Mouthpiece Comparison Clip: Aizen LS8 JJ HR 8* Otto Link 9

**benbyrne** · 01-16-2012, 10:36 AM

Hi everyone:

I just brought some mouthpieces home to compare and contrast. I tried the Aizen LS 8 the JJ HR 8* and compared them to my personal Otto Link TE 9.

http://soundcloud.com/benbyrne87/mou...test-16-1-2012

I was using a Rico Royal Reed size 3 for all three a long with my FL Brass ligature.

I chose the song smile and played it roughly the same way on all of the pieces to make it a fair comparison, I probably could have played something that pushed the boundaries more, but it was getting late and I don't like to keep my neighbours up.

My personal Thoughts were that all of these mouthpieces played well and were easy to play from Low Bb at a whisper all the way to about altissimo Bb (Forgive me for the bad altissimo playing in the highest register in particular on the Aizen: I probably could have used a harder reed)

I'd probably say that the JJ was the thickest sounding and the Aizen was probably the buzziest and my link is probably the hardest to control.

I probably enjoyed the Aizen most out of all of these, they just sort of play themselves (IMHO), But it's not so different from my Link - so I can't really justify one for the collection for now.

I'd love to get my hands on a TK Piece at some point to compare to these great pieces.

I don't know let me know what you think?

**jlima** · 01-16-2012, 10:51 AM

Nice playing!
My personal preference was: 3(Link), 1(Aizen) and 2 (JJ). I thought the Link sounded more organic and flexible, although your intonation was slightly better on the Aizen. In comparison, the JJ sounded more shallow and one-dimensional to me.

**Leon** · 01-16-2012, 12:10 PM

I agree with previous poster: All three were nice, but the Link had more body to the sound. The Aizen had a lot of clarity and was nice, but my ears preferred the Link. I would have liked the JJ if I had not hear the other two.

**Allen Halstead** · 01-16-2012, 12:17 PM

3-2-1 for me .... Have to agree with Leon ..if i hadn't heard the link the JJ would have been the one ...

**10mfan** · 01-16-2012, 01:17 PM

3-1-2

**mrpeebee** · 01-16-2012, 08:35 PM

You play very well on all. For me you sound the best on 3 (Link) - 1 (Aizen) - 2 (JJ). In my ears the Link sounded fuller and more flexible in all registers, the Aizen had a nice low end but the higher register seemed a bit closed, the JJ sounded to bright and narrow for my taste. But ofcourse it's your taste that's important, not mine!

**benbyrne** · 01-16-2012, 08:47 PM

Thanks for all the replies. I've been looking for a mouthpiece to beat this 9 for a long time (Mainly because if I don't play this one for a few days it feels too big), but it looks like the work of Gabriel Vatavu (The guy who refaced the link) prevails above all again.

**Sigmund451** · 01-16-2012, 08:56 PM

I think in the Aizen is fine but not necessary better at all than the Link. Basically they were going for a Link sound and did a reasonable job of it. It just costs a pretty penny from what I recall.

A lot of guys are spending huge amounts of money these days to accomplish what could be done with a little time and less money.

As for the JJ piece...I like some of the JJ pieces in metal better than I do the HR versions.

**benbyrne** · 01-16-2012, 10:35 PM

I tend to agree with you there Sigmund. It's hard to find a very nice playing link out of the box - but once some work has been done to a link they are pretty great - and sometimes you can pick a link up and have it refaced for less than an Aizen LS. The good thing about the Aizen mouthpieces is their consitency to produce good facings so that takes another person out of the equation.

I've tried a few JJ pieces in metal, but being from the otherside of the world the stock we have out here is very limited. I really enjoyed all of their mouthpieces but I've only tried them in 7s which is too small a facing for me.

**Tenortones** · 02-28-2012, 02:05 AM

I like the Jody 8*-I used to play one and still have it I thought it had more core (shoulders) than the Aizen in the middle
I play a Link now which is a slant BP .110 and I wanted to add that it is surprising how the link can actually be brighter than you would think and harder to control-
especially in that tip opening the link is my second choice but I think you could stand maybe a better reed-also it should be noted that when you start to play a reed
on a particular mouthpiece it starts to conform to that facing-so you played the link last after using that reed on the other two mouthpieces
and playing in the stratoshpere which does stress the reed PS I can't get that high if I tried -maybe a fourth or fifth below...

**benbyrne** · 02-28-2012, 08:07 AM

Thanks for listening,

I decided on using the same reed (which was relatively new, if not brand new) to try and eliminate the possibility of change between the reeds - I mean what if I had the greatest reed ever and played it on the same mouthpieces. I'm very aware of how a reed conforms to the mouthpiece. Personally thinking I think the Link is too big for me and that is my issue with it, intonation wise I think the link was probably the hardest to control, but I do love the sound I can get from it. Unfortunately due to lack of practice time I can't say I really have the time to really practice playing it. In regards to the range - I do my best to play up to super C on every scale (at 60BPM - slowly is the only way to be sure that you are sure of what you are playing) to be honest it is very very ugly, but practice is the only way around it, there was a guy I took a lesson from who played everything from low Bb or B up to Super D or C#, and it was really inspiring to hear someone play like that - so I'm trying to get to the point where I am that comfortable.