{"id":111397,"date":"2023-01-24T11:35:02","date_gmt":"2023-01-24T16:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/?p=111397"},"modified":"2023-01-24T11:36:05","modified_gmt":"2023-01-24T16:36:05","slug":"phil-tone-rift-tenor-saxophone-mouthpiece-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/2023\/01\/phil-tone-rift-tenor-saxophone-mouthpiece-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Phil-Tone Rift Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today I am reviewing another great tenor saxophone mouthpiece made by Phil Engleman at\u00a0Phil-Tone mouthpieces.<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0I have reviewed quite a few\u00a0Phil-Tone sax mouthpieces on the site<\/a>\u00a0already and am always interested when Phil announces a new Phil-Tone saxophone mouthpiece model.<\/p>\n

A couple of months ago he announced that he had a new Phil-Tone tenor sax mouthpiece model called the Rift model.\u00a0 I reviewed the Rift alto saxophone mouthpiece<\/a> about 8 1\/2 years ago and absolutely loved that mouthpiece so was excited to hear the news about the Rift tenor saxophone mouthpiece coming out.<\/p>\n

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Phil-Tone Rift Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a quote from Phil about the new Phil-Tone Rift tenor saxophone mouthpiece from his website<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The Phil-Tone Rift tenor saxophone mouthpiece takes after its alto counterpart. The Rift is a full bodied tenor sax mouthpiece with the power of a high baffled mouthpiece. Unlike high baffle tenor sax mouthpieces, the Rift mouthpiece is easy to control and it does not peel paint. It was designed to meet the demands of performing sax players who need a versatile mouthpiece that will blast through the mix when needed.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Rift tenor saxophone mouthpiece is only sold directly through Phil-Tone. Each chamber is tweaked individually to get the best tone and power you will find in a hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpiece. Each Rift tenor mouthpiece is also adjusted to make altissimo a breeze. Don’t let appearances fool you, while it has a bullet baffle it DOES NOT sound like a Berg Larsen tenor saxophone mouthpiece.<\/em><\/p>\n

In terms of tip size, I generally suggest players go up a half size from the tip opening they would play on an Otto Link style tenor sax mouthpiece.<\/em>-Phil Engleman\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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Phil-Tone Rift Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Phil-Tone Rift tenor saxophone mouthpiece I received to review is made of hard rubber.\u00a0 The exterior of the Rift tenor sax mouthpiece is pretty plain looking. \u00a0The only engraving on it is \u201cPhil-Tone\u201d hand engraved in gold on the top of the body of the mouthpiece and the name “Rift” engraved by hand into the body of the mouthpiece next to the table.\u00a0 \u00a0The tip opening of 8 (.110) is engraved by hand on the side of the shank of the mouthpiece.\u00a0 It\u2019s body diameter is similar in size to a modern hard rubber Otto Link tenor sax mouthpiece diameter and I used a Vandoren Optimum ligature on it.<\/p>\n

At the end of Phil’s description of the Rift tenor sax mouthpiece above, he writes: “In terms of tip size, I generally suggest players go up a half size from the tip opening they would play on an Otto Link style tenor saxophone mouthpiece.”\u00a0 <\/em>I usually play a 7* tip opening on Otto Link tenor sax mouthpieces and the 8 tip opening he sent feels perfect for me so his advice on tip opening sizes is perfect in my opinion.<\/p>\n

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Phil-Tone Rift Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Phil-Tone Rift mouthpiece tip rail is very close in shape to all of my tenor sax reeds.\u00a0 The outside edges of the tip rail do extend a little bit farther out than the reed tip width but the mouthpiece and reed performed well when applying the suction test to the mouthpiece.<\/p>\n

The table looks flat and the rails look even and thin. The side rails flare out a little bit as they travel towards the tip of the mouthpiece.<\/p>\n

I would definitely describe the mouthpiece baffle as a high baffle.\u00a0 The baffle travels at a pretty high height before it reaches a “bullet” chamber.\u00a0 A “bullet” chamber is commonly found in Berg Larsen mouthpieces and describes a chamber that has a bullet shape taken out of the center of the rear of the baffle.\u00a0 \u00a0The sidewalls are slightly scooped out and look to angle inward slightly as they approach the chamber area.<\/p>\n

