Colletto mouthpiece.

[Captain Beeflat]

In an old tenor case which had not been opened for 30 years, I found, amongst other old mouthpieces, a composite No. 4 Colletto...it's performance was exceptional but the tip was too small for me.
Scouring eBay Italia, I eventually came across a metal No.8* Colletto which is, by some margin, my favourite mouthpiece. Huge sound, bottom end nearly as mellow as my Lawton 8* & a truly searing top end. It's performance seems equal throughout the range & it has the easiest harmonics that I have encountered.
As do most of us, I have a box full of tenor mouthpieces including Jody Jazz ESP, Bergs, Links, Dukoffs, a Runyon Quantum, Selmers, the Lawton and an RPC 115B. For me, the Colletto beats them all in the environment in which I usually play...Blues/Rock with amplified guitars. Perhaps, if I played in a small un amplified combo I would choose the Lawton. My horn is a Buescher Big B.
Why can I find out nothing about these mouthpieces, except that they were made by one Professor Colletto in Forni, Italy in the 70's (?). Over the last two years, the only Collettos that have appeared on eBay are a few of a model known as the "Super Swing". Neither of mine have a model name.
Attached are a few photographs; one with a stock STM for the purpose of scale.
This Colletto is so good that I fail to understand why it is unknown....is there anyone out there who has knowledge of their history?

[charles]

i dont know nothing about this mouthpiece.. but i just found this mouthpiece for sale on this site which i think some of you might be interested..
here's the link.. http://www.mercatinomusicale.com/mm/a_bocchino-sax-baritono-prof-colletto-n-5_id1061959.html

[Captain Beeflat]

Many thanks Charles. That appears to be exactly like mine, except that it is a baritone piece. The only one that I have ever seen except for the "Super Swing".
Surely someone in your beautiful country must know about them.

[charles]

i tried to google it.. here's what i learned.. the mouthpieces he made were used mostly in "ballo liscio" some kind of waltz or ballroom dancing..mostly elaborated by a local saxplayer named Fiorenzo Tassinari.... here's his video http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci-6JXjGxS8
i dont live in italy anymore.. i'll try to ask my local friends when i visit maybe they know something, as some of them live in forli where this mouthpieces were made....

[MartinMods]

I met a German tenor player who had one, when I was living in Europe 20 years ago. I liked the mouthpiece so much I had him order 2 for me. They arrived a few months later, and I played them until I wore them out/damaged them. I lost the address and never tried to get it again. I have some contacts there still, so I'll see what I can find out.

[Captain Beeflat]

My thanks to both of you for the trouble you are taking....extraordinary video.
MartinMods....Clearly another Colletto enthusiast, that's two of us plus the chap in the video.

[Peterogping]

It may be exactly such a mouthpiece which is for sale in Italy on this page. Look under tenor. "COLLETTO 8 stile Berg Larsen"
http://www.bebopitalia.com/MPvintage.html
If you want pics and price, you'll have to send an email.

[Captain Beeflat]

It may be exactly such a mouthpiece which is for sale in Italy on this page. Look under tenor. "COLLETTO 8 stile Berg Larsen"
http://www.bebopitalia.com/MPvintage.html
If you want pics and price, you'll have to send an email.

Many thanks Peterogping. I have seen that, and even when the Italian is translated via. babelfish, it is still incomprehensible.
I am perfectly happy with my 8* Colletto...I just wish to spread the word on the qualities of these pieces....closest comparison in my experience is a good edgy Lawton.

[Balkan_KingZeph]

gday all,

just to revive this thread.
i have recently acquired an No. 4 colletto super swing for alto sax and all i can say is WOW.

it has such a nice balanced tone with nice warmth and projection with just the perfect amount of edge. very similar to my lawton 8 but a little easier to play. It is also so easy to play and manages to get such a big sound without much effort.

below are some pics;

Colletto_1.JPG (http://members.iinet.net.au/~gtancevski/Colletto_1.JPG)
Colletto_2.JPG (http://members.iinet.net.au/~gtancevski/Colletto_2.JPG)
Colletto_3.JPG (http://members.iinet.net.au/~gtancevski/Colletto_3.JPG)

[warp x]

Yeah, they are nice. I have two Colletto's, played them a lot. Sadly the best one has worn out. There's a hole under the bite plate. Do you have the one with the slide-on lig?

[Balkan_KingZeph]

yes, absolutey they are nice. awesome sound for my liking.

mine (super swing) is the model with the slide-on lig. but unfortunately it did not come with the original ligature.

i am currently using a generic ligature which seems to be working ok.

[Balkan_KingZeph]

just to revive this thread, i have a lig. question.

as my colletto super swing did not come with the original slide-on ligature, which ligature would people recommend?

thanks in advance.

[sax-ony]

below are some pics

It would be really interesting if you could add a picture or two of the chamber, since it plays so well. My tenor "super" is a beautiful looking mouthpiece but it doesn't play well at all. I'd like to see if the "super swing" is different inside.

Thanks for reviving an interesting topic, by the way.

[Captain Beeflat]

just to revive this thread, i have a lig. question.

as my colletto super swing did not come with the original slide-on ligature, which ligature would people recommend?

thanks in advance.

