Mouthpiece misery

[Chris-Sax]

I had my 6* Link i started playing tenor on and grow-up with mouthpiece stolen a couple of days ago! :cry: (im gutted) I was hoping to replace the mouthpiece anyway and i have been looking into various types, heres the list:

* Guardala studio
* Guardala King/R&B
* Dukoff D7
* Lawton B (7*)
* Otto link 7(*?)

The sound i am looking for (with practice, a lot) is the same as breckers. It would be great to know if anyone has any thoughts or experiances with any of these pieces!

Thanks Chris! :)

[Mike W]

I don't know what Michael Brecker sounds like--got to get around to listening to him someday. The Dukoff d on your list is probably about the brightest piece you have listed (think Boots Randolph). Bright with lots of overtones in the sound. The Lawton BB will be slightly darker, not really any more depth to the tone than the Dukoff--just more of a berg (Sonny Rollins) base to the sound but still quite bright. The Otto link will be darker than either but can, with the right embrochure, be played fairly bright. I haven't tried the other mouthpieces you listed. The GSK&B I have heard may be a tad brighter than the Dukoff--but I don't know.

[Subtone Sam]

Guardala Studio is very close to what Brecker used to sound in the late 70´s and early 80´s with Brecker Brothers band.

[Joe]

And the Dukoff is exactly what Brecker sounded like in the late 70's/early 80's since it's the piece he was using. He used a D9 with La Voz mediums that he clipped.

The Studio has some slight differences to the Dukoff, more in feel than in sound. Which one works better for you will depend greatly on which model of tenor you're playing and how much mouthpiece you like to take. The Kings will be brighter, more like Brecker's 90's sound only even brighter. The Lawton works best on larger bore tenors and will also sound more like 90's Brecker, only with some more mids and a few less highs. The Lawton will get a very warm, live sound, like a Link with a wedge. If you want to play a stock Link and sound like Brecker, be prepared to work your tail off. Remember, that's how Brecker injured his neck, trying to get a lot of power and drive out of a Link.

[GHawk]

Mike W - and you call youself a SAX player !! LOL :wink:
Man, you gotta listen to Brecker - a master's master.

[sjabariiii]

>>Remember, that's how Brecker injured his neck, trying to get a lot of power and drive out of a Link.<<

I've heard this mentioned before, but..?? How exactly would this happen?

[Joe]

Sjabariiii, Brecker generated so much air pressure trying to overdrive his Link that it literally blew out the muscles in his neck, requiring surgery. I believe he actually did this twice (ouch!).

This type of injury isn't totally unheard of. In the seventies, a company manufactured a rubber stopper insert that went into the leadpipe of a trumpet and didn't allow any air to pass through. The idea was for a player to practice blowing as hard as he could against the resistance to build lung power. I knew one person and heard of another that suffered the same injury as Brecker doing this. The product was pulled from the market before too long.

[Andrew]

Try the Studio. It's probably the closest you'll get amongst the choices given.

[Chris-Sax]

Joe,
I didnt know that Brecker used a Dukoff! Does that mean the Studio Guardala is a copy of the sound he produced on the Dukoff during the late 70's early 80's? A new Dukoff is only a faction of the cost of a Guardala! (may be the best buy on the list?)

[Joe]

Chris, after Brecker hurt his neck, he went from the Link to the Dukoff 9D. I don't think he was completely happy with something about it because he switched back and forth between it and his Link with a wedge that Guardala installed after his first injury. Most of the time, though, he played the Dukoff. When I saw him live a few times in the early 80's, he was playing the Dukoff but was always messing with reeds, either changing or clipping them. This is a sure sign of someone that isn't totally comfortable with their set up. When Guardala started his own line, Brecker switched immediately to them. I, for one, liked his sound better before the Guardalas.

The Studio is kind of a blend between the Dukoff and a Link with a wedge. The chamber is bigger and the facing is longer than a Dukoff. If you want to sound like vintage Brecker, though, the Dukoff is the first piece I would try. Be aware, though, that a 7D tip opening will sound different than a 9D like Brecker used.

[JCsaxman]

Breaker is now using or at least experimenting with a Jody Jazz ESP .100 I play one and think its a great MP you might want to add that to your list and check one out.

[Chris-Sax]

Thanks guys! Have ordered a Guardala Studio (silver)! To any of you U.K sax players that are looking for a Guardala, there are none in the country!! i tryed everywhere! but you can still order them from the U.S.A!
Thanks Chris! 8)

[JS]

Well...Brecker did record "The Nearness of You" album on a rubber Link.

[Andrew]

I watched a video w/Brecker lecturing the UNT jazz studies department in the early 80s I believe...

An interesting story about Brecker and the Dukoff.

It was after he had that neck complication, and he needed to find a mouthpiece that would work w/him. He played on the Dukoff despite EVERYONE telling him that it was a bad idea. There were tons of players telling him not to play on the Dukoff b/c it wouldn't be "Brecker." He said that after like a month, everyone played on a Dukoff...it was pretty funny...

[super20dan]

andrew this is true .if it wasnt for brecker and sanborn swithcing to dukoffs they might not have become so popular so fast.

[Andrew]

That's really funny...one or two guys can influence a whole movement to a different saxophone mouthpiece...I bet once Brecker switches to another mouthpiece, that Guardala Brecker won't be worth ANYWHERE near the amount they sell for now...I'm glad I sold mine when the maket was begging for them!

[Chris04]

About the neck injury thing, that sounds kind of similar to something that happened to Louis Armstrong when he was on stage one time (I heard about it on a televised biography of him, can't recall the year it happened, I think it was some time in the 1940's.)

[sjabariiii]

you mean when he sprayed blood out the front of his trumpet? I think that was his lips giving out from too many high notes. But yeah, ouch. :shock:

[KevyD]

Regarding Brecker's neck injury... I thought I read somewhere that it had to do with a birth defect. Something about his neck that would have not been an issue except that he happened to be a saxophone player.

I think I'll take it easy anyhow.

[Subtone Sam]

On Brecker's sound,I talked with a saxplayer who had a chance to hear Brecker warming up backstage and he told me that Brecker has kind of a traditional,warm and round tenor-sound,quite different from his recorded sound.This has got a lot to do with the way he plays his mouthpiece.His recorded sound is quite a bit different from his acoustic sound and is made so because someone (producer?) thinks that that sound sells better(!).This I read from an dave Guardala interview.

[Hurling Frootmig]

You should give the Vandoren V16 metal a try if you like some bright like the Guardala.

[SelmerC*]

ummmm...Doesn't Sugal make a Brecker model? Just a thought...

[SelmerC*]

Sorry, that was Guardala who makes a Brecker Model. My Bad :oops:

[Dr_sax]

Just recently found a "secret link" to some Brecker "bootlegs". It´s in japanese :cry: but the music isn´t :wink:
Don´t click this at home: http://page.freett.com/zzaj/michael/index.html

[Bill Mecca]

Very cool Dr_Sax There IS Good Rockin at Midnight! man 1985, 19 years ago?! yikes I am gettin old. but still rockin!

[fauna sax]

Hello,
tip: try another ligature before thinking on the mouthpiece... I change to a FL on a STM 6.... open open open ... not brecker, but :D

Venezuelan fauna sax