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* PHIL-TONE and Theo Wanne MOSAIC Reviews *

117K views 254 replies 74 participants last post by  Vanadiel 
#1 · (Edited)
I am pleased to announce the arrival of the second cooperatively made piece by Phil-Tone and Theo Wanne Inc. Plans for the Mosaic began midway through the design of the Tribute. As many of you know, the Tribute is a precise replica of the Florida Link. It is focused, refined, and in every way embodies what most players envision when they imagine a great Link.

The support we have received for the Tribute has been outstanding. It is truly a phenomenal piece. However, most of us want more than one flavor of ice cream. Everyone doesn’t want to play a Link. Sometimes a player wants a piece that is a little less civilized, maybe sometimes even a bit rude. The Mosaic is that piece. It has color, texture and resonance to extend your sound concept into different realms. Offering a tonal palate that is thick, chunky and rich the Mosaic can get “Up in your face” when you want it to and simply sings.

The sound is inspired by the Dukoff “Stubby” but takes the concept a step beyond. The piece accomplishes what few pieces can. It is easy to blow, has an enormous sound and resonance. Never thin, the Mosaic has more color than any mouthpiece I have ever played hands down! The piece accomplishes this without the use of high baffles. This allows the player to shape his or her sound. From warm ballads to driving bop the Mosaic delivers.

The Mosaic is machined to the highest standards available. Each piece is then handcrafted to completion. Each and every piece is play tested prior to final finishing. The Mosaic will be offered as a 7* (.105) with custom tips available. The piece will ship with Theo’s Enlightened Ligature and two pressure plates. The retail cost for the Mosaic is $495.

As titled, this thread is for reviews....our very own Steve Neff will be posting very shortly.

Thanks
Phil
 
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#43 ·
Phil was kind enough to allow me to try the Mosaic for a few days. It would be fun to play this side-by-side with the Tribute, as they seem variants of one another based on my recollection of playing the Tribute last summer. The beautiful design-work and finish are the same, and like the Tribute this mouthpiece has a beautiful, even, gutsy core tone throughout the range of the horn. I took a few days to get acquainted with the Tribute, but the Mosaic felt like an old friend right from the start, perhaps in part due to my previous experience with the Tribute. Like the Tribute, the Mosaic seems to really like a nice, strong, well-supported air-stream. To address the million dollar question - is the Mosaic brighter or darker? It's definitely different. I found the Tribute to have a very refined tone, and you can certainly get that from the Mosaic, but I could also get a little more complex, grainy sound if I wanted. I'm struggling a little with words here, but just to be clear, the Mosaic is still very much a mainstream acoustic jazz style mouthpiece, not a screamer or paint peeler in any way, at least not for me. In that regard I'd probably disagree with Phil's characterization that it can "get up in your face," at least with the tonal implications that phrase brings to my mind. Like saxmanjack's, my purse-strings felt a long, hard tug from this mouthpiece, but with a little effort I hope to move it along with my wallet intact. I really love it, it's a little different from anything else I've got here, but my time with the horn doesn't half justify the collection I've got on hand let alone another addition to it.

If you, on the other hand, are in the market for a premium Link-style metal mouthpiece, I would definitely put these two models on my list to consider. The Tribute is ultra-refined and the Mosaic has a little more oomph or edge if needed, but honestly, I don't think you could go very far wrong with either of these beauties.

I tested the Mosaic with 2H RJS unfiled (which, come to think of it, is a confounding factor with the Tribute test, which I did with Javas) and a standard metal Link ligature.

Thanks a million to Phil for letting me be part of this pass-around and congratulations on another terrific addition to the product line.
 
#44 ·
It would be fun to play this side-by-side with the Tribute, as they seem variants of one another based on my recollection of playing the Tribute last summer.

.. is the Mosaic brighter or darker? It's definitely different. I found the Tribute to have a very refined tone, and you can certainly get that from the Mosaic, but I could also get a little more complex, grainy sound if I wanted..
I was able to compare them (see my post #13 in this thread) and as I said in that post, they are both great mpcs and I would be happy with either one. To answer your question, imo the Mosaic is darker overall, with a less focused sound, while the Tribute has a more compact tone with maybe a bit more 'cut' to it. As to the Tribute being 'refined', it depends on what you mean by that. I'd say it can be played with a refined tone, but it's certainly not limited to that. The Tribute, like any Link, has a lot of guts and depth to the tone and if you push it a bit, it's easy to get some edge or grit to the sound. You can definitely get that Texas tenor sound on the Tribute. Think Arnett Cobb. You can get it on the Mosaic also.

It's probably best to treat these as two separate mpcs, though. I think they're in the same ballpark, with considerable overlap, but without having played the Mosaic for more than a couple of hours, I can't really know all that it can do (so to speak). I've been playing the Tribute for a couple of months so am more familiar with what it can do. One thing for sure, you can't go wrong with either of these if you want that 'iconic' tenor sound.
 
