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<\/a><\/p>\nAM Mouthpieces “The Aras” Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n Here is the description of “The Aras”\u00a0from the\u00a0AM Mouthpieces Website<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n The Aras ( or eagle) is the result of many years of acoustic research and development. The Aras is a 100% handmade saxophone mouthpiece. \u00a0The Aras features a medium high baffle \u00a0with a slight rollover that leads into a medium large bullet chamber for a tone that\u00a0 produces what I\u2019ve classified as a \u201cWarm Crunch.\u201d The Aras has a semi-bright tone with great \u00a0control, amazing projection and an unrivaled balance of tonal color. Due to our Patent Pending utility The “Resonance Chamber,” The Aras provides Great lows, a thick mid range and altissimo that is extremely easy to produce while still maintaining a fat rich core. The “Resonance Chamber” Allows the reed to vibrate on a four rail system as opposed to your standard two that are found on all other mouthpieces. This greatly increases the harmonics and lower frequencies of the horn. \u00a0The Aras has a thicker, heavier body than standard metal mouthpieces. This improves projection, sustainability, and durability. The overall feel of the mouthpiece provides a more efficient bite similar to a hard rubber mouthpiece allowing \u00a0for better ergonomics and a more comfortable feel thereby greatly improving \u00a0ease of playability.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n AM Mouthpieces “The Aras” Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n You’ve already probably noticed what is unique about the Aras mouthpiece pictured above. \u00a0It has a big opening in the middle of the table! \u00a0Although I have seen and played mouthpieces with extended windows before, I have never seen one with this type of design\u00a0before.<\/p>\n When I\u00a0took the mouthpiece out of it’s packaging, the first thing I noticed was that the Aras had a hefty weight to it. It felt heavier and more substantial than many other metal mouthpieces I have reviewed through out the years. \u00a0As you look at the window of the table below you can see how thick the metal of the table is.<\/p>\n The Aras has \u00a0a pretty high scooped baffle in it that is \u00a0reminiscent of some Berg Larsen baffles I have seen. \u00a0The side rails look even but flare out a bit as they approach the tip rail. \u00a0When you put a reed on the Aras the side rails near the tip flare out past the sides of the reed. \u00a0This is fine though because the rails are wide enough that the reed still\u00a0lands on the side rails and tip when playing. The sidewalls are straight.<\/p>\n AM Mouthpieces “The Aras” Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n My first thought as I looked at the small opening to the chamber of the Aras was that this was going to be an incredibly bright sounding mouthpiece. \u00a0The chamber is usually the area of the mouthpiece right after the baffle and before the bore (which slides on the cork). What is deceptive about the Aras, is that although the opening to the chamber is much smaller than a typical Otto Link type chamber opening, the bore looks to be a similar size as an Otto Link. \u00a0Now if you take into account the square opening in the table that is further increasing the chambers size, you end up with an even bigger chamber. I’m actually very curious as to what the actual size of this chamber comes out to be if measured and compared to other mouthpieces??<\/p>\n AM Mouthpieces “The Aras” Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n I was worried at first that the Aras would have trouble sealing and getting suction with reeds because of the added window on the table. I did have some trouble with some old reeds I\u00a0tried to use at first but that is pretty common as those reeds already molded and warped to fit another mouthpiece table in the past. \u00a0I tried some new reeds on the Aras and they worked great\u00a0though. \u00a0They got a seal when applying the suction test and held a seal the whole time I was playing on that reed. That’s a good sign that Arnold Montgomery knows what he is doing………<\/p>\n In general, on this mouthpiece my Rigotti Gold 2 1\/2’s felt to soft and free blowing. \u00a0I\u00a0felt most comfortable with Rigotti Gold 3 Light, 3 Medium or with Rico Select Jazz 3 Soft Unfiled reeds.<\/p>\n One thing that I have to mention for the review is that the Aras was particularly difficult to match a ligature to. \u00a0I have a box with maybe 30-40 ligatures in it and found than the diameter of the Aras is big enough that Otto Link size ligatures will not fit on it but bigger ligatures for alto were too big for the Aras. I did find a few in my box that fit well though. This Rovner below fit well but I added a Vandoren pressure plate to it years ago when experimenting and it fit even better with the plate. \u00a0I also found that the Claude Lakey Compass ligature,a Rovner Eddie Daniels and a Saxxas Ligature for metal tenor mouthpieces fit the Aras well. The last 3 tended to move when adjusting the mouthpiece so I went with my homemade modified\u00a0Rovner.<\/p>\n AM Mouthpieces “The Aras” Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n The tone of the Aras was bright but very fat sounding to my ears. Not thin at all in my opinion. \u00a0From the first note of the clip the first word that comes to mind is “FAT”. \u00a0The tone was easy to bend and manipulate and I found the piece to be expressive. \u00a0I found that the mouthpiece\u00a0played more “sweetly” \u00a0with a fatter lower lip embouchure. \u00a0I think that fatter cushion on the reed makes the brightness less edgy. \u00a0If you want more edge you can just make your lower lip a bit flatter and you have more edge. At 1:10 in the recording I lessen my air and fatten my lip a tad and the tone mellows out nicely……..<\/p>\n The mouthpiece was indeed very freeblowing in my opinion. \u00a0I played it for about an hour before recording the sound clip. \u00a0 Although I felt pretty comfortable on the Aras, the resistance is very different than playing many of the Otto Links that I have been playing. \u00a0I found that I didn’t need to use as much air to push the piece into overdrive and I had to get use to the lesser resistance to shape the sound. \u00a0 I found that although I was blowing with say a 6 air stream, the sound was at 10 already. \u00a0If I pushed harder it would then go to 12…….. I will say that as I played it I did get used to this different resistance pretty quickly though. \u00a0(I wouldn’t suggest playing this mouthpiece against a wall without ear protection for too long though……….)<\/p>\n I\u00a0do think “the Aras” would be a great R&B and loud pop\u00a0band mouthpiece. \u00a0Although it leans heavily to the brighter side of life, the fattness of the tone balances out the brights nicely. \u00a0I do think you could get a nice Brecker like tone out of the Aras for those of you seeking a Brecker type sound. \u00a0This mouthpiece would cut through the mix of a live situation very well I think.<\/p>\n If you like the sound of the clip below and the mouthpiece catches your interest then please contact Arnold Montgomery\u00a0and give it a try. You can contact Mr. Montgomery\u00a0at his website at AMmouthpieces.com<\/a>. Tell him Steve sent you………….<\/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<\/a><\/p>\n