{"id":26085,"date":"2015-04-17T11:35:54","date_gmt":"2015-04-17T16:35:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/?p=26085"},"modified":"2015-04-20T11:07:27","modified_gmt":"2015-04-20T16:07:27","slug":"ken-okutsu-traditional-tenor-saxophone-mouthpiece-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/ken-okutsu-traditional-tenor-saxophone-mouthpiece-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Ken Okutsu Traditional Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Today, I am reviewing my third\u00a0hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpiece from Ken Okutsu in Japan. It is the Traditional model and has a\u00a07\u00a0tip opening which is .104. ( I call it a 7* tip in the recordings below because .104 is close to the traditional 7* size). \u00a0 I already reviewed my\u00a0first two Okutsu mouthpiece which were the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/ken-okutsu-high-baffle-tenor-mouthpiece-review\/\" target=\"_blank\">High Baffle Model<\/a>\u00a0and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/ken-okutsu-traditional-ii-tenor-saxophone-mouthpiece-review\/\" target=\"_blank\">Tradition II Model<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2015\/April\/KOTwo.jpg\" rel=\"shadowbox\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" style=\"border: 0px initial initial;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2015\/April\/KOTwo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"280\" border=\"0\" hspace=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Ken Okutsu Traditional Tenor Sax Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em style=\"line-height: 1.5;\">Here is the description and features from the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/okutsumouthpieces.com\/english\/\" target=\"_blank\">Okutsu\u00a0website<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n<h1><em>Features<\/em><\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Medium rollover baffle and large chamber<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>The beautiful vintage sound.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>All mouthpieces are crafted by CNC machinery for incredible accuracy and finished by hand carefully.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Concave Table. It makes the tone full and rich. The practical life span of reeds is lengthened.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Material is the highest quality(hard rubber).<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2015\/April\/KOTRad2Top.jpg\" rel=\"shadowbox\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" style=\"border: 0px initial initial;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2015\/April\/KOTRad2Top.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"280\" border=\"0\" hspace=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Ken Okutsu Traditional Tenor Sax Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Okutsu mouthpieces are hard rubber and come in a protective plastic case. \u00a0Within the case they are wrapped in a black velvet bag. \u00a0I received three\u00a0tenor mouthpieces and one alto mouthpiece from Mr. Okutsu. \u00a0The tenor mouthpieces are the Traditional model, the Traditional II model and the High Baffle model. \u00a0I kind of like how simplistic and straight forward the model names are. \u00a0 The Traditional model looks to the darkest, then the Traditional II looks to have a slightly higher rollover baffle. \u00a0Finally, the High Baffle model has the highest baffle as the name implies.<\/p>\n<p>The mouthpieces look good to my eye. \u00a0The hard rubber is shiny and without any imperfections. The gold engraving is neat and clean. \u00a0The rails, tip rail, table and baffle look very well crafted and even.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2015\/April\/KOTradTable.jpg\" rel=\"shadowbox\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" style=\"border: 0px initial initial;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2015\/April\/KOTradTable.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"280\" border=\"0\" hspace=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Ken Okutsu Traditional Tenor Sax Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The Traditional \u00a0model was very reed friendly to me. \u00a0I had no trouble trying different reeds on it and all the reeds passed the suction test when first put on and then later after playing awhile. \u00a0The Okutsu mouthpieces have a concave table which many player&#8217;s and mouthpiece manufactures have preferred over the years. \u00a0In recent years,\u00a0\u00a0it seems like I am getting a lot of mouthpiece with flat tables instead of concave. \u00a0Now that I&#8217;m writing this review, I am curious \u00a0as to what the differences are \u00a0between the two table in regard to playability, response and sound&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.In the Okutsu bullet points above, the Concave table is listed as making the tone full and rich and increasing the life of reeds&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.Interesting!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2015\/April\/KOTradBaffle.jpg\" rel=\"shadowbox\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" style=\"border: 0px initial initial;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2015\/April\/KOTradBaffle.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"280\" border=\"0\" hspace=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Ken Okutsu Traditional Tenor Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">I thought the Ken Okutsu Traditional tenor sax mouthpiece played great although after playing the Traditional II all day yesterday, the Traditional didn&#8217;t at first feel powerful to me. \u00a0That happens a lot to players that are used to a higher baffle mouthpiece, they try a lower baffled piece and it seems like it isn&#8217;t powerful or is dead. Many times\u00a0the issue is that the player is used to a weaker and smaller airstream. \u00a0They didn&#8217;t have to blow as hard and as much with the higher baffle and became used to that air stream. \u00a0The solution is to spend time on the new mouthpiece to readajust to the air requirements of the new mouthpiece. \u00a0The Traditional mouthpiece became very powerful and full sounding as I\u00a0played it for about half an hour. \u00a0(In fact, I just took a break from typing and played my tenor with the mouthpiece still on it and the sound is huge and powerful&#8230;&#8230;now I can&#8217;t believe my first impression was that it had no power!) \u00a0 I&#8217;m now used to the Traditional model and going back to the Traditional II or the High Baffle Model will be an adjustment for me probably.