{"id":105990,"date":"2022-06-14T13:15:46","date_gmt":"2022-06-14T17:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/?p=105990"},"modified":"2022-06-14T21:26:37","modified_gmt":"2022-06-15T01:26:37","slug":"avel-sound-concept-asc-foehn-tenor-saxophone-mouthpiece-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/2022\/06\/avel-sound-concept-asc-foehn-tenor-saxophone-mouthpiece-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Avel Sound Concept ASC Foehn Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, I am reviewing the Avel Sound Concept (ASC) Foehn model tenor saxophone mouthpiece made by Max at Avel Sound Concept Mouthpieces<\/a>.\u00a0 These are really reasonable priced, quality hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpieces that, as you will soon hear, play incredibly well…..\u00a0 The hard rubber ASC Foehn tenor sax mouthpiece I am reviewing today has a 7* tip opening.<\/p>\n

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Avel Sound Concept ASC Foehn Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here is how the Avel Sound Concept website<\/a> describes the new ASC Foehn hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpiece:<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Foehn<\/strong>\u00a0is a dry, warm, down-slope wind blowing in the Alps.<\/em><\/p>\n

This hard rubber piece has a medium-large round chamber and a customizable rollover baffle. It is a crossover between a Slant Sig and an EB. It has a medium sound with lush lows and powerful highs. This piece is fitted with a very responsive facing curve for projection and the right amount of resistance to push against for better control of the altissimo register. This piece is at ease in a variety of situations from big band to pop music.<\/em><\/p>\n

Yeah, if you are like me, you probably don’t know what to do with the “The\u00a0Foehn<\/strong> is a dry, warm, down-slope wind blowing in the Alps.”\u00a0 <\/em>Let’s just skip over that part of the description to the part sax players understand; hard rubber, medium-large round chamber, rollover baffle, lush lows and powerful highs, very responsive facing curve, etc……..<\/p>\n

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Avel Sound Concept ASC Foehn Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Avel Sound Concept Foehn tenor sax mouthpiece came well packaged and protected.\u00a0 The Foehn mouthpiece is made of high quality hard rubber that is really shiny.\u00a0 The shine of the mouthpiece was so brilliant that it made me question whether it was some sort of plastic or resin but Max assured me that it is indeed pure high quality hard rubber that he works hard to make shine.<\/p>\n

The ASC Foehn mouthpiece tip, rails, table and baffle all look great.\u00a0 The tip rail is thin and even and the tip matches up with my tenor saxophone reeds nicely.\u00a0 The side rails are thin and even as well.\u00a0 The sidewalls on either side of the baffle look to be straight for about an inch and then are scooped out as they near the chamber of the mouthpiece.<\/p>\n

The roof of the chamber is a medium thickness and the chamber is what I would describe as a medium to medium-large chamber when compared to a typical large sized hard rubber Otto Link tenor mouthpiece chamber (ASC describes the Foehn mouthpiece as a medium-large chamber).<\/p>\n

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Avel Sound Concept ASC Foehn Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

The baffle of the ASC Foehn tenor saxophone mouthpiece is a pretty substantial rollover baffle.\u00a0 The baffle travels at a medium high height for about an inch before it scoops down into the chamber.\u00a0 For comparison, the baffle of the Foehn mouthpiece is higher and longer than a couple of Otto Link Early Babbitt Connoisseur tenor mouthpieces I have sitting on my desk right now.\u00a0 The baffle is scooped from side to side as it travels down to the mouthpiece chamber.\u00a0 Just from inspecting the generous baffle, my guess is that the ASC Foehn tenor sax mouthpiece would play with a nice amount of brightness and power.<\/p>\n

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Avel Sound Concept ASC Foehn Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although the chamber in the ASC Foehn mouthpiece looks a little rough in the photos, it feels smooth to the touch.\u00a0 I think it just has that look from the work performed while making it and the interior of the mouthpiece was not shined up like the exterior of the mouthpiece was.<\/p>\n

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Avel Sound Concept ASC Foehn Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

The mouthpiece beak of the Avel Sound Concept Foehn tenor sax mouthpiece has a low profile to it that I really liked.\u00a0 It feels very comfortable for me when compared to how a hard rubber tenor sax mouthpiece with a high beak profile feels.\u00a0 \u00a0Something about a lower beak profile on a hard rubber mouthpiece always makes me feel like the tone is a bit brighter and more powerful.\u00a0 I believe this is because the vibrations more easily travel from the mouthpiece, through the narrow beak, and to my teeth and then ear.<\/p>\n

