Saxscape Downtown Studio Slim .112"
First Impressions: Upon arrival, I thought it looked and felt like the same material as that used for Rico Royal Graftonite pieces. It even has a similar pebbled finish (except on the beak which is smooth). Actually it's Delrin which is much harder and somewhat heavier than the Graftonite material. The chamber work looks a bit rough, but I understand this is pretty standard for Saxscape pieces, which are deemed done when they PLAY to spec, rather than how they LOOK. The only ligatures I have that fit are both Olegatures -- a #4 intended for my Link STM, and a #3 intended for my Dukoff. Both work fine, but if I didn't play (thicker than normal) Fibracells, the #4 would be too loose without a patch.
Reed friendliness: It likes my collection of Fibracell Premier 2.5s, and that's all I really cared about. Just like on every other mouthpiece, all of them play pretty much alike. I tried a couple blue box Vandorens on it too and they chirped badly, but then they also chirped badly on the Drake. I tossed them out once I saw they had a visible curve to them.
Response: The response is snappy without feeling like it's running away from me. There is just enough resistance, and it retains this well-balanced resistance at all volume levels. Altissimo is not the best ever (my duckbill Dukoff is better) but it's still pretty good -- slightly better than the Drake Contemporary.
Tonal/Dynamic Flexibility: This is where this mouthpiece shines the most. Played gently, it gets a nicely round sound without a lot of edge. It subtones very nicely as well. The low end of the horn is rich and full, unlike with the Dukoff where it is a little bit thin (which ends up sounding like my Drake + C-mel combo). The baffle is very high but also very short, so it provides increasing edge with higher volume levels without sacrificing the core tone. Driven hard, it can easily keep up with Dukoffs and other high step-baffle pieces.
Other: (specify) I bought this mouthpiece to offset the natural darkness (almost stuffiness) of the Mercury tenor I just bought. This tenor also plays better in tune with high baffle pieces. I have tried several now -- a brand new Dukoff D7, an old and heavily modified Dukoff with almost no baffle (just a pronounced duckbill), the Drake Contemporary (not bright enough), and a Guardala-style RSR which I would have bought on the spot had it been for sale as it was truly spectacular. Since it wasn't available, I had to find a reasonably close approximation -- and this is it.
Although bought specifically for the Mercury, it sounds pretty darn sweet on the Yamaha 21 too.
Conclusion: I really would have liked to buy the RSR piece, and my name is on the list if/when he resumes production. Since that was not possible, I went looking for something similar but affordable (which ruled out vintage Guardalas). I am very pleased by the result of this search, and even if/when I do get my hands on something like a Guardala, I believe this mouthpiece will still have something of its own to offer because it is so rich at the bottom of the horn.
You don't have to take my word for it though.
I have posted clips of the various mouthpieces (except for the RSR).