Zagar Mouthpieces Tenor

[DALEJOHNSON]

Hi folks does anyone have any experience of these. With a Kielwerth SX90R Tenor. Looking for a dark tone with Edge just wanted to know if one of there models would cut it

[SAXISMYAXE]

You should do a forums SEARCH for this topic, as we have discussed it in a rather lengthy thread only days ago, and there are other threads in the archive regarding these Mouth pieces.

Personally, I play a Zagar Cool School on many of my Tenors, and love it. It is indeed dark, but I wouldn't call it an edgy piece per se. As several have aptly described it, think of a Hard Rubber sound when describing the overall inherent sound of this pieces. Cheers.

[rispoli]

Dale, I have both the Cool and Hot School and also an SX90 tenor.
I like both pieces but I don't hear any edge in their sound. The Hot School may qualify for a little bit of edge but it is also less dark, so I don't know if that is more advisable to you. I personally prefer the Cool School. The HS doesn't do anything particularly well but has anyways a nice tone. The CS does at least one thing very well, it is really dark sounding and its tone is to my ears very good. It also has easy upper register, but no better than the HS. They don't have a lot of volume and I think they were designed as such.
If you check on Ebay they often go for as little as 45$ (or 75$ new at Saxquest). You won't risk much at these prices...
By the way, Zagar came out with a new bronze piece that is ridicolously expensive.

[BigDaddyJ]

I still love the sound I get with my CS. I am able to get quite a bit of edge out of it, but I too agree that it cannot play very loudly. I have read about a CS user putting a slight baffle in his second CS when he plays in a big band. If this doesn't work for you, check out a Fred Rast J model mouthpiece.

later

Joel

[NewReedsAreTasty]

I own both a hot and cool school and I have found both of them to be OK. I am new to this website and I'm sure this has been discussed somewhere at length but...
I REALLY liked my Zagars a lot more when I added a little wedge. I used a little poster putty and wham! What a sound. A friend, who teaches saxophone and jazz at a nearby University, said with the wedge, my pieces sounded and felt like his Crescent Guardala. Hope this helps. Oh, by the way, I play a Mk. VI -- not a Keilwerth.

[robbieg]

I've been using the Zager Hot School and Cool School for a while on the Yamaha 52 I was playing on, I just recently got a Keilwerth SX90R... but I'm waiting for it to come in. I'll comment on it after I get it in.

[Sigmund451]

Zagar has a new metal mpc on saxquest. It looks a lot like a metal version of his other pieces.

[Grumps]

Dale,
Should you buy one of these mouthpieces and find it's not for you, please do not resell it. Take it from me, I know. The guilt will be tremendous, knowing you have re-released this evil upon an unsuspecting world. No, you'll need to assemble a fellowship. About nine will do, and make certain one is a wizard and a few more are handy with a sword, bow, axe or in a pinch, can provide some comic relief or perhaps turn invisible. Then you need to go straight to Mt. Doom. And don't go under any mountains either. Take the direct route, or better yet, call the big eagles ahead of time and have them fly you over there. Then drop that baby right into the magma. Trust me. You'll feel better about it. We all will.

[SAXISMYAXE]

Yeah, I should have warned you.....Grumps REALLY hates the Zagers. Different strokes for different folks.8-)

[Grumps]

Well, after close to 30 years with a Mark VII tenor, perhaps I relish the opportunity to diss the equipment of others with a bit too much vigor. All in fun though. At least when I ordered mine, it was during the initial fire sale when they went from being a couple hundred bucks to only $99. If you are really interested in trying out this piece, definitely go the second hand route. That can be said for many boutique mouthpieces. It's the rare example that holds its value after the initial sale. You just have to be patient.