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Phil-Tone Rift Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Phil-Tone Rift tenor saxophone mouthpiece has what I would consider a medium chamber.\u00a0 The chamber looks smaller than a typical hard rubber Otto Link chamber size and the floor of the chamber is raised where the baffle terminates.\u00a0 The chamber floor then angles down smoothly until it is even with the bore of the mouthpiece.<\/p>\n

The baffle edge, bullet chamber and chamber floor transition to the bore of the mouthpiece are all really smooth to the touch.\u00a0 Maybe it’s all in my head, but I have always found that mouthpieces with smooth edges to the baffle shape always seem to play less edgy and fatter sounding than similar mouthpieces with sharper edges to the baffle.\u00a0 I’m a big fan of smooth edges………<\/p>\n

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Phil-Tone Rift Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Phil-Tone Rift tenor saxophone mouthpiece played great with the first reed I put on it which was a SYOS Arcane #3 tenor saxophone reed.\u00a0 It played so well that after about 15-20 minutes of warming up, I decided to record the sound clips below.<\/p>\n

I asked Phil about this beak height and he said it was the same beak height as a hard rubber Otto Link mouthpiece.\u00a0 I compared it visually to a couple hard rubber Otto Link mouthpieces I have and it does look very close to a typical hard rubber Otto Link beak to my eyes.<\/p>\n

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Phil-Tone Rift Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I first saw the high baffle on the Phil-Tone Rift tenor sax mouthpiece, I was worried that the 8 tip opening would not be open enough for me with a baffle that high, but the .110 tip opening of the Rift mouthpiece felt very comfortable to me.<\/p>\n

The Rift tenor sax mouthpiece had a tone that I would describe as meaty, husky and thick.\u00a0 I heard the sound as having a mid-range boost that made the tone tough and weighty sounding.<\/p>\n

At softer volumes, the Rift had a thick and focused tone that was a lot warmer than I was expecting and when I pushed more air through the mouthpiece the tone seemed to become much more focused and brighter.\u00a0 Although, the tone does become brighter when pushed it still retains that thick, fat and beefy tone.<\/p>\n

The altissimo register of the saxophone was incredibly easy to play.\u00a0 Although I can play the altissimo range of the saxophone on every tenor mouthpiece I review,\u00a0 there are tenor mouthpieces that make the altissimo range feel so much easier.\u00a0 This is definitely one of those mouthpieces.\u00a0 I felt like I could play a lot of ideas and lines up there much easier than on other mouthpieces and the “less stable” altissimo notes felt much more stable and solid\u00a0 to me.<\/p>\n

The low notes are big and full sounding and sub-toned beautifully.\u00a0 At first, the higher baffle seemed to make these notes a bit more challenging to jump to, but once I figured out the best “voicing” of these low notes in combination with the high baffle they really popped out nicely.<\/p>\n

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Phil-Tone Rift Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Phil-Tone Rift tenor saxophone mouthpiece had a nice smoothness and evenness throughout the range of the horn.\u00a0 I believe the intonation was very good although I didn’t check a tuner after I tuned up initially.\u00a0 \u00a0I didn’t notice any notes that stuck out as out of tune or much sharper than usual for me.\u00a0 Intonation would be a concern when playing on a mouthpiece with as high a baffle as this one but I didn’t notice anything strange with intonation while playing.\u00a0 * On listening back to the sound clips I did notice a few times where my high G and high A were sharper than usual.\u00a0 This kind of sharpness is easily remedied by becoming aware of it and adjusting my voicing for those notes.\u00a0 Keep in mind that I only played this mouthpiece for about 20 minutes before recording.\u00a0 That sharpness at times is common with my Selmer SBA tenor saxophone and high baffled tenor sax mouthpieces.<\/em><\/p>\n

Since the Phil-Tone Rift mouthpiece has so much potential for volume and power, I decided to record it at different playing levels to highlight how it can sound while playing at different volumes.\u00a0 I recorded separate clips at soft, medium soft, medium and loud volumes.\u00a0 I have also included photos of the waveform of each sound clip via the program Amadeus Pro so you can visually see the volume difference of each clip.<\/p>\n

I think these separate sound clips at different playing volumes are important because some listeners might make the mistake of writing the Rift tenor mouthpiece off as a high baffled “paint peeler” of a mouthpiece when it is much more versatile than that.<\/p>\n