#50 ·
Yeah, and of course "Arnett Cobb sound" is ambiguous too, as he had a range of sound. Looking back, I even used the term gutsy to describe the Tribute in my review. Perhaps I could clarify it best this way: among the metal Link mouthpieces in my collection, the Tribute tended strongly toward the more refined end of the spectrum, with a complex, gutsy core and higher than average (among metal Links I own) resistance. I probably should have said above "get pretty edgy on" rather than "get pretty gutsy on"; clearly I'm getting a little hung up with the difficult task on conveying tone in words. I'll leave it at that and urge anyone who is interested to give one a try if possible and see how it plays for them.
 
#51 ·
Hey no worries Rackety, I understand the inadequate nature of words to describe tone. I only used Arnett as one example. If I were to point to the 'core' tonal quality that I find in the Tribute, Jimmy Forrest on a Link would come very close in this recording:



In any case, this is a tone that I love. Sends chills up my spine.
 
#52 ·
I had a chance to play the Tribute and Mosaic sise by side as well this past weekend. I agree with Rackety Sax, it's really hard to put the sound nuances into words, but I did notice differences between the two so I'll do my best to describe what I heard from behind the horn. My own sound concept on tenor is very Coltrane-centric, so I'm sure my impressions and comparisons will be very different from those that are more into a Arnett Cobb or Jimmy Forrest vibe. I tried both mouthpieces with a Rigotti 3 Strong and the Enlightened ligature.

The Tribute pointed me towards a nice refined metal Link sound. It was thick, not at all harsh, and had a nice sweetness to the sound. Those qualities made me think of some of my favorite hard bop tenor players like George Coleman and Clifford Jordan as I was playing the Tribute. The sound had a nice sizzle on top of it but never felt bright. I tried it with a Rigotti 3 Strong and the Enlightened ligature.

The Mosaic, on the other hand, felt like something else all together. It immediately felt like I could get blow deeper into the sound and generall put more air through the mouthpiece (both pieces were a 7* by the way). The Mosaic felt more powerful to me, but not necessarily brighter or darker. The sound was broad, aggressive, and free-blowing. I instantly felt a strong Steve Grossman vibe with this mouthpiece. The sound to me was less of a pure Link thing like the Tribute, but had that extra "something" running through the core of the sound. Again, the overall sound and blowing experience made me think a lot about Steve Grossman, who is one of my all-time favorite tenor players. I believe that on many of my favorite Grossman albums he is playing either a Dukoff Stubby or a Link with a large chamber and a reworked baffle. The Mosaic seemed to have a lot in common with both of those pieces based on the way it played.

Of the two, I preferred the Mosaic. It really had all the qualities I love in a mouthpiece! I've read other people say they wouldn't play a loud gig on this mouthpiece, but I disagree. I'm guessing that with the right reed this mouthpiece would absolutely smoke in a fusion or rock setting. I'm still partial to rubber mouthpieces, but I was REALLY tempted o buy this mouthpiece. Great work Phil!
 
#53 ·
I had a chance to play the Tribute and Mosaic sise by side as well this past weekend. I agree with Rackety Sax, it's really hard to put the sound nuances into words, but I did notice differences between the two so I'll do my best to describe what I heard from behind the horn. My own sound concept on tenor is very Coltrane-centric, so I'm sure my impressions and comparisons will be very different from those that are more into a Arnett Cobb or Jimmy Forrest vibe. I tried both mouthpieces with a Rigotti 3 Strong and the Enlightened ligature....
I mostly agree with your characterization of both mpcs. Although I preferred the Tribute (slightly); I guess I like that refined metal Link sound. But I'd be totally happy with the Mosaic also, as I said. I think either one would work on a loud gig (within reason) if adequately miked. Anyhow, I'm going to find out soon enough!

Funny you mentioned Coltrane, because I put a slightly harder reed than I usually use (a Rigotti 3L) on the Tribute and man that's as close to a Coltrane tone as I've ever gotten. I do think the Mosaic has a bit darker sound (or maybe less of that 'sizzle' up top), but that's entirely subjective. I love both of those mpcs!
 
#57 ·
Phil was kind enough to give me a crack at his new Mosaic piece, his second collaboration with Theo Wanne after the Tribute. I *loved* the Tribute and its excellent Linkish vibe when I had my hands on it, and was curious about the Mosaic, which is inspired by a Dukoff Stubby.

Like the Tribute, the Mosaic looks pretty dang purdy, with a cool shiny and matte silver finish and excellent facing work.

Also like the Tribute -- and like most of Phil's pieces I've played -- the Mosaic had an appealingly even scale from the top to the bottom ends of the horn.

In terms of tone and resistance, however, the Tribute was a better fit for me. In my hands the Mosaic had a very focused and what I might almost call a "tight" sound that sort of brought to mind Hank Mobley. I didn't feel like I had the tonal flexibility on it that I had with the Tribute.

