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10mfan METAL Merlot and Robusto tenor mouthpieces are now READY!

231K views 599 replies 94 participants last post by  10mfan 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I am now officially taking orders for the metal Merlot and Robusto models!!!!!


If you yearn for ORIGINAL design modern mouthpieces that don't feel, look, or sound like anyone elses mouthpieces--- here's your opportunity.

I am ALL about carving my OWN path with original design mouthpieces that for me, outplay the vintage mouthpieces in the 3 categories I have set them up in.

THE BOSS model (my 3rd category piece that will have tons of power and volume, but also loads of body), will be out in the next month or so, but right now you have 2 new options to choose from with my metal MERLOT and ROBUSTO models. These are my first 2 category mouthpieces and in case you have been on Mars the last 9 months, you can read about that on my website: www.10mfan.com :)

I could not be any prouder of these pieces. These have great body and soul. They are not all about just volume and they offer the player the perfect amount of resistance in my opinion, to be able to shape the sound how they want. These are very colorful and resonant and Eric Falcon has worked with me beautifully with these to help me make my dreams come true.

I GREATLY encourage everyone who owns vintage metal mouthpieces like Links, Dukoffs, Zimberoffs, Selmers, Gales, and ALL the copycat mouthpieces of those pieces----- to see what I have been up to. I believe strongly, that you will be blown away....I AM. Eric Falcon said the Merlot and Robusto metal mouthpieces will absolutely knock out the guys who especially love vintage Links, and want MORE than their Links will give them. He told me that he has kept 2 very special Florida Links in his personal collection for a very long time, that he has considered to be the BEST examples for him of those pieces. He told me that the Robusto for him, absolutely smokes them both and he is VERY excited because he knows players will go nuts for these. I have compared the Merlot and Robusto metals to the best vintage metals here in my personal collection, and they just outplay them for me. I would not pick any of the vintage metal pieces I have here that fit into my first and second categories, over these 2 pieces I am releasing. This has been a lot of work for Eric and myself and has taken an enormous amount of time, money, and energy to complete.

THANK YOU ALL FOR STAYING PATIENT WITH ME THROUGH THIS.



I THOUGHT LONG AND HARD ABOUT PRICING!!!!!


I have wanted from day one, to make modern mouthpieces that outplay vintage mouthpieces and are affordable for musicians today. I spent years selling high end vintage mouthpieces that many musicians could not afford, so the mouthpieces ended up going to many dealers overseas. Prices got nuts for the vintage pieces so it was super important for me to get my head back on straight and undercharge for my hard rubber modern 10mfan™ line of mouthpieces so players could enjoy them and not feel like they emptied the bank account to do so! $385 for my pure hard rubber bar stock mouthpieces is an incredible deal. I see copy pieces of vintage mouthpieces going for much more, and there's no reason for that at all. Modern mouthpieces shoudn't be priced in the stratosphere, in my opinion. I think modern mouthpieces should be able to be bought for what you would get for a couple very good playing gigs.

I look at the marketplace and I see loads of copies of Links, Dukoffs, Guardalas, Meyer Bros, etc... its never ending. So I said to myself that I should be charging much more than those, because mine are actually ORIGINAL and have taken an ENORMOUS amount of time, money, and hard work to get right.

Well...thats one reasonable way to look at it, but the bottom line is I just can't see charging $850 or $750 for a modern mouthpiece that isn't rare or collectible by any means, like the vintage mouthpieces are. In fact, I can't see charging $650 either. I asked MANY players where they think my metals should be priced based on affordability and what they thought I would be asking.... and amongst the 40-50 people I asked, those players thought I'd come in at around the $550-$650 range.

I decided that I will do exactly what I did with my hard rubber pieces, (which have turned out to be incredibly successful), and ask much less than I know I should in order to get more people to play on the mouthpieces and see how fantastic they are. I am hoping with the addition of these metals and 2 hard rubber altos coming this summer, (they have been in the works for quite some time, and I think a summer release is VERY realistic.)---to sell WELL over 1,000 mpc's my first year of sales directly to players.

