new Otto Link V tenor sax mouthpiece. In fact, I would consider this Otto Link V mouthpiece to be one of the best Otto Link mouthpieces I have played over the years. If I played an Otto Link tenor saxophone mouthpiece like this in a store over the last 40 years, I would have bought it immediately. That is how much I liked this Otto Link V tenor sax mouthpiece.
The Otto Link V tenor sax mouthpiece was very reed friendly for me. It played best with reeds between strength 2 1/2 to 3 1/2. I tried a variety of reeds on it including BSS (Boston Sax Shop), Roberto’s Winds, Rigotti Gold and Rico Royal reeds. The sound clips below were recorded with the BSS reeds but I honestly could have used any of the reeds mentioned to record the sound clips. They all played very well and all got suction when applying the suction test to the reeds.
Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
The tone of the Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* mouthpiece was what I would consider a classic “Link” tenor saxophone tone. The tone was thick, strong and dense sounding while sitting in the middle of that dark to bright saxophone tone spectrum I write about so often.
The tone had a ton of character in the sound that I found incredibly pleasant to listen to as I was playing. I often associate that character in the tone to an Otto Link type of tenor saxophone sound like Hank Mobley, John Coltrane, Ben Webster, Lester Young, Dexter Gordon and Coleman Hawkins. Even modern players like Joshua Redman, Chris Potter, Rick Margitza and Mike Tucker all play or played metal Otto Links and reflect that character in their sounds.
That is certainly a varied list of tenor saxophone players with a variety of tones but that list goes to show the versatility of the Otto Link design. I have found that Otto Link tenor mouthpieces can offer a wide pallet of sounds and colors so that the player can shape their own sound to their own liking as is proven by the wide range of tenor saxophone tones created by that list of phenomenal sax players above.
As you can hear in the sound clips below, the Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* tenor mouthpiece sounds at home on a jazz ballad using a rich, fat and textured tone like Dexter Gordon or can be pushed to be much brighter and more aggressive like John Coltrane. The beautiful quality of a great Otto Link mouthpiece is that the tone can be shaped and molded to the players desires and needs. I would consider the Otto Link V tenor mouthpiece to be in that category of a great playing Otto Link.
Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
The Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece had very good intonation on my Selmer SBA tenor saxophone. The articulation was clean and crisp while playing staccato notes or fast jazz lines.
The altissimo register was easy to produce and the notes in that higher register had a nice roundness and thickness to the tone that I really liked. The low notes were rich and full sounding and the sub-tone effect on those low notes was beautifully lush and rich.
i would rate the Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* saxophone mouthpiece as a 7 1/2-8 for volume on the 1-10 volume scale I think of when reviewing saxophone mouthpiece. This is a respectful volume and while the Otto Link V is in no way a paint peeler 10 that can cut through any band, the volume is adequate for most playing situations with the right amplification in my opinion.
Of specific note, I found the differences between the sound clips with the BSS Silver box 2 1/2 reed and the BSS Black box 3 reed especially interesting. You can hear how much darker the BSS Black box reed is than the silver box reed. I enjoy having the choice between the BSS (Boston Sax Shop) black or silver box reeds just because of this obvious difference in brightness between the reed cuts.
Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece
In my opinion, the Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece is a terrific tenor sax mouthpiece for those of you looking for a tenor sax mouthpiece that can play with a classic “link” jazz tenor saxophone sound that is full of character while giving the player easy expression and a warmth of tone with the ability to add brightness when needed. Although the Otto Link V tenor mouthpiece is an obvious design change for JJ Babbitt, I believe they have stayed true to the heritage and history of Otto Link mouthpieces and designed a mouthpiece that plays and sounds like a great Otto Link mouthpiece from the past would or perhaps even better if that is allowed to be stated. (I know vintage Otto Link experts will view this statement as sacrilege).
If you like the sound and look of the Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece by JJ Babbitt, you can find them for sale at Sweetwater. I have agreed to be an affiliate for Sweetwater so if you purchase a Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece from this link, neffmusic.com will receive a small commission on the sale while your cost remains the same. (This helps to support my site and keep the saxophone related reviews, articles and transcriptions coming to you…..). Sweetwater even offers the option to pay in three installments as well which is nice.
