Benjamin Allen 10E Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n Here are some more bullet points from Ben’s website about the 10E model tenor saxophone mouthpiece he makes:<\/p>\n Ben actually sent me three\u00a010E mouthpieces to try and review. \u00a0One is the 10E model which I am reviewing today and one is a brighter version of that model that I will review after this. \u00a0The other 10E he sent was an absolute monster of a mouthpiece at a .135 tip opening. \u00a0 I hope to review that in a few days after I take an adrenaline shot straight to my heart to pump me up \u00a0and maybe some steroids for recording the audio clip! (Actually, it was much easier to play than I had imagined……more on that later…….)<\/p>\n Benjamin Allen 10E Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n When you open the package, there is nothing about this mouthpiece that says \u00a0” this is the greatest mouthpiece to ever exist and will change the future of saxophone sound forever”<\/em> \u00a0It isn’t shiny and doesn’t have\u00a0glitter or anything. \u00a0It’s pretty nondescript. \u00a0It\u00a0looks like\u00a0your average black hard rubber mouthpiece with the words “Benjamin Allen” and “New Orleans” engraved on the top. \u00a0When you turn the mouthpiece over and look at it in the light it looks perfect though. Not one ounce of asymmetry or imperfection. \u00a0The table, rails and tip rail look even and perfect. \u00a0The tip rail is thin and even\u00a0as are\u00a0the\u00a0the side rails and baffle.<\/p>\n The 10E tenor sax mouthpiece has an ever so slight rollover baffle that then angles down into the large chamber. \u00a0It almost seems like it goes straight to the back of the chamber but there is a slight scoop in the chamber at the bottom. \u00a0The side rails are scooped out smooth and evenly. \u00a0There is a slight protrusion around the back of the chamber where the chamber meets the bore as you look at the chamber from the tip.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Benjamin Allen 10E Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n OK, \u00a0on to reviewing the sound and playability of the 10E. \u00a0The 10E is one of those mouthpiece that can slip by you if you are not careful. \u00a0The first two times I played the 10E, were\u00a0after I had played the Benjamin Allen Dagradi model and the brighter Allen 10E I had received. \u00a0 Those mouthpieces have higher rollover baffles which speed up the air and get you a louder and brighter sound with not much effort at all. \u00a0 When I went from those to the standard 10E I initially felt like it was harder to play. \u00a0It sounded too dark and didn’t have much power compared to the Dagradi and brighter 10E I thought………….but, I decided to give it a fair shot so I slept on it and the next day I decided to dedicate the whole day to the 10E. \u00a0I started with reed selection and went through a bunch of Rigotti Gold and Rico Select reeds. \u00a0They all actually played really well on the 10E and I found it incredibly reed friendly but I was looking for that perfect strength for me. \u00a0I finally found a Rigotti Gold 3 Strong reed that was perfect (on the sample clip I say it is a medium strength but when I took it off the mouthpiece after recording the clip I saw that it was a strong)<\/p>\n I stayed on that reed and went up to an unfinished room above my garage. \u00a0This room has a nice reverb effect and I like to play in there now as the garage is too cold in the winter. As I warmed up, I \u00a0found that I really enjoyed the darker sound of the 10E and was quite inspired by it. \u00a0I do lots of recordings but I felt really inspired on this one as I felt like the mouthpiece turned me in a more creative direction.<\/p>\n The sound is warm and darker sounding, almost has a classical sound to it. \u00a0Even up high the sound never got too bright or edgy at all. \u00a0It was still warm, dark and round to my ears. \u00a0 It was smooth as butter with the runs and fast lines. \u00a0 The intonation was perfect and the tone seemed even and solid throughout the range of the saxophone. \u00a0The one thing I noticed and loved was the tone was very rich and thick sounding. \u00a0The altissimo was exceptionally easy for a lower baffle\u00a0mouthpiece.<\/p>\n The one element that I felt wasn’t optimal was the volume of the mouthpiece. \u00a0 When I went into that funk or extreme rock solo sax sound I felt like the 10E couldn’t be pushed to that extreme. \u00a0 Don’t get me wrong, it got plenty loud and filled the room but it is a darker and a warmer kind of loud. The tone is amazingly beautiful and I totally dug it but when you are in a loud club it’s in the spectrum of sound that get’s swallowed up in the mix in my opinion. \u00a0That being said, I don’t think this mouthpiece was made for that. \u00a0It’s made for those players who love to just play and indulge in their own sound and then go out and play jazz for people who love to indulge in that sound also. \u00a0I found myself really digging the sound up in my 2nd floor room and that is what inspired and excited me. \u00a0The clip is about 4 minutes long which is long for my clips but I actually recorded for about 10 minutes. \u00a0I had to cut 6 minutes out of it!………..That says a lot about a mouthpiece in my mind. (I ws having fun playing it!)<\/p>\n Benjamin Allen 10E Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n The Benjamin Allen 10E Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece\u00a0was great to play. If you like the sound of the clip below and the mouthpiece catches your interest then please contact Ben and give it a try. You can contact Benjamin Allen\u00a0at his website at\u00a0Allenmouthpieces.com<\/a>\u00a0 Tell him Steve sent you………….Great work\u00a0Ben!!<\/p>\n Let me know what you think in the comments below. Thanks, Steve<\/p>\n *Bonus question: Can anyone name the classical piece I quote somewhere in this clip? \u00a0I’m curious if anyone recognizes it. \u00a0I wasn’t planning on playing it but it just came out from my past I guess………….<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2014\/BA10ERegTop.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nBULLET POINTS ABOUT THE MODEL 10E:<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n
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