![\"\"](\"https:\/\/public.neffmusic.com\/TributeTop.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nPhil-Tone & Theo Wanne Tribute Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n After talking to Phil, I was really excited to see what he would come up with.\u00a0 Obviously, the first step would be finding that perfect Florida Link mouthpiece that would inspire the “Tribute”.\u00a0 In his search for this “great” link Phil crossed paths with Theo Wanne who happened to have a collection of great playing Links.\u00a0\u00a0 Phil and Theo picked what they thought was the best of the bunch and as\u00a0 they communicated back and forth, they decided to make this a joint venture.\u00a0\u00a0 Theo would\u00a0 machine “Tribute” blanks in his factory in line with his high standards and Phil would hand finish, face, and play test each mouthpiece until they were perfect.\u00a0 I was very excited at this joint venture because I knew\u00a0 that Theo Wanne’s great craftsmanship combined with Phil Engleman’s great refacing work would produce a “killer” mouthpiece.<\/p>\n Phil-Tone & Theo Wanne Tribute Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n Even though these pictures look like the mouthpiece is gold………..it is actually a silver color.\u00a0 The outside of the mouthpiece is immaculate and lives up to the Wanne standards of mouthpiece manufacturing.\u00a0 It has a bead blast silver finish and texture to it with Phil-Tone and Tribute engraved on the top of the mouthpiece.\u00a0 On the bottom of the shank is the Theo Wanne symbol and USA.\u00a0 The mouthpiece is a 7* tip opening which is what the original florida link that inspired this mouthpiece was.\u00a0 There is no bite plate on the mouthpiece but it just has a mouthpiece patch where the bite plate would be.\u00a0 The table and rails of the Tribute look perfect, not a blemish anywhere.\u00a0 The beginning of the baffle is a smooth silver finish and halfway down the baffle it transitions to the bead blast silver finish.\u00a0 The sidewalls are scooped out by the CNC process I believe.\u00a0 The scooped sidewalls don’t travel all the way to the tip but starts about half an inch from the tip.\u00a0 The transition to the chamber is smooth and subtle.\u00a0 There’s not a ridge or imperfection anywhere to be seen within the chamber or bore.\u00a0 The chamber looks to be the same as a typical florida link size chamber.<\/p>\n Phil-Tone & Theo Wanne Tribute Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n My mouthpiece didn’t come with a ligature but the production pieces will be coming with a Theo Wanne Enlightened ligature.\u00a0 I tried the “Tribute” with Rigotti Gold reeds.\u00a0 The reeds matched up perfectly with the rails and tip of the mouthpiece.\u00a0 I found the facing to be very reed friendly.\u00a0 Rigotti Gold 2 1\/2 reeds and 3 light reeds were way too soft for me on the Tribute.\u00a0 The Rigotti Gold 3 medium reeds were perfect.\u00a0 I tried 3 strong size reeds also.\u00a0 They played well but I felt like the added strength and resistance gave the tone a more “Coltraneish” type sound.\u00a0 I preferred the 3 mediums.\u00a0 They gave the piece a little bit more resistance but still a clear fat tone which I prefer.<\/p>\n Phil-Tone & Theo Wanne Tribute Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n How does the Tribute play?\u00a0 Well first off, I do believe it plays and sounds as good as the best florida links I have had through my studio here.\u00a0 That being said, there are always differences in how Otto Links play.\u00a0 Even the great ones.\u00a0 In my collection now I have what I consider 3 great florida links and a double ring link.\u00a0 One has a rounder sound, one is brighter and edgier, one is much darker and fuller and one is right in the middle.\u00a0 I felt like the Tribute was a little brighter than the middle of these 4 links.\u00a0 I could lean either way with it and make it a bit darker or a bit brighter.\u00a0 The tone was nice and full.\u00a0 The highs had a nice ring and brightness to them but were still fat and beautiful sounding.\u00a0 The bottom end subtoned like a dream.\u00a0 The mouthpiece played very smooth and evenly around the range of the horn.\u00a0\u00a0 The altissimo was easy to play and the mouthpiece had great intonation.<\/p>\n I will say at this point that the Tribute is like a link in that you have to really spend time with it to get the most from it.\u00a0 There are little subtle things that make a huge difference with link type mouthpieces.\u00a0 These are things you have to experiment with and figure out.\u00a0 Where to put the reed in relation to the tip, where to put the ligature, how tight to make it, how much mouthpiece to take in your mouthpiece, how tight or loose to make your embouchure to get the best tone,\u00a0 how to voice the lower range, upper range and altissimo for the best results, etc…………..\u00a0 One of the interesting things I discovered with the Tribute was that it played much better for me with a looser embouchure than I normally play with.\u00a0 I took a little more mouthpiece in my mouth and loosened up my embouchure just a bit and the tone blossomed.<\/p>\n The Tribute has a great “straight ahead” type sound to it.\u00a0 For me it has a bit of a Coltrane\/Early Joshua Redman type sound to it. \u00a0 I don’t think I would venture to do a loud modern rock or pop gig with this mouthpiece but that might\u00a0 change as I spend more time with it.\u00a0 The great thing about link type mouthpieces is that the sky is the limit with where you can go with them.\u00a0 As you experiment with the elements I mentioned above and different reeds you will find that you can get brighter and louder just by finding a brand of reed that points you in that direction……….<\/p>\n (addition………..I published the review a few minutes ago and then went out my garage to really push the mouthpiece and see where it could go volume wise.\u00a0 I could get pretty darn loud with it but I was working really hard.\u00a0 It would take some more time and gigging with the piece to see how it performs in those loud dance band type settings…………)<\/p>\n Phil-Tone & Theo Wanne Tribute Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n The Phil-Tone Theo Wanne Tribute was a complete joy to play.\u00a0 If you like the sound of the clip below and the mouthpiece catches your interest then give it a try.\u00a0 You can contact Phil on his website at www.phil-tone.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Tell him Steve sent you………….Great work Phil and Theo!!<\/p>\n Let me know what you think in the comments below. Thanks, Steve<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n