If you try an Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* 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
*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!
Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* with BSS 2 1/2 Silver Box Reed
Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-with no Effects-BSS #2 1/2 Silver Box Reed
Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-Body & Soul with Reverb-BSS #2 1/2 Silver Box Reed
Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-Altissimo with Reverb Added-BSS #2 1/2 Silver Box Reed
Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* with BSS #3 Black Box Reed
Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-with no Effects-BSS #3 Black Box Reed
Otto Link Super Tone Master V 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-Altissimo with Reverb Added-BSS #3 Black Box Reed
I really like your reviews a lot, but do I understand correctly that your website benefits from the sales of these? I hope it doesn’t influence your take on the product.
Hi Brian,
I don’t believe it does and I have a pretty sensitive conscience. I wouldn’t say my website “benefits” but hopefully I recoup some of the costs of running the website. I wrote this article about the subject almost a decade ago https://www.neffmusic.com/blog/2016/07/sax-mouthpiece-reviews-and-morality/ As I write in that article I turn away quite a few mouthpieces that don’t meet my standards. I also provide sound clips which in my opinion prove the veracity of my comments and reviews.
Understandable question, but for additional perspective, consider the costs.
Unless each mouthpiece costs as much as five excellent Mark VI’s or Steve is getting enough sales to pay his mortgage, buy a vacation home, send his kids to college, and bankrupt the tight margins of a mouthpiece manufacturer, a small commission isn’t influencing anyone to give an unbiased review on a niche product.
Everyone pays a little bit these days just to get a review.
Keep up the great work, Steve.
I would like to answer Brian: I have been following Steve’s website for at least 18 years: at my advanced age, and for the type of work I have done in the past, I perceive in a few seconds the correctness of a person; and I have never met a more serious and correct (and kind) person, and one I would never doubt, like Steve.
I also think that what I am writing is superfluous because I imagine that the entire saxophonist community already thinks like me.
Furthermore, I ask, taking this review as an example: if your doubts were well-founded, why would Steve have also documented the aesthetic irregularities of the mouthpiece?
I thank him for his passion and for the efforts he puts into trying to document to other saxophonists “only” the best (as everyone can hear with their own ears) that exists on the market and for the advice on the subject that he provides, even in general, to those who have doubts to clarify.
Giuseppe.
Good to know! thanks for responding and keep up the great work!
Sounds like a great mouthpiece. Probably not enough for me to plop down $450 plus or minus, but a great sound. Interesting I didn’t see the split on the Sweetwater’s website. I wonder if it was photo shopped out or if yours was just an anomaly. As usual, a very solid review. Thanks Steve.
I think that seam was just in mine as I haven’t seen any photos on the internet with it. Interestingly enough, the Otto Link Florida V 7 I got has slight seam markings on it as well. The other possibility is that JJ Babbitt sent me flawed pieces on purpose but that really doesn’t make sense as far as marketing and advertising goes………
Great review! Although this isn’t the “Florida” Link model, it sounds similar to my late Florida Link with BSS reeds. It would be great for a current production Link STM to have the tonal characteristics of a Late Florida or Early Babbitt that are so sought after. Sure, I like the idea of playing an “unobtainium” Link. However, it’s almost heart-breaking to see the disappointing face a young player has with their Link after play testing mine. Hopefully, this version of the Link STM will live up to the legacy.
Good sound. It’s a pity for the aesthetic irregularities also documented with photos.
Giuseppe.
Now I’m eager to read the review of the other mouthpiece, the Otto Link Super Tone Master Florida V 7, also to hear the differences with this one and decide which one I prefer!
Thanks in advance.
Giuseppe.
Great review as usual!!! Is there a big difference between this Otto Link STM V and Les Becs d’Autan Florida model?
There is a difference in the way those two mouthpieces play but I haven’t played them side by side to compare them to each other. Hopefully I will have some time to do that after I get done reviewing this round of mouthpieces I have sitting on my desk.