Back to the price of my metals....
I am going to price them lower than they should be---I am going to offer them at only $495.
To me, it's another gift price for my mouthpieces, so I hope this makes many of you happy.

My mouthpieces are made of brass and will be silver plated and engraved with my 10mfan™ logo, model name, and tip opening. I am not gold plating them because I want to save YOU money. Eric does a wonderful job with his plating and they will look and play gorgeous. EVERY mouthpiece will be hand finished by Eric and play tested by both Eric and myself before they are sent out. My pieces have a bite plate and are really fantastic. I do not have any "finished" version photos to release. You will have to wait till the first group of orders are completed. I just have the prototypes here, but I won't put up pics of those.
My website will have to wait too. :)


A FEW LIGS THAT WILL FIT MY METAL MOUTHPIECES:


Selmer 404---cannot be one that is already bent from the top ridge of an Otto lLnk. It must be virgin.

Ishimori---Otto link M size

Silverstein metal tenor lig

Vandoren V16 optimum

Marc Jean---I'll get you the size

Any Rovner in the 3ML or L13 size

BG sized for a metal Link

Rico H lig HTS2


I AM OFFERING THE MOST COMPLETE SELECTION OF TIP SIZE OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO THE BUYER FOR BOTH MY METAL MERLOT AND ROBUSTO MODELS: 4*-12*


I already have a bunch of names on a list who wanted these when they came out, and I will be officially taking all other orders starting NOW.

Just email me and tell me what tip size and model you want, and I will have you send a paypal. We will not be able to get the first orders out for about 1 month due to the back up with the rubber mouthpieces and the first group of metal orders, but one month or so isn't too long to wait for something new that's actually original.

You can email me at: connsaxman@comcast.net


THANK YOU ALL FOR THE MOST INCREDIBLE 9 MONTHS I COULD HAVE EVER HOPED FOR IN TERMS OF MAKING SOOOOO MANY PLAYERS SO HAPPY ALL OVER THE WORLD, AND THERE WILL BE MORE TO COME FROM ME WITH ALTO AND SOPRANO AND POSSIBLY BARI MOUTHPIECES...

YOUR SUPPORT AND KIND WORDS HAVE BEEN SO GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

*** You will need to order the metals directly through me via my email until I have my web guy set up the page on my website. He will be doing that this week for me. ***

Thank you.
All the best, Mark
 
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#28 ·
Re: NEW MPC ANNOUNCEMENT: 10MFAN™ pure hard rubber bar stock/ hand finished tenor mouthpieces--------FINALLY!!!!!

Will an unplated model be an option when ordering or can we only buy them in silver plate?
Hi Liam,
I hope you are doing great!!!
Most people don't want to play bare brass mouthpieces.
I am using silver plate because I love the look of that finish, and it also keeps the cost down for the buyer because gold plating is much more expensive.
My metals will come with the silver plate.
I was thinking the same. A special order bare brass would be great.
 
#29 ·
Re: NEW MPC ANNOUNCEMENT: 10MFAN™ pure hard rubber bar stock/ hand finished tenor mouthpieces--------FINALLY!!!!!

I know may not be easy to arrange things this way at this point, but could people insert their post on the metal pieces on the 10mfan metal pieces thread instead of this one? It'd be a way for us who are interested only in the metal pieces to have quicker access to the information. Just an idea.
I think this is a very good idea. I just wrote the administrators and asked if they could do that.
Thanks Jorge, and hope you are well!!!!
 
#30 ·
Re: NEW MPC ANNOUNCEMENT: 10MFAN™ pure hard rubber bar stock/ hand finished tenor mouthpieces--------FINALLY!!!!!

I was thinking the same. A special order bare brass would be great.
In all my years of selling vintage metal mouthpieces, all I ever heard was people complaining if a metal mpc was down to its bare brass, because they didn't want that in their mouth.
I can discuss this with Eric to get his thoughts, and get back with you. I am not offering gold plating, and IF we do decide on letting out polished bare brass pieces as custom orders, (if clients actually want that), they will be the same price for silver plated or polished bare brass. Eric and I have already worked out our agreement on price and that will not change. I will discuss the possibility of polished bare brass as a custom option with Eric once he's back from his 7 day record producing session, on Thursday this week. He's got alot of new orders for my metal pieces to get going on. :)
 
#40 ·
That does come across in your clips. Very impressive tone, indeed, big and rich.
 
