Berg larsen or Otto link?

[Peter342]

I'm buying a new mouthpiece but I don't know which one. Either a Berg or a Link. Right now, I have a Otto Link Super Tone Master 5, but I want a mouthpiece that will project more and have a darker sound. Please help me.
I'm a jazz player,and my Favorite players are Booker Ervin, Joe Henderson,Coleman Hawkins,and Lester Young just to name a few.

[Martinman]

I'm buying a new mouthpiece but I don't know which one. Either a Berg or a Link. Right now, I have a Otto Link Super Tone Master 5, but I want a mouthpiece that will project more and have a darker sound. Please help me.

I doubt you could find a metal mouthpiece darker than a Link STM. Are you stuck on metal only, or could you go to a hard rubber? Lots more dark options there. I don't know how you could rig the darker/more projection thing though. Usually the darker it is, the less it projject, or so I have been told.

[dirty]

Bergs are not dark mouthpieces, but they are great (when you get a good one). Links are pretty dark. From what I've heard, more open tips are darker. I haven't tested this out myself, but enough reputable posters on this board say it fairly often, so I can assume there is at least some fact to it.

Maybe check out a more open Link, or a hard rubber link. A more open Link will project more and be darker (if it's well made). A good Berg will be brighter, but project a lot more. My teacher always tells me that he hates the rubber they make the new links out of (too much plastic), but it always seemed ok to me. Chris Potter gets by!

[Peter342]

The only hard rubber mouthpiece I'm thinking of is a Selmer short shank soloist,would that be a good choice?
Or I can go with a Otto Link.

[gary]

The SOTW Forum > Mouthpieces > Tenor mpc >Otto Link RG or Berg Larsen:

http://www.saxontheweb.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=38231

[Michael Ward]

If you like Booker Ervin then you might want to check out the Vandoren V16 Metal which play very well..some say they're dark , some say they're bright but they play out of the box pretty much and are consistant unlike Links and Larsens. One of the best mass produced pieces IMO.

[Chris Mickel]

There are a ton of mouthpieces out there to check out. Through my experience the following are good pieces.

1. Otto link metal or hard rubber. If you can get one of the melinnium 2000 mouthpieces (the blue and silver ones, they might be hard to find because they were a limited thing) they are a bit more consistent than the regular Links. Though the vintage ones (meatal or hard rubber)
are really great.

2. Bergs are good mouthpieces but usually brighter than links.

3. The selmer soloists are good. The old ones are usually the ones everyone wants but the new ones play well.

4. Vandoren makes good pieces. Give them a try.

5. If you want to go the more costom route try Phil Barone pieces or Dave Guardala piecs both are really great.

The best advice I can give is try several pieces and find one that you feel comfortable with and work with it to get the sound you want. Try not to get on a grail search. If you do you will spend more time hunting mouthpieces than playing. Also if you find something other than what people suggest or just somethig tha looks interesting to you give it a try anyway.

Good Luck
Chris