My 8* (non "super swing") has a slide on lig as shewn in the earlier photograph.
I checked, and discovered that my Lawton slide on lig also fits the Colletto.
As the Lawton ligs are still available, albeit expensive, this may be the way to go.

[Balkan_KingZeph]

just to revive this thread, i have a lig. question.

as my colletto super swing did not come with the original slide-on ligature, which ligature would people recommend?

thanks in advance.

My 8* (non "super swing") has a slide on lig as shewn in the earlier photograph.
I checked, and discovered that my Lawton slide on lig also fits the Colletto.
As the Lawton ligs are still available, albeit expensive, this may be the way to go.

hi lewis,
good idea, and luckily i have a lawton mpc aswell ;-)

will try it and let u know how i go.

thanks.

[jicaino]

Hey Captain, in order to evaluate if that colletto sounds that good with your tenor, can you mail me your silver B and I'll give it a try with my MPC? ;)

[Balkan_KingZeph]

just to revive this thread, i have a lig. question.

as my colletto super swing did not come with the original slide-on ligature, which ligature would people recommend?

thanks in advance.

My 8* (non "super swing") has a slide on lig as shewn in the earlier photograph.
I checked, and discovered that my Lawton slide on lig also fits the Colletto.
As the Lawton ligs are still available, albeit expensive, this may be the way to go.

hi lewis,
good idea, and luckily i have a lawton mpc aswell ;-)

will try it and let u know how i go.

thanks.

an update to let you all know that the lawton ligature works well on the colletto mpc.

it's a little loose along the rails, but stays nice and tight when the reed is tightened.

[milandro]

Funny that so many of you should appreciate the Colletto mouthpieces so much. In Italy they are rather common and originally were very wide spread among the so called " Liscio" players ( Liscio is a form of ballroom dance traditionals diffused especially in the north of the country featuring originally polkas and mazurkas but today more similar to the German " Schlager" music, clarinet and saxophones play the lead in these music form.
In other words this type of music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afxVAmTGqfs
That's what the majority of the Colleto mouthpieces were mainly made for..........and you will pardon me if I am surprised at some of your comments.

[warp x]

Well, if they are good for liscio guys, they should be great for jazz :D

[milandro]

well, if you think so...... who am I to tell you they aren't .......after all some folks play Bergs and much better that I ever could play anything..........

[warp x]

Well, I have two Colletto's, and used to play them a long time ago. Sadly the best one has lost the bite plate, and has a hole underneath where the bite plate should be. :(:?
It was a very good piece though.

[milandro]

why don't you give it to Daniele when he comes to Holland to be restored? (I know that you are seeing him, maybe we'll all meet in A'dam) Maybe he has an Idea on how to do that!

[warp x]

I'm not sure if it's possible to restore it, actually. The metal seems to have worn through completely. Also, I don't know if it's worth it at all, especially if you say they are common in Italy. (Then again, a good piece is a good piece)
Would be nice to meet up with Daniele!

[milandro]

they are rather common and you regularly find them offered on
http://www.mercatinomusicale.com
Anyway I think that they can be restored but it probably would cost more than the mouthpiece is worth
at the moment there are 9 on offer
http://www.mercatinomusicale.com/ann/search.asp?ns=1&rg=&pv=&kw=colletto&rp=5&ct=53&st=&__IDRegProv=&ob=data

is this one
http://www.mercatinomusicale.com/mm/a_prof-colletto-metal-per-tenore_id1145924.html
to your liking?

[warp x]

Actually the HR one looks nice, but I'm not looking for a replacement. Too many nice pieces here already, and it looks like I'm going to have some more in the near future.

[milandro]

:) yes, so many mouthpieces ..........and one can only play them one at the time!

[sax-ony]

I've posted some pictures of my tenor piece here:

http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/w237/sax-ony/Colletto%20Mouthpiece/?albumview=grid

It came free with a Beaugnier, of all things! (Can't think of a less appropriate combination.) That pinched throat and intrusive baffle make it quite useless for me - very thin and unresponsive.

It's beautifully crafted on the outside, though, and very heavy.

[milandro]

welcome to saxontheweb! :) You don't know but it is not correct to post for sale adverts outside the designated area where you have to read the rules which apply to posting such things. In essence you need (beside a description) to state the location of the item and you need to indicate a price ;) :)

[okosbokos]

Thank you for your advice.
I saw you talk about Colletto and I remembered that I had a mouthpiece that does not use.
As I said, if you're interested, all the information (state, price, images) by e-mail.

In a conversation about this mouthpiece can not activate because I have no experience with Colletto.

Best wishes. :)

[milandro]

you don't understand.......it is mandatory that one posts the information on a for sale ad in the required manner........otherwise it will be taken down............

[Balkan_KingZeph]

for anyone that is interested in purchasing a tenor colletto mpc, here you go.

http://cgi.ebay.de/Colletto-tenor-sax-mouthpiece_W0QQitemZ260386860182QQcmdZViewItemQQpt ZBlasinstrumente?hash=item260386860182&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1229|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A13 18

nice and cheap aswell.