#33 ·
I'm wondering, Eric, if you always played a 10 tip? The beast sounds big and bold, but I wonder how it sounds on a 105 or 110, and mostly I'm wondering if one should go up in tip size if playing one of these. What's the tip opening on the Berg you play?
 
#35 ·
LEON---You need to get the tip size that is correct for you to get the most out of your piece.
I know you bought one of Phil's pieces recently and Dr G asked you if you got another would you get the same size, and you said you would go up a size. If that's the case, you should get one of my pieces in the tip size that you wanted to go up to with his piece. It sounds like that would be the right place for you. My Merlot metal, which is what you'd want, is a low baffle piece and super easy to play top to bottom---BIG SOUND!
Eric used to play 10 tip Links, so I sent him the big 10 tip Robusto. He is most comfortable on a 9 these days so when he gets one of my pieces that's what he will probably get.
Many of us can play many different tip sizes but I am a firm believer that there is one that is the perfect sound center for each of us. I didn't have a 9 prototype to send him so I sent him the 10 because I knew he could handle it.
One common theme I find with players, is that they could go up a half size in REED and sound better. Most people use reed sizes which are a little soft, and I have seen this for years and years across the board....not everyone, but certainly an overwhelming amount of players.
I had a buyer get a 7* Robusto rubber from me about 6 months ago. He always uses 2.5 Ricos on his regular mpc, so he tried my piece with that size reed and didnt like it. He told me the sound was thin and the high notes closed up on him if he pushed hard. I immediately knew that is was purely a reed issue, and yet another guy who would benefit from a harder reed. I told him all he needed to do was to go up in reed size. He went downstairs to his basement and got a box of 3 Ricos to try out. He called me up 10 minutes later and told me it was the best mouthpiece he had ever played.
He was way more comfortable with the #3 reed and it fit perfectly for him. It wasn't harder to play---it was easier. He said he never tried #3 reeds on his mpc, because he always felt it would be too hard to play. He had plenty of boxes of reeds and luckily he saw his mistake quickly. Guys really need to learn to try different reed sizes and brands to get what they need from their mouthpieces.
I have been preaching this for a very long time, and its true. Use what works best for you, and don't be afraid to go up or down in reed size and see how it feels and sounds.
 
#41 · (Edited)
We will also be offering SOLID SILVER versions of the metals if anyone is interested.
For those of you who have played solid silver mouthpieces, you know the beauty that those can offer.
We will be selling those for $995. We are offering them to anyone who loves solid silver mouthpieces.
All the best, Mark
 
#43 ·
I am really glad you took me up on that!!!
I have taken the time to learn about reeds and how important they are to color your sound and to offer you the response and feel you seek.
Most people have this thing in their head that if they go up to a certain size reed they cannot go past that because it will be too hard to play. Of course there will be a point where you can go too heavy, but most players would certainly benefit from checking out reeds that are the next size heavier than they use now if they already haven't. I'm really glad you checked those out and I hope your piece is even better for you with that set up. Enjoy, and if you decide to get one of mine just let me know.
All the best, mark
 
#44 ·
Thanks for all the kind words folks. What you are hearing there is a moderately active player who is not struggling with the gear. No having to anticipate pulling back when climbing up into the palm keys, no having to bark in the low register...this is a good example of the gear just getting out of the way and letting you play.

And...longtones!
 
#45 ·
Thank you very much.
Meaningful words for sure!
These 2 models will cause quite a stir. They are original designs and just offer the player so much.
There is nothing out there like these.
I can't wait for these to get into players hands.
If you make another video Eric, please post it...thanks!


HERE ARE 2 CLIPS OF HONKBOPSAX ON A ROBUSTO METAL 10:
(THIS ONE HAS NOT BEEN SILVER PLATED YET AND WE OFFER THESE IN 4*-12* TIP OPENINGS).






