{"id":41420,"date":"2017-02-18T01:01:39","date_gmt":"2017-02-18T06:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/?p=41420"},"modified":"2025-03-08T12:59:28","modified_gmt":"2025-03-08T17:59:28","slug":"theo-wanne-gaia-2-soprano-saxophone-mouthpiece-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/theo-wanne-gaia-2-soprano-saxophone-mouthpiece-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Theo Wanne Gaia 2 Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, I am reviewing another great mouthpiece made by Theo Wanne\u00a0at TheoWanne.com (save 15% by using this link)<\/a>. \u00a0\u00a0 Theo Wanne was one of the first mouthpiece makers to reach out to me and ask if I would be willing to do some reviews of his mouthpieces years ago. \u00a0I had heard his name for years as the guy to go to for mouthpiece work and when he started his own line of mouthpieces I\u00a0had to try them out! \u00a0 I have reviewed many of his mouthpiece on the site and if you do a search for “Theo Wanne” \u00a0you will find them. \u00a0Theo Wanne’s mouthpieces are innovative and some of the best playing mouthpieces on the market today.<\/p>\n

This review is on the Gaia 2 soprano mouthpiece. \u00a0The first run Gaia has been my main soprano mouthpiece for the last 7 years (along with the Gerber LC which I also play quite a lot…….they both have different qualities I love……..please don’t ask me to choose as I can’t………)<\/p>\n

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Theo Wanne Gaia 2 Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Gaia 2\u00a0looks similar to my first run Gaia but the body looks a bit fatter to my eye. \u00a0Looking at the baffle profile from the side the Gaia 2 looks to have a lower rollover baffle than the original Gaia. The chamber looks a little larger but I am not 100% sure about that. It does look that way to my eye though. \u00a0I would say it has a medium rollover baffle and a large chamber. In fact, \u00a0the Gaia is one of the few soprano mouthpieces out there with a true large chamber.<\/p>\n

The workmanship is everything you would expect from a Theo Wanne mouthpiece. Tip, rails, table, baffle and chamber all look great! \u00a0It has a built in bite pad on it. \u00a0I think this is a good feature, although, \u00a0I always use a bite pad over the bite plate anyways as I don’t want to have to replace it later. The window on the Gaia 1 and 2 is quite a bit bigger than the windows of most other soprano mouthpieces I have played to date.<\/p>\n

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Theo Wanne Gaia 2 Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here’s a description from Theo Wanne’s website (save 15% by using this link)<\/a> on the Gaia 2 soprano mouthpiece:<\/p>\n

“The GAIA 2 Soprano has revolutionized the soprano world.<\/strong> It has modern projection, but also a full rich, fat, and robust sound never before heard from a soprano mouthpiece.\u00a0The GAIA 2 has been further\u00a0updated with far more core and body to sound, while maintaining the big warm traditional sound the GAIA is known for!<\/em><\/p>\n

The GAIA2 still uses\u00a0a True Large Chamber, like most vintage soprano mouthpieces made\u00a0in the first half of last century. However, those mouthpieces combined a large chamber with a low baffle and floor configuration, which made good classical mouthpieces, but never really worked for contemporary playing. \u00a0The GAIA2’s unique design opens up a whole new world for the soprano saxophone. \u00a0It maintains the ‘vintage’ beauty of sound, but adds depth and versatility never before possible.<\/em><\/p>\n

Like all Theo Wanne\u2122 mouthpieces, they are manufactured with accuracy higher than any other mouthpiece, vintage or new, and uses the highest quality materials in its construction. \u00a0The GAIA2 is truly revolutionary in bringing the vintage sound up to date both in design and construction.<\/em><\/p>\n

For decades musician’s asked Theo for the\u00a0perfect large chamber soprano mouthpiece. \u00a0 He modified vintage Buescher and Slant Otto Link (among other) vintage mouthpieces. \u00a0Each of these had wonderful characteristics, but none were the ‘whole package.’ So\u00a0Theo designed the GAIA 2. \u00a0The feedback has been overwhelming relief from many players who\u00a0finally found the\u00a0mouthpiece giving\u00a0them the sound they always desired.”<\/em><\/p>\n

