{"id":13753,"date":"2013-12-18T21:28:04","date_gmt":"2013-12-19T02:28:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/?p=13753"},"modified":"2013-12-20T12:27:43","modified_gmt":"2013-12-20T17:27:43","slug":"absolute-soprano-saxophone-mouthpiece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/absolute-soprano-saxophone-mouthpiece\/","title":{"rendered":"Absolute &#8220;Soprano +&#8221;  Saxophone Mouthpiece"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today, I am reviewing a mouthpiece made by the <a href=\"http:\/\/absolutesax.com\/store\/index.php?route=common\/home\" target=\"_blank\">Absolute company<\/a>.\u00a0 These are made in Italy and this model is called the &#8220;Soprano +&#8221;.\u00a0 (I call it a ST model in the recording but it is the + model)\u00a0\u00a0 There is also a Soprano AL, Soprano ST and a Soprano R model on their website. You can also find all these models for Baritone, Alto and Tenor saxophones as well.\u00a0 The + is made of stainless steel.\u00a0 <strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/public.neffmusic.com\/ABSLineup.jpg\" rel=\"shadowbox\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" style=\"border: 0px initial initial;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/public.neffmusic.com\/ABSLineup.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"280\" border=\"0\" hspace=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Absolute &#8220;Soprano +&#8221;\u00a0 Saxophone ST Line<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">All of these models are priced pretty reasonably. This model is about 268 US dollars. (the exchange rate is always changing so this price will fluctuate somewhat)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The mouthpiece looks great.\u00a0 The tip rails look are very even and it has a straight baffle that leads down into a medium chamber. \u00a0 The transition from the baffle into the chamber has a Berg Larsen type scoop to it. The sidewalls are straight and even until they meet the circular medium chamber.\u00a0 I am very interested in playing this mouthpiece because I have never played this type of soprano mouthpiece before.\u00a0 It actually looks similar to a Guardala type baffle design as it would be applied to a soprano mouthpiece.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/public.neffmusic.com\/ABSopTop.jpg\" rel=\"shadowbox\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" style=\"border: 0px initial initial;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/public.neffmusic.com\/ABSopTop.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"280\" border=\"0\" hspace=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Absolute &#8220;Soprano +&#8221;\u00a0 Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The tip opening on this mouthpiece is a 7 which seems to be very comfortable for me. A Vandoren Java 3\u00a0 reed played perfectly on it for me.\u00a0 the Absolute + soprano mouthpiece comes with it&#8217;s own custom built ligature which is really nice. If you look at the picture below you will see that the ligature has 8 sides to it.\u00a0 These 8 sides match up perfectly with the 8 sides the mouthpiece has.\u00a0 It is next to impossible to have trouble with this ligature.\u00a0 You just slide it on in the position that fits the mouthpiece and then tighten.\u00a0 As you tighten the crew, the plates descend down onto the reed and clamp it to the table.\u00a0 It&#8217;s a very inventive and unique design in my opinion&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/public.neffmusic.com\/ABLig.jpg\" rel=\"shadowbox\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" style=\"border: 0px initial initial;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/public.neffmusic.com\/ABLig.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"280\" border=\"0\" hspace=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Absolute &#8220;Soprano +&#8221; Saxophone Ligature<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The Absolute Soprano + has an almost duckbill type design to the beak although it is not as extreme as some duckbill beaked mouthpieces I have played.\u00a0 The soprano mouthpiece still feels very comfortable to me coming from a Theo Wanne Gaia mouthpiece.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/public.neffmusic.com\/ABSopTable.jpg\" rel=\"shadowbox\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" style=\"border: 0px initial initial;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/public.neffmusic.com\/ABSopTable.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"280\" border=\"0\" hspace=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Absolute &#8220;Soprano +&#8221;\u00a0 Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The tone of the Absolute &#8220;Soprano +&#8221; is focused and brighter to me.\u00a0 To tell you the truth, something about it&#8217;s sound and tone reminds me a lot of Bill Evan&#8217;s tone on soprano.\u00a0 It has a smooth sound that is very even throughout the range of the horn. \u00a0 I wouldn&#8217;t classify it as a warm tone but it is has more of a focused compact concentrated brighter tone.\u00a0 It has a hallow quality to the sound that is really cool and can be haunting if used right.\u00a0 That&#8217;s the way it sounds to me anyways. \u00a0 <em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">There was something about it&#8217;s tone and smoothness that made it very enjoyable to play.\u00a0 I played this mouthpiece for quite a long time after the recording had stopped&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/public.neffmusic.com\/ABSopBaffle.jpg\" rel=\"shadowbox\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/public.neffmusic.com\/ABSopBaffle.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"280\" border=\"0\" hspace=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Absolute &#8220;Soprano +&#8221;\u00a0 Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">If you are interested in the Absolute &#8220;Soprano +&#8221; soprano saxophone mouthpiece contact Marco at <a href=\"http:\/\/absolutesax.com\/store\/index.php?route=common\/home\" target=\"_blank\">Absolutesax.com<\/a>. At 268 this is a great price for a nice playing soprano mouthpiece.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Let me know what you think in the comments below&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.Thanks, Steve<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/public.neffmusic.com\/ABSopChamber.jpg\" rel=\"shadowbox\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/public.neffmusic.com\/ABSopChamber.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"280\" border=\"0\" hspace=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Absolute &#8220;Soprano +&#8221;\u00a0 Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-13753-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/public.neffmusic.com\/AbsoluteSTSoprano.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/public.neffmusic.com\/AbsoluteSTSoprano.mp3\">https:\/\/public.neffmusic.com\/AbsoluteSTSoprano.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Absolute &#8220;Soprano +&#8221;\u00a0 Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today, I am reviewing a mouthpiece made by the Absolute company.\u00a0 These are made in Italy and this model is called the &#8220;Soprano +&#8221;.\u00a0 (I call it a ST model in the recording but it is the + model)\u00a0\u00a0 There is also a Soprano AL, Soprano ST and a Soprano R model on their website. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":13756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","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":[235],"tags":[1092,1109,264,117,237],"class_list":{"0":"post-13753","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soprano-mouthpiece-reviews","8":"tag-absolute","9":"tag-bill-evans","10":"tag-mouthpiece-review","11":"tag-sax-mouthpiece","12":"tag-soprano-saxophone","13":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13753","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=13753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}