Come and see what all the talk is about:
www.10mfan.com
 
#46 ·
Great news. Richard really is a great person to deal with.
Please allow me some extra support...
http://www.woodwindsalesandrepairs.com/

As I have had mention here, I thought that it's about time to make my first post on SOTW and say Hi. Richard Hamer, I'm a player/teacher, with a repair business, (part time), in the UK. Because I have had my fair share of mouthpieces over the years (!) and I found myself with a registered company, some great mouthpiece makers have let me become a dealer for their products. I wanted to have some US pieces available over here for people to try which they may not have had the chance to before, without losing the money they pay on VAT, customs etc. So, Phil Tone, Theo Wanne, Aaron Drake, Mouthpiece Cafe, and now 10mfan. I think I was the first over here to keep Phi-Tone, Drake, and 10mfan.
I like to offer friendly service, hopefully with good help and advice, but it is a small business, just me part time, so I can't afford to keep everything in stock all the time. Because it's a small business, helps me keep the prices down when possible.
Anyway, that's the business stuff, I hope to be more active on here in future with musical content, hoping to add an educational/teaching/tips part to the website in the future.
Cheers All
Dick
 
#48 ·
Richard,
Thanks for coming on and thank you for making several brands of mpcs from the U.S. available for the overseas guys! I am glad that you are the first dealer to carry my 10mfan™ mouthpieces, and I hope they get players into your store to buy other things or to finally get some repairs done on their horns. You have been fantastic through our correspondence, and I hope someday to be able to meet you in person!
My first orders of my metal tenor mpc's are being finished now and hopefully you'll be able to carry a few in your store.
All the best!
Mark
 
#53 ·
Even though you all know me as 10mfan (coming from being such a fan of the Conn 10m tenors),----I actually play way more alto these days than anything else, as that is the voice closest to my heart for me on the saxophone. (Don't tell anyone.) :)
You can bet your *** that I am going to nail the alto mouthpieces! We have been working on them for quite some time and they will definitely be out this summer....if not sooner.
Finally, alto pieces that aren't ripoffs of Meyer Brothers, Slants, Soloists, or Dukoffs! All the mouthpieces I make will have flat baffles and original designs with extra long tables so players can line up their reeds properly. I also took enormous care in designing the beaks to make what I consider to be the most comfortable beak designs ever.
My classic alto mouthpiece is going to be phenomenal. I guarantee it. I will also have a powerhouse alto like nothing out there. Saxophonists are finally in the position to get innovative mouthpiece designs that aren't copies of everything we have seen over and over again for the last 70 years.

I am more proud of this than anything else!!!!!

10mfan™ mouthpieces-----"Creating innovative, original designs for players who want more than ordinary".



Come and see what all the talk is about:
www.10mfan.com
 
#60 ·
Even though you all know me as 10mfan (coming from being such a fan of the Conn 10m tenors),----I actually play way more alto these days than anything else, as that is the voice closest to my heart for me on the saxophone. (Don't tell anyone.) :)
You can bet your *** that I am going to nail the alto mouthpieces! We have been working on them for quite some time and they will definitely be out this summer....if not sooner.

……I am more proud of this than anything else!!!!!

……
Excellent news, Mark ! Can't wait to try the 6mfan Robusto !
 
#55 ·
FANTASTIC NEWS!!!!! -----FIRST U.S. DEALER OF 10MFAN MOUTHPIECES

Rich Maraday at Viking-instruments.com will be my first U.S. dealer for my 10mfan mouthpieces.
He will have some of my hard rubber pieces in his shop later this week, so please go by and try them out!
He will have 7*, 8, and 8* tips to start for the Merlot and Robusto models.

Rich is in the Hudson Valley in New York. If you're in the tri-state, please go visit him and see what all the excitement is about with my 10mfan™ mouthpieces.
Call Rich for an appointment at: (845) 361-9353.

Just remember to keep your reed all the way up to the tip of the mouthpiece and try different reed brands to give you the brightness or warmth that you desire.

Have fun!!!!!


WHILE YOU ARE THERE, PLEASE BE SURE TO TRY OUT RICH'S INCREDIBLE LINE OF VIKING SAXOPHONES!

ONCE THE