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Theo Wanne Gaia 2 Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Gaia 2 seems to have a different facing curve on it than the first generation Gaia. I\u00a0suck at measuring facing curves \u00a0so I am judging this on the fact that my original Gaia loves Vandoren Java 3 1\/2 reeds. \u00a0I don’t think I have ever put a Java 3 1\/2 on that didn’t work for me.<\/p>\n

I tried a few Vandoren Java 3 1\/2 reeds on the Gaia 2 and they\u00a0just felt too hard. \u00a0It preferred a Java 3. Since the tip opening is a 7 like my original Gaia I am assuming the difference has to do with the facing curve. \u00a0I’d be curious to hear from Theo on whether I am correct or not………..<\/p>\n

As anticipated from the baffle profile, \u00a0the Gaia 2 has a darker and fatter sound than the first run Gaia. \u00a0Although I loved the ease of play with the first run Gaia and how easy the upper register was for me (easiest upper register of any soprano sax mouthpiece I have tried……) at times, the original Gaia seemed a bit too bright and brash to me. \u00a0A little bit too edgy if you know what I\u00a0mean……..<\/p>\n

I’m not sure if I was the only one to feel this way but the Gaia 2 seems to be the\u00a0answer to this. The extra bit of fatness and darkness takes that\u00a0bit of brightness and edge away from the tone that sometimes bothered me.<\/p>\n

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Theo Wanne Gaia 2 Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Gaia 2 is smooth and even throughout the range of the soprano sax. \u00a0At first it sounded a bit duller and less responsive than my original Gaia but I think that is just because I am so used to the Gaia 1. \u00a0After playing the Gaia 2 for about an hour it really opened up and\u00a0I felt at home with it.<\/p>\n

When I use the word dark, I am not saying this is a super dark mouthpiece but just darker than the Gaia 1 as I\u00a0compare them. \u00a0I would describe the tone as alive and full. \u00a0It has a medium bright sound but also fat and smooth sounding. \u00a0It does have a singing quality on certain notes that I love.<\/p>\n

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Theo Wanne Gaia 2 Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have only played the Gaia 2 for about an hour today but I plan on playing it more tomorrow to see if I want to upgrade from the Gaia 1. \u00a0 (My Gaia 1 has been my go to mouthpiece for years now and I feel a bit sentimental about it.)<\/p>\n

The one thing the Gaia 1 has over the Gaia 2 in my opinion is that it has more volume, brightness and edge when you push\u00a0it. \u00a0I think the Gaia 2 out performs it on beauty of tone though………..<\/p>\n

The intonation on the Theo Wanne Gaia 2 was excellent and it was very even up and down the range of the horn.<\/p>\n

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Theo Wanne Gaia 2 Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you like the sound of the Gaia 2 soprano sax mouthpiece, you can order one from\u00a0Theo\u00a0on his website at www.theowanne.com (save 15% by using this link)<\/a>. \u00a0 Tell him Steve sent you………….Great work Theo!! \u00a0\u00a0Can’t wait for the Gaia 3…………….<\/p>\n

Let me know what you think in the comments below. Thanks, Steve<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2017\/Gaia2Soprano.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Theo Wanne Gaia 2 Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I received the mouthpiece mentioned above with two other mouthpieces in the hope that I would try them and perhaps review them on my blog. I will be allowed to keep one of the three mouthpieces received.\u00a0 \u00a0Regardless, I only review mouthpieces that I enjoy playing and believe will be good for other saxophone players to try also. \u00a0 \u00a0Steve<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, I am reviewing another great mouthpiece made by Theo Wanne\u00a0at TheoWanne.com (save 15% by using this link). \u00a0\u00a0 Theo Wanne was one of the first mouthpiece makers to reach out to me and ask if I would be willing to do some reviews of his mouthpieces years ago. \u00a0I had heard his name for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":42521,"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":[487,235],"tags":[1584,658,239,238,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-41420","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mouthpiece-reviews","8":"category-soprano-mouthpiece-reviews","9":"tag-gaia-2","10":"tag-review","11":"tag-saxophone-mouthpiece","12":"tag-soprano-sax","13":"tag-theo-wanne","14":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41420","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=41420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}