![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2020\/SakshamaBranfordTop.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSakshama Branford Marsalis Delrin Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n I found this quote describing the original Guardala Branford Marsalis mouthpiece on the Dave Guardala handout flyer from 1990<\/a>:<\/p>\n Guardala Branford Marsalis Model:<\/em><\/p>\n This is an exact replica of the mouthpiece played by Branford Marsalis. \u00a0It has a large bore and chamber and a moderate baffle. It is perfect for playing mainstream jazz with the \u201charder\u201d sound Branford is known for.<\/em><\/p>\n The Sakshama Branford Marsalis model tenor saxophone mouthpiece is made of Delrin which is a polyoxymethylene thermoplastic.\u00a0 From what I can gather from google, Delrin is a plastic that has been cleared as food safe by the FDA.\u00a0 I have also read that it is a very tough and stable material.<\/p>\n The Sakshama Branford Marsalis tenor saxophone mouthpiece is a .110 tip opening which is an 8 tip opening.\u00a0 It has a slim profile tenor sax mouthpiece diameter and shape to it similar to a metal Guardala tenor saxophone mouthpiece although I think the Sakshama might be slightly thinner.<\/p>\n The beak of the mouthpiece is\u00a0 thin and has a duckbill feel and shape to it.\u00a0 I personally do not like the thin duckbill type beak profile on the sax mouthpieces I have tried.\u00a0 This mouthpiece beak feels thinner than a typical Guardala saxophone mouthpiece thickness to me (although it has been years since I played a Guardala mouthpiece).\u00a0 I found that adding a thicker bite patch to the mouthpiece made it feel more comfortable for my tastes.<\/p>\n Sakshama Branford Marsalis Delrin Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n As soon as I received the Sakshama Branford Marsalis mouthpiece I sent Sakshama a few emails to ask questions about it.\u00a0 My first thought and question when looking at the mouthpiece was “Is this an exact copy of a Branford Marsalis Guardala mouthpiece?”\u00a0 Here are some quotes I received back from Sakshama in a few emails:<\/p>\n To sum up Sakshama’s thoughts in my own words, the Sakshama Branford Marsalis model is inspired by the original but when creating different tip openings like this .110 tip opening, certain adjustments were made to get the best tone and response from the mouthpiece according to Sakshama’s tastes.<\/p>\n Sakshama Branford Marsalis Delrin Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n The tip, rails and table of the Sakshama Branford mouthpiece look relatively even and well crafted.\u00a0 The shape of the mouthpiece tip rail is an exact match to the shape of the BSS (Boston Saxophone Shop) saxophone reeds I used on it.\u00a0 The side rails and tip rail are Guardalaesque in their precise thinness.<\/p>\n I have to say, that the height of the baffle of the Sakshama Branford Marsalis model tenor sax mouthpiece was a surprise to me.\u00a0 It has a flat high baffle that is about a half an inch long that then rolls over smoothly and slants down to\u00a0 the entrance of the chamber.\u00a0 The bottom of the downward slope is scooped out to make the chamber area slightly bigger.\u00a0 The baffle does look similar to the original Guardala Branford Marsalis mouthpiece photos I have posted below in height and length to my eye except the Sakshama seems to have a bit of a smoother roundness to the edge of the baffle where it changes direction after half an inch from what I can see.<\/p>\n I compared the baffle height and shape to some other higher baffled mouthpieces I have like the Liu Shizhao Pilgrimage<\/a> (copy of a Guardala that Michael Brecker reportedly had) and this Branford Marsalis mouthpiece has a higher baffle than the Pilgrimage for that first half inch of baffle.<\/p>\n Although the original Guardala Branford Marsalis description I posted above describes the mouthpiece as having a large chamber and bore, the opening to the chamber on the Sakshama looks to be a medium size chamber to me.\u00a0 The raised baffle floor at the entrance to the chamber and the straight sidewalls make it seem a bit smaller than a typical metal Otto Link chamber entrance.<\/p>\n The sidewalls are straight until they get to the chamber where they are carved out slightly to round out the chamber a bit.\u00a0 The roof of the chamber is close to the table of the mouthpiece and is nice and thin also.<\/p>\n Sakshama Branford Marsalis Delrin Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n Original Guardala Branford Marsalis Mouthpiece Photo Found Online<\/strong><\/p>\n Another Original Guardala Branford Marsalis Mouthpiece Baffle Photo found Online<\/strong><\/p>\n The Delrin material of the Branford Marsalis saxophone\u00a0 mouthpiece has a smooth feel to the touch and the mouthpiece is very light in weight.\u00a0 I didn’t want to take the chance that my teeth might mark up the beak so I put a Forestone black mouthpiece patch on the\u00a0 mouthpiece but the Forestone patch fell off pretty quickly.