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Phil-Tone Rift Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Phil-Tone Rift tenor saxophone mouthpiece is a great mouthpiece for those of you who value power without sacrificing thickness and depth of tone.\u00a0 Many tenor sax mouthpieces that are built for power lose some richness of tone, thickness and a fat full sound especially in the upper register and altissimo range of the saxophone.\u00a0 The husky and thick sound of the Rift tenor mouthpiece would make it a great choice for Rock n’ Roll, funk, pop and I think even jazz music once you learn to control the unbridled power of the Rift.\u00a0 Listen to the clips below and decided for yourself if it might be a good mouthpiece choice for yourself.<\/p>\n

If you like the clips below and the Phil-Tone Rift tenor saxophone mouthpiece interests you, contact Phil Engleman via his website at Phil-tone.com<\/a>. \u00a0 Phil is very knowledgeable about sax mouthpieces and will answer any questions you might have about the Rift or any of his other mouthpiece models. \u00a0Thanks for letting me try the Rift tenor saxophone mouthpiece Phil!<\/p>\n

If you have played or end up playing a Phil-Tone Rift tenor saxophone mouthpiece or have any other thoughts or comments about this review, I would love to hear what you think in the comments below.\u00a0 Thanks,\u00a0 \u00a0Steve<\/p>\n

1.) Phil-Tone Rift Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-SYOS Arcane #3 Reed-Soft Volume<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\nhttps:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2023\/RiftTenorSoft.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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This is the softest clip. I blew less air and rolled out more of my bottom lip to get more of a sub-tone effect on this clip.\u00a0 I also played quite a few jazz lines and melodies.\u00a0 At the very end of the clip, I play a C Major scale into the altissimo range and it sounds pretty locked in to me.\u00a0 You can hear some of the untapped brightness underneath the surface of the tone but I tried to keep the tone warmer throughout the clip.<\/p>\n

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2.) Phil-Tone Rift Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-SYOS Arcane #3 Reed-Soft Medium Volume<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\nhttps:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2023\/RiftTenorMediumSoft.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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The second clip is with a little bit more air and I would describe it as medium soft.\u00a0 The increased air starts to transform the foo foo sub-tone sound of the first clip into a more solid focused mass of tone.<\/p>\n

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3.) Phil-Tone Rift Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-SYOS Arcane #3 Reed-Medium Volume<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\nhttps:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2023\/RiftTenorMedium.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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The third clip is at a medium volume with less roll-out of the bottom lip. You can hear the increased brightness, focus and edge to the tone.<\/p>\n

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4.) Phil-Tone Rift Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-SYOS Arcane #3 Reed-Loud Volume<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\nhttps:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2023\/RiftTenorLoud2.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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The fourth clip is what I call 80% air.\u00a0 I am playing at 80%.\u00a0 This is the volume I would normally play on a loud gig if I had to wail on a solo.\u00a0 \u00a0I like being comfortable at that 80% so when needed, I can have 20% more to add for emergency situations.<\/p>\n

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5.) Phil-Tone Rift Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece-SYOS Arcane #3 Reed-Loud Volume-Reverb Added<\/span><\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\nhttps:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2023\/RiftTenorLoudReverb2.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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The last clip is the same as the fourth clip but I added some reverb to the clip so you can hear what the Phil-Tone Rift tenor sax mouthpiece might sound like with reverb added.<\/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 another great tenor saxophone mouthpiece made by Phil Engleman at\u00a0Phil-Tone mouthpieces.\u00a0\u00a0I have reviewed quite a few\u00a0Phil-Tone sax mouthpieces on the site\u00a0already and am always interested when Phil announces a new Phil-Tone saxophone mouthpiece model. A couple of months ago he announced that he had a new Phil-Tone tenor sax mouthpiece model […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":112346,"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":[487,1119,45],"tags":[716,361,197,165,658,1195,265],"class_list":{"0":"post-111397","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mouthpiece-reviews","8":"category-tenor-high-baffle-reviews","9":"category-tenor-mouthpieces","10":"tag-jazz-sax","11":"tag-mouthpiece","12":"tag-phil-engleman","13":"tag-phil-tone","14":"tag-review","15":"tag-rift","16":"tag-tenor-saxophone","17":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111397","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=111397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}