I have spent a few very interesting days with the new Tribute mouthpiece from Phil-tone/Wanne. Like other reviewers, I was struck by its appearance. It's a Link copy, so the shape is pretty much a given, but whoever came up with the visuals combined a silver matte finish, clean block lettering, the script Wanne "W" logo, standard shank rings, and a heavy but balanced feel into a presentation that radiates refinement and quality.
By way of playing reference, I've been using a Morgan Fry Floridated modern Link in a 7 tip for a while, and have been very happy with the sound of it. I also have a Florida Link here, refaced by Brian Powell to 7* - not original obviously, but I assume it retains enough of its original sound to give me a sense of the difference between vintage and modern. The Floridated Link has more innate buzziness than the BP/Florida model, and I really love that aspect of it. It's also a little livelier in general - "zingy" is the word that comes to mind - and also hollower. When i first blew the Tribute, I found it to be pleasant sounding: even smoother and more restrained than the BP/Florida - especially so in the second register - but with a really solid core, especially in the low end, that I really liked. That's pretty much where things stood in my assessment after day one - excellent mouthpiece and core sound, but a little too polite for my tastes and clearly less aligned with my tonal concept than my current mouthpiece.
That assessment gradually evolved in days two and three, almost by accident. First, I happened to start blowing a little harder on the Tribute, and that seemed to have a dramatic impact on the sound - not making it brighter or edgier but filling it out. Later, by accident, I left the reed a little short of the tip of the mouthpiece. I usually detect that problem quickly by the unwanted additional buzz in the sound, but in this case the buzz was something I missed when the reed was "properly" placed. I experimented more with my air support, and found that the more support I provided, the more the beautiful core sound of this mouthpiece just seemed to blossom. That feature might not appeal to everyone, but for me it was an interesting dimension that I haven't experienced to such a dramatic extent before. It still didn't have quite the zip of the Floridated, but it made up for it some with a gutsier, more complex core. I can't say I like the Tribute more, but it sure holds its own against an old favorite.
I'd agree with others that this is a flexible mouthpiece, but I wouldn't apply Kelly's "transparent" characterization, because that gutsy core sound was a constant for me. I also wouldn't describe this as an easy-playing mouthpiece. It's not that it's finicky. After several hours on the Tribute I'm beginning to realize that I haven't been working hard enough with my air support, that the Tribute handsomely rewards the extra effort, and that applying that same effort to the Floridated enhances its sound too, though not to the same degree as the Tribute. At one point, I found myself playing fortissmo low Bb's on the Tribute for a few minutes, just to see how much sound was there, and it easily accommodated the limits of my effort. After a fascinating few days of discovery, I'm left wondering how much unrevealed potential the Tribute might have in store. Well done, Phil and Theo!
I tested with 2 1/2 and 3 Javas and a standard Link lig. Regrettably, the Enlightened Ligature wasn't included in the passaround, not that I'd expect it to significantly affect my review.