\u00a0 I think the fact that the Delrin has an oily feel to it coupled with the curve of the beak made it harder for the Forestone patch to cling to.\u00a0 This leads me to my next huge revelation……..<\/p>\n I have been reviewing saxophone mouthpieces for about 15 years now and I discovered something new on this review!\u00a0 When I received the Sakshama Branford Marsalis mouthpiece, I put a black Forestone mouthpiece patch on it (mouthpiece patches are a cushioned patch that go on the mouthpiece beak and protect the mouthpiece from your teeth while also making playing more comfortable) and took my saxophone out to a barn near my house to test it out.\u00a0 The first clip below is from that excursion.<\/p>\n I was awestruck by how well the Sakshama Branford Marsalis mouthpiece played.\u00a0 It had loads of power and was just smoking from top to bottom in my opinion.\u00a0 Near the end of my session, the mouthpiece patch fell off and so I wrapped up my playing in the barn and came back to my house excited about this new tenor sax mouthpiece.<\/p>\n The next day, I put a thinner clear 3M patch on the Sakshama Branford Marsalis mouthpiece (because the Forestone patch would not stay on) and tried playing in my house.\u00a0 I absolutely hated it!\u00a0 It was horrible!\u00a0 Way too loud and edgy.\u00a0 The tone was thin, piercing and honestly was painful to my brain.\u00a0 I was dumbfounded!\u00a0 I tried reed after reed but had no luck at all.\u00a0 At the end of that session, I just assumed that I had found the perfect reed in the barn and that this mouthpiece wasn’t that great after all.<\/p>\n Months later, I decided to give the Sakshama Branford Marsalis tenor mouthpiece one more shot. On a whim, I decided to try another Forestone black patch on it over the 3M clear patch that was already on it just because the thinner beak of the mouthpiece didn’t feel comfortable to me and the black patch would make it a little thicker.<\/p>\n The mouthpiece played great again!\u00a0 Thick and full sound that was focused and powerful but not overly bright and annoyingly edgy.\u00a0 I had found a great reed again, I thought.\u00a0 Yeah!!<\/p>\n I recorded the second sound clip below with that reed and the mouthpiece played incredibly well.\u00a0 But here is where I had the “aha” moment!\u00a0 Towards the end of my second clip, the Forestone mouthpiece patch fell off again! I threw it on my desk and attempted to keep playing. Now, however, I couldn’t stand the way the mouthpiece played again!\u00a0 It was too loud, edgy and thin sounding.\u00a0 It was the same reed and nothing had changed except that the thicker patch had fallen off.<\/p>\n That is when I realized that what I was hearing and so disgusted with, was not the sound of the mouthpiece coming out of my sax but the sound of the mouthpiece coming “through” my head.\u00a0 The vibrations and sound were coming through the Delrin, through the thin clear patch, through my teeth and right into my ears or brain or whatever.\u00a0 I was amazed!\u00a0 Could a mouthpiece patch make such a difference in sound to me?<\/p>\n I have known that a mouthpiece patch can make a difference with how a mouthpiece sounds to the player but I have never experienced such a drastic change of perception.<\/p>\n As a test, I continued to play on the mouthpiece without the thicker black mouthpiece patch for a few minutes as painful as it was for me.\u00a0 I then put a fresh Forestone patch on and played again for a few minutes and was again happy with the sound and tone.<\/p>\n Afterwards, I listened back to the sound clip and guess what?\u00a0 I could hear no difference whatsoever in the recording.\u00a0 I knew exactly where the patch fell off, and where I put one back on, and I could not hear any difference whatsoever!\u00a0 This blew my mind!\u00a0 I’m still amazed by this as I type this out! Wow!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n Sakshama Branford Marsalis Delrin Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n The Sakshama Branford Marsalis model tenor mouthpiece played great with BSS (Boston Sax Shop) size 2 1\/2 reeds.\u00a0 It played so well, that I didn’t even try other reeds on it.\u00a0 Both clips below were made with two different BSS 2 1\/2 reeds.\u00a0 \u00a0The two clips were recorded months apart as I recorded the first barn recording 2-3 months ago when I first got the mouthpiece in the mail.<\/p>\n The Sakshama Branford\u00a0 Marsalis model tenor mouthpiece has a focused tenor sax tone that definitely leans to the bright side of the tenor saxophone tone spectrum to me.\u00a0 The more you push the mouthpiece, the brighter it would get for me.<\/p>\n Even though it was brighter, I still found the tone thick enough to pull off some jazz lines and play some jazz standards. It was not as bright as a Guardala Studio model I used to have that is for sure.\u00a0 When pushed the Sakshama Branford Marsalis model could go into pure “Brecker” mode in my opinion.\u00a0 Maybe not early Brecker Brothers brightness but I could get pretty close.<\/p>\n Sakshama Branford Marsalis Delrin Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n This is also, without a doubt, one of the loudest tenor sax mouthpieces I have played.