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Although this Tradition Model has a lower roll over baffle than the Traditional II I would still consider it a medium baffled mouthpiece. \u00a0You can see in the picture below how it still has a pretty substantial baffle to it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The Okutsu Traditional model had a nice\u00a0focused core to the sound like the Traditional II but it is slightly darker and more spread to my ears. \u00a0 The low notes are fatter I think and high notes have less of that brassy ring I noticed in the Traditional II and High Baffle models. \u00a0 I would say the tone was still in the middle of the dark to\u00a0bright spectrum like the Traditional II but this mouthpiece leaned a little further to the dark side. \u00a0That being said, if I\u00a0blew harder and made my bottom lip flatter and harder against the reed, \u00a0I could still get a nice bright edge from this mouthpiece when I wanted.\u00a0Lay back a tad and soften up the bottom lip and it has a great vintage hard rubber Otto Link vibe to it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">One aspect I loved about all three\u00a0Okutsu saxophone mouthpieces is their smooth buttery sound. Even though each mouthpiece could get brighter to varying degrees, I felt like the tone still had a soft edge to it that I really liked. \u00a0All three mouthpiece felt as smooth as &#8220;butter&#8221; when playing fast throughout the range of the horn.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2015\/April\/KOTradCham.jpg\" rel=\"shadowbox\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" style=\"border: 0px initial initial;\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2015\/April\/KOTradCham.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"280\" border=\"0\" hspace=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Ken Okutsu Traditional Tenor Sax Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The Ken Okutsu Traditional Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece was great\u00a0to play. \u00a0This is another\u00a0great\u00a0mouthpiece for players who want the best of both worlds. \u00a0It&#8217;s not as bright as the Okutsu High Baffle and Traditional II mouthpieces I reviewed earlier but it still has plenty of power when you blow hard. \u00a0\u00a0I would suggest this mouthpiece to guys who love hard rubber and love playing jazz but maybe have to delve into the more pop stuff once in awhile. \u00a0If you play and even balance of pop and jazz you could go with the Traditional II and if you play mostly pop with not much jazz maybe the High Baffle model. \u00a0That is just my opinion though, if you like a brighter kind of jazz sound like Brecker playing a standard then I think the High Baffle model could get you in that ballpark also&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Every time I review a bunch of mouthpiece from the same maker I always have some readers email me and ask &#8220;&#8230;..but which one is the best, or which is your favorite of the three?&#8221; \u00a0In this case I really can&#8217;t answer that question. \u00a0Seriously, when I first received\u00a0the mouthpieces I played all three and immediately loved the High Baffle model. \u00a0When I was reviewing it I thought, this is my favorite of the three. \u00a0Then when I was reviewing the Traditional II model I thought the same thing. \u00a0Now today I played the Traditional and thought the exact same thing. \u00a0I would hate to be in a store trying to decide which of these to buy!! \u00a0I&#8217;d be in there for hours!!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">If you like the sound of the clip below and the mouthpiece catches your interest then please contact Ken Okutsu\u00a0and give it a try. You can contact Mr. Okutsu\u00a0at his website at <a href=\"http:\/\/okutsumouthpieces.com\/english\/\" target=\"_blank\">Okutsumouthpieces.com<\/a>. Tell him Steve sent you&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.Great work Mr. Okutsu!!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Let me know what you think in the comments below. Thanks, Steve<\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-26085-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2015\/April\/KOTrad.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2015\/April\/KOTrad.mp3\">https:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2015\/April\/KOTrad.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Ken Okutsu Traditional Tenor Sax Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today, I am reviewing my third\u00a0hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpiece from Ken Okutsu in Japan. It is the Traditional model and has a\u00a07\u00a0tip opening which is .104. ( I call it a 7* tip in the recordings below because .104 is close to the traditional 7* size). \u00a0 I already reviewed my\u00a0first two Okutsu mouthpiece [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":26088,"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":[487,1120,45],"tags":[129,1233,658,7,12,68,1280],"class_list":{"0":"post-26085","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mouthpiece-reviews","8":"category-tenor-medium-baffle-reviews","9":"category-tenor-mouthpieces","10":"tag-hard-rubber","11":"tag-ken-okutsu","12":"tag-review","13":"tag-sax","14":"tag-saxophone","15":"tag-tenor-mouthpiece","16":"tag-traditional-model","17":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26085","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=26085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}