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Avel Sound Concept ASC Foehn Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Foehn tenor sax mouthpiece played great for me with a BSS (Boston Sax Shop) 2 1\/2 reed.\u00a0 \u00a0That BSS 2 1\/2 reed is usually too soft for me with 7* tip opening mouthpieces but the ASC Foehn tenor sax mouthpiece has a shorter facing curve of 47 which makes a softer reed feel a bit harder.\u00a0 I actually like shorter facing curves of 47 for certain tenor sax mouthpieces because of this reason.\u00a0 \u00a0I have a number of other tenor sax mouthpieces with this shorter facing curve of 47 and it allows me to use a softer reed while still getting enough resistance when blowing that the reed feels harder and the tone more substantial.\u00a0 My JVW (Jon Van Wie) Otto Link, Lamberson J7 and Retro Revival “Super D Double Ring Replica tenor sax mouthpieces all have shorter facing curves of 47 which I really love on those tenor mouthpieces.<\/p>\n

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Avel Sound Concept ASC Foehn Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Avel Sound Concept Foehn tenor saxophone mouthpiece played great for me. I found the ASC Foehn mouthpiece to have a beautiful brightness to the core sound that gave the high register a ringing and singing quality to the notes. I assume this brightness in the sound is the effect of the high rollover baffle and medium chamber.<\/p>\n

The ASC Foehn mouthpiece had plenty of power and brightness when pushed as you can hear in the louder parts of the sound clip where I play more aggressively.\u00a0 I believe some of the brightness and crispness is due to the ability to use a softer reed on the Foehn’s shorter facing curve.\u00a0 The softer reed sounds crisp and the shorter curve gives it enough resistance so it doesn’t sound like a wet noodle like on other tenor mouthpieces with a longer facing curve on them.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, like on my JVW Otto Link, the shorter facing curve can make the low register not as lush and thick sounding as it might with a longer facing curve but the ASC Foehn seems well balanced in that the low notes sound thick and full.\u00a0 You can hear how the Foehn sounds so good playing on a ballad or laid back jazz tune.\u00a0 The soft reed allows the low notes to have a lush and fat quality to them that makes them sound great to my ears.<\/p>\n

The intonation of the Foehn tenor mouthpiece was excellent and the scale and range of the saxophone sounded smooth and even to me as I played.\u00a0 \u00a0 The altissimo register was easy to play and I found the ASC Foehn mouthpiece to be expressive and easy to control.<\/p>\n

I have included a long sound clip below with no effects and another short clip with reverb added so you can hear how the ASC Foehn tenor sax mouthpiece might sound on a live gig in a big hall or with reverb added to it while recording.<\/p>\n

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Avel Sound Concept ASC Foehn Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you like the sound and look of the Avel Sound Concept Foehn tenor saxophone mouthpiece, you can find them on the Avel Sound Concept website<\/a>.\u00a0 Believe it or not, at the time of this review, these are only $185 on the ASC website.\u00a0 \u00a0I always receive emails asking me what is a great mouthpiece that is also affordable and the Avel Sound Concept Foehn tenor sax mouthpiece fits that description perfectly.\u00a0 \u00a0I would have no problem playing this mouthpiece on a loud gig, with a big band or even with a sax quartet.\u00a0 This is a great deal for a hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpiece that plays this well and sounds this beautiful in my opinion.<\/p>\n

If you are lucky enough to play a Avel Sound Concept Foehn tenor saxophone mouthpiece or have any other thoughts or comments, I would love to hear what you think in the comments below.\u00a0 Thanks,\u00a0 Steve<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2022\/ASCFoehn2.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Avel Sound Concept ASC Foehn Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-BSS (Boston Sax Shop) 2 1\/2 Reed<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2022\/ASCFoehn2-Reverb.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Avel Sound Concept ASC Foehn Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-BSS (Boston Sax Shop) 2 1\/2 Reed-Reverb Added<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Disclosure:\u00a0 I received the sample mouthpiece reviewed above for free in the hope that I would try it and perhaps review it on my blog. Regardless, I only review sax mouthpieces that I enjoy playing and believe will be good for other saxophone players to try also.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Steve<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, I am reviewing the Avel Sound Concept (ASC) Foehn model tenor saxophone mouthpiece made by Max at Avel Sound Concept Mouthpieces.\u00a0 These are really reasonable priced, quality hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpieces that, as you will soon hear, play incredibly well…..\u00a0 The hard rubber ASC Foehn tenor sax mouthpiece I am reviewing today has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":107570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[487,1120,45],"tags":[2116,2115,2117,658,117,265],"class_list":{"0":"post-105990","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mouthpiece-reviews","8":"category-tenor-medium-baffle-reviews","9":"category-tenor-mouthpieces","10":"tag-asc","11":"tag-avel-sound-concept","12":"tag-foehn","13":"tag-review","14":"tag-sax-mouthpiece","15":"tag-tenor-saxophone","16":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105990\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}