\u00a0 It could take all the air I could give it and go to like a 13 on the volume scale.\u00a0 I have probably said that about every Guardala mouthpiece I have played, so this Sakshama Branford Marsalis mouthpiece is similar in that regard. (I think the Guardala Super King I tried out years ago has the volume record for me……)<\/p>\n The intonation was very good!\u00a0 My Selmer SBA tenor saxophone (from the 50’s) can tend to be a bit sharp on certain notes with high baffled mouthpieces but the Sakshama Branford Marsalis model tenor mouthpiece was very easy to play in tune throughout the range of the horn.<\/p>\n The evenness of notes throughout the range of the saxophone was nice and smooth when playing fast lines also.\u00a0 The character and thickness of tone seemed to blend well as I played faster lines throughout the range of the saxophone.<\/p>\n The altissimo register was also easy to produce on the Sakshama Branford Marsalis mouthpiece and the notes were easy to control and manipulate.\u00a0 This mouthpiece can really go all out in the upper register and get a pretty gritty raw sound if you choose to go in that direction.<\/p>\n Sakshama Branford Marsalis Delrin Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n On the two sound clips below, I try to give a good range and variety of sounds and textures so that you can hear the Sakshama Branford Marsalis tenor saxophone mouthpiece perform in different styles.<\/p>\n The first clip in the barn was as much a test of the recording environment as anything else. I knew it would have an incredible echo and reverb as I was playing in the basement of the barn and the walls were all concrete with about 10 open concrete rooms that were mostly empty.\u00a0 You can hear the natural reverb in the clip.<\/p>\n The second clip is in my office and in an acoustically dry environment with no reverb or effects whatsoever.\u00a0 I wanted to provide this clip, as well as the barn recording, to give you an idea of how this mouthpiece plays in both environments.\u00a0 When I hear guys on Youtube making mouthpiece clips in big rooms with lots of reverb, it can be really deceptive as the sound of almost any sax mouthpiece will sound pretty killer in those rooms with a natural reverb to them.<\/p>\n Sakshama Branford Marsalis Delrin Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n One thing I want to address before I wrap up this review is that I know that I sound nothing like Branford Marsalis on these sound clips.\u00a0 The fact is, that even though I have listened to many of his recordings, I have never immersed myself in them or tried to sound like him.\u00a0 His sound and phrasing is not in my brain or ear, so a mouthpiece by itself will not transport me magically to that sound and phrasing.<\/p>\n I believe that Branford’s embouchure approach is very different from mine also.\u00a0 I have heard that he uses a double lip embouchure and from photos I have seen I think this is probably true although I haven’t done research on this and don’t know for a fact.\u00a0 I certainly get a much brighter tone out of this mouthpiece than I hear from his early recording with his Guardala but I can imagine how a harder reed, more bottom lip on the reed and differences in our physiology could make a huge difference in tone between two people. Branford Marsalis Playing the Tenor Sax (Double Lip Embouchure?)<\/strong><\/p>\n In my opinion, the Sakshama Branford Marsalis tenor saxophone mouthpiece is a great mouthpiece for those of you looking for a tenor mouthpiece with a tone that is bright and powerful enough to do the “Brecker” concept and sound but isn’t as bright as a Guardala Studio or Super King would be.\u00a0 I have owned a few versions of both of those latter saxophone mouthpieces and\u00a0 always had a hard time playing jazz standards on gigs.\u00a0 They just didn’t give me the depth and warmth of tone I was looking for for jazz playing in my opinion.<\/p>\n The Sakshama Branford Marsalis mouthpiece keeps the Brecker brightness but leans a bit more towards the middle so you can produce a warmer sound for jazz.\u00a0 Don’t get me wrong, this is nothing like an Otto Link but it does head a little bit in that direction which is what a lot of tenor players are looking for.\u00a0 I think Sakshama Koloski at Sakshama mouthpieces<\/a> has done a great job with this Sakshama Branford Marsalis tenor saxophone mouthpiece.\u00a0 If you are interested in trying out this model or one of his other handmade mouthpieces you can contact him on his site<\/a>.\u00a0 He makes his own versions of the Guardala Crescent, Branford, Brecker 1 and 2, Studio and King as well as many other models of saxophone mouthpieces.<\/p>\n If you try a Sakshama Branford Marsalis model tenor sax mouthpiece or have any thoughts or comments on this review,\u00a0 I would love to hear what you think in the comments below. Thanks,\u00a0 \u00a0Steve<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nHuge Revelation<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/p>\n