I also didn't think it had the "cut" and volume I could get from the Tribute -- and I will have to note here that a quick glance at the previous Mosaic reviews shows any number of folks who basically had the opposite experience from mine. We're lucky we have choices!

I definitely felt that more quality time with the piece, and exploring it with more reeds, would have revealed more fully what the piece is capable of in my hands -- while the Tribute was shockingly comfortable right off the bat, and might just plain be a better fit for me...
 
#58 ·
Did not find any Mosaic clips on youtube, other than the two of StrongD's.

A couple more Tribute clips from youtube:



 
#59 ·
Here's an audio sample I did at home on the Mosaic. I wouldn't call it the most versatile mouthpiece in the world, but the sound is huge! It definitely is a different animal than most other mouthpieces...I have to really change my airstream and voice this thing a bit differently than I'm used to, but the more I figure it out the bigger and deeper the sound gets, especially up high. The complete setup here is the Mosaic 7*, Viking M40, RJS 3S Unfiled, and a FL ligature.

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12742108
 
#66 ·
+1 Excellent tone and playing.

I know it's always mostly the player, but still ... it makes me want to try one of these babies :)
 
#67 ·
Thanks for all the nice words....I definitely like the direction this mouthpiece sends my sound. I tend to favor the upper register in my playing (probably too much) always trying to get that Coltrane sizzle in my sound. With this piece the upper register really becomes secondary and I found myself actually HEARING things in the lower register, which is different and pretty cool.

I studied with a great old school bop player named Mel Martin when I was in high school, and he was always trying to get me to stop taking melodies in the upper register a la Trane. He was way into Griff, Stitt, Jaws. Golson, etc. As I sat here playing some tunes today and subtoning the heck out of them I thought of him....I think he would tell to stick with this piece and quit screwing around with mouthpieces. :)
 
#68 ·
Thanks for all the nice words....I definitely like the direction this mouthpiece sends my sound. I tend to favor the upper register in my playing (probably too much) always trying to get that Coltrane sizzle in my sound. With this piece the upper register really becomes secondary and I found myself actually HEARING things in the lower register, which is different and pretty cool.:)
+1 for discovering a 'piece that makes the whole horn interesting. Sweet!

I studied with a great old school bop player named Mel Martin when I was in high school, and he was always trying to get me to stop taking melodies in the upper register a la Trane. He was way into Griff, Stitt, Jaws. Golson, etc. As I sat here playing some tunes today and subtoning the heck out of them I thought of him....I think he would tell to stick with this piece and quit screwing around with mouthpieces. :)
Very cool. For those that don't know of him... http://www.melmartin.com/
 
#73 ·
The two recordings both have the same reverb, but I think I recorded them differently. When it comes to recording stuff I'm lucky if I can firgure out which end of the mic to blow into:)

The Rico Royal feels a little softer than the RJS I used on the first clip. I'd like to try some softer Rigottis as well, like a 3 Medium, but need to order them first.
 
#74 ·
i really enjoyed both clips David. Star Eyes was superb. By the way, i played a gig with Mel Martin many years ago, he was such a nice player. 1983 or 84 i think. Any way i think your concept and the tone you get on the Mosaic fit very well together.
 
#79 ·
I've been spending some more time with this piece and checking out different reeds. I've noticed that fdr me, filed reeds like a RJS or Rico Royal work noticably better. The high end speaks much freer than with the unfiled reeds I've tried (RJS Unfiled, Rigotti, JAVA).

The last recording I did I was intentionally trying to get as much of a Dexter sound as possible. Today I was going for a Sonny thing and getting pretty close at times. This mouthpiece has a great husky, throaty thing that translates really well to Rollins' sound. I got the best results with a Rico Royal 3 1/2....let me know what you think.

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12745994
 
#80 ·
David, all three clips sound great, but I preferred the first one. Also still hear (besides some Rollins) a lot of Dexter in your last clip. The RR 3.5 sounds good, but in my ears the #3 reeds seems to give you bit more flexibility and a more open sound (of course difficult to judge from compressed mp3 clips).

I'm so impressed by the sound of this piece on your (and other) clips that I just ordered a Mosaic 9. Phil already worked on it, but was not really advising to go this big in tip size. I'm looking for a bit more darkness in my sound compared to my vintage Link's and Ponzol 120. Looking forward to see what it will bring to me :).
 
#81 ·
David, all three clips sound great, but I preferred the first one. Also still hear (besides some Rollins) a lot of Dexter in your last clip. The RR 3.5 sounds good, but in my ears the #3 reeds seems to give you bit more flexibility and a more open sound (of course difficult to judge from compressed mp3 clips).
David, I failed to praise you on your great playing earlier, very, very good and so enjoyable.
I also totally loved your playing best on the 1st clip and on the RR 3 reed, too.

I have played most of your sound clips and you sound great on the Mosaic, imo
 
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