GUARDLA mpc

[nikolaj42]

Hi, i already bought Dave Guardala mouthpiece, hand made by Nadir Ibrahimoglu from Hamburg......Its great...do you have some Guardala mpc experiences?

[Ruediger Kramer]

i use a new crescent from PMS - it´s great...


:)

[brassnaked]

I bought a handmade MBII a few weeks ago through Thomann from PMS and I ABSOLUTELY love it. The workmanship is some of the finest metalsmithing I've ever seen, flawless gold-plating and the sound and tone are mesmerizing. I also have a handmade King on-the-way!

[EgilF.]

I bought a MBII from PMS almost a year ago, before he startet to sell the hand made ones. And yes, It´s great!

[smoothjazztenor]

The only real handmade Guardala mouthpieces I know were made by Dave himself in Hicksville NY in the 80s. I've not tried those 'handmade' by PMS. But with the prices they are offering, the chances of trying them seem to be slim. Maybe somebody with experiences of Dave's handmade pieces as well as PMS' should compare them side-by-side.

It's just my humble opinion...I only prefer the original/genuine/real thing.

[wersax]

The "hand-made" Guardalas coming out of PMS look pretty good, and I've heard good things about them, but I haven't tried one. I have tried a LT MB II from the WWBW and it was well made, though not what I was looking for at the time. Even earlier, I bought a MB II, (not hand finished) through Musikhause Thomann, (summer of 2006), and it was a total rip-off! The chamber/baffle design was the same as a Super King, with a long high baffle and a bullet chamber, which is nothing like the MB II's short high baffle and large chamber. Those of us who have played the originals know better; these two designs play nothing alike. The good news is that I explained my objections to this so called MB II and Musikhause Thomann understood, took it back and gave me a full refund! This is a good company, interested in customer service. I thought I should mention this........daryl

[SeanLittle89]

I have a "laser-trimmed" Tenor crescent. I was very disappointed with it. It does have a nice edge, but (for me) anything above a 2nd octave G is tinny. But one thing i do like about it is the ease of altissimo, huge sound up there. Maybe its not for me, I like my Link that Adam Niewood refaced...

[Mike F]

Maybe its not for me, I like my Link that Adam Niewood refaced...

Sean, if you like Links your unlikely to like Guadalas, they are about as different in concept as you can get.

I like them, and personally I don't like Links - horrible big fat tubby stuffy things!
OTOH if you like Links you'll think that Guardalas are horrible skinny thin nasty bright things! They're chalk and cheese.

[Saxlicker]

A good test would be the wwbw MBII Vs the PMS Nadir finished MBII because both are trying to acheive the internal design of the handmade ones.
(Unlike the first PMS one that EgilF has).

I really like my WWBW one. It is currently my main piece.
Off topic, just to explain why I say currently....I have an RPC115B...and it took a little time to get used to but...wow!
So when I break down the mental comfort barrier that makes me pull out a metal tenor piece at gigs, it could take a step back to the RPC.

[hakukani]

Off topic, just to explain why I say currently....I have an RPC115B...and it took a little time to get used to but...wow!
So when I break down the mental comfort barrier that makes me pull out a metal tenor piece at gigs, it could take a step back to the RPC.

A step FORWARD to the RPC.;) Because of mine, I'm completely over metal.

[Giganova]

I had a Crescent and hated it ... thin & shrill sounding, not my cup of tea.

[whaler]

I had a Crescent and hated it ... thin & shrill sounding, not my cup of tea.
That is what I though when I first played mine, but after a playing it for a while I sounded like myself. I still use it on gigs where I need a lot of volume.

[Giganova]

Maybe I should have kept it for a longer period and stick to it for a while to develop the proper tone, but since I had a mpc which I liked a lot already, I didn't bother.

[Saxlicker]

A step FORWARD to the RPC.;) Because of mine, I'm completely over metal.

OK let me rephrase that.

The MBII may have to live in the shadows of the RPC.
But if/when it happens it'll be like tearing myself away from a loyal pet :crybaby:

[marcusb]

Hi,just tested some guardalas and liked the lt more then the hand made ones!! tried also the studio fatboy ,,,ended up bying a ltmb11 !! works for me.....
Later

[marcusb]

I have been playing link forever,, and 2 yers ago started to play on a berg 115 2......at the beginning the tone was harsh and a lot of edge,,but after a while the tone got better.....now i am playing a lt mb11 and still have to get used to the sound,,have to play it for a few months and and my sound will pop out....its a great piece plays really good...anyone has the same intonation""thing"" in order to play in tune it almost falls off the neck!!!

[Wailin']

I bought a Guardala MBII, the gold looking one from WBWW. It took months to get acustomed to it since the tip opening is very wide. After your emboucher get used to it the sound is great. It responds well in all registers. I used to play a link 5* but they did tell me at WBWW that it would take a while to get used to it. It requires a softer reed due its very wide tip.

Thing is that they don't make the MBII in variations. It comes in only one size. I'm still not yet settled on the mpc. The Oleg didn't hold well and squeaked ocassionally. I'm trying to decide between the Optimum V16 or the Selmer 404. What has been your experiences?

[dstack79]

I had a Crescent and hated it ... thin & shrill sounding, not my cup of tea.

I tried a Crescent at the WWBW about a yr ago. It was very focused, but really buzzy and hard for me to control. That was just an initial 15 minute impression though.

[J.Max]

I wonder why they don't make the Fatboys anymore? Seems to me that those were the ultimate Guardala pieces, and I'm surprised that WWBW or PMS hasn't tried to recreate them.

[Martinman]

I wonder why they don't make the Fatboys anymore? Seems to me that those were the ultimate Guardala pieces, and I'm surprised that WWBW or PMS hasn't tried to recreate them.


If they have the larger chamber they might be more difficult to manufacture.

[saxymanzach]

Does this "PMS" have a website? I tried to google "PMS," but no music stores came up...

[rini]

www.pms-music.de/Mundstucke/Tenormundstucke/Dave_Guardala/dave_guardala.html

[saxymanzach]

cool, thanks!

[rini]

:)

[cansax]

Hello All,
This is my first post. What a great site!!

I just ordered a new Guardala Crescent (silver plated) and am wondering what people use, if anything, for a mouthpiece patch? I am also curious if there is a popular choice for ligature or if you folks stay with the supplied one or a favorite of your own?

Thanks for your tips.

[DTExpress]

I use a thin clear patch and many use a selmer metal alto ligature. I don't know the model number but WWBW.com sells em.

[cansax]

I use a thin clear patch and many use a selmer metal alto ligature. I don't know the model number but WWBW.com sells em.

Thanks dt,
I have some clear patches and I'll check out the wwbw ligatures.

Have a good one,
K