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<\/a><\/p>\nRS Berkeley Legends Dexter Gordon Tenor Sax Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n The first thing that amazed me about that Dexter Gordon model tenor sax mouthpiece is that it has a .080 tip opening!\u00a0 This is quite small in relation to modern tenor saxophone tip sizes so I thought it was a mistake.\u00a0\u00a0 I emailed Les at RS Berkeley\u00a0 to make sure this was correct and he said that the mouthpiece Dexter was playing that they copied was indeed a .080 tip opening.\u00a0\u00a0 WHAT!!!\u00a0\u00a0 Dexter with the hugest sound on the face of this earth was playing on a 5 tenor mouthpiece!!……….Impossible! (OK, maybe Dexter was just awesome!!!!)<\/p>\n Here is a snippet from the RS Berkeley website on the Legends mouthpieces:<\/p>\n “Legends Series mouthpieces are officially licensed reproductions modeled after the originals used by the world’s most iconic musicians. Production of the Legends Series line begins with and features 3D scanning and post processing services by Konica Minolta’s 3D Scanning Labs, state of the art laboratory.\u00a0 Konica Minolta technicians take highly precise scan data, which captures the unique characteristics of each original mouthpiece, enabling them to match the exact geometry of the original. Once the scan is completed, the data is paired with specialized software to clean, align and create high quality CAD models. From an archival standpoint, Konica Minolta’s 3D scan models of the mouthpieces are exact representations of the original. The entire process is overseen by RS Berkeley’s master mouthpiece maker and designer, Jack Onque, who oversees every element of production from design to finishing, ensuring the highest quality and accuracy of each reproduction.”<\/em><\/p>\n RS Berkeley Legends Dexter Gordon Tenor Sax Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n I took the Dexter Gordon model out of the shipping container and saw that it had signs of wear and tear.\u00a0 I believe this was a prototype that they ship around to players so they can try it out.\u00a0\u00a0 It had a multitude of scratches and scuff marks on it as you can see from the pictures.<\/p>\n It has nice even side rails and a thin tip rail.\u00a0\u00a0 The Dexter Gordon model has a rollover baffle that slides down into what I would consider a large chamber.\u00a0 The side rails are scooped out and the chamber is smooth with no imperfections.\u00a0 The side of the mouthpiece is engraved with “DEXTER” in cursive engraving.<\/p>\n RS Berkeley Legends Dexter Gordon Tenor Sax Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n How does the Dexter model play?\u00a0 Well, I have to admit that my preconceived idea of it was that it just wouldn’t work for me.\u00a0 I don’t think I have ever played an .080 tip on the tenor saxophone except when I reviewed the RS Berkeley Drake Stan Getz model\u00a0 (which also was a pleasant surprise……).\u00a0\u00a0 You always hear stories of your heroes playing small tip size mouthpieces and think……..that’s impossible!\u00a0 How did they get that huge sound on a\u00a0 .080 tip? (admit it you have thought this…….)<\/p>\n The review of this mouthpiece wasn’t easy for me.\u00a0 All of my reads are 2 1\/2 and 3’s for the most part.\u00a0 I tried a few of those and they played like a wet paper towel would. The 3 1\/2’s\u00a0 weren’t much better.\u00a0 I had to dig down into the dark recesses of my reed reserves………….\u00a0 I found a number of old Vandoren ZZ 4’s that I had from around 12 years ago.\u00a0 I had to dig them out of my reed vault and clean the cobwebs off them.\u00a0\u00a0 I tried a couple and the third one was the charm.\u00a0\u00a0 This is the one I used on the recording and I felt it worked well with this mouthpiece.<\/p>\n RS Berkeley Legends Dexter Gordon Tenor Sax Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n The first thing I was surprised by was the volume I could get out of this mouthpiece.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This was no pea shooter sounding mouthpiece.\u00a0 I could get respectful volume out of it.\u00a0\u00a0 Even to the point of I dare say a “wailing” volume.\u00a0 The highs had a nice brightness to them that rang out and the lows were fat and full.\u00a0 I do think this recording is a great example of the focus and core a smaller tip opening can give to a sound.\u00a0 To me, it has a nice\u00a0 round core of compressed sound that is rich and powerful.\u00a0 If you listen to my clips of more open mouthpiece I think you can hear that the tone is a little more spread and diffuse in comparison to this sound clip perhaps.\u00a0 That’s my impression anyways.\u00a0 Also, the altissimo notes were beautiful, sweet and round sounding which they usually aren’t on wider tip openings…..<\/p>\n The RS Berkeley Dexter Gordon Legends series tenor saxophone mouthpiece was great to play. If you like the sound of the clip below and the mouthpiece catches your interest then give it a try. You can contact Les Silver at his website at\u00a0http:\/\/www.rsberkeley.com\/<\/a>\u00a0 Tell him Steve sent you………….Great work Les and everyone at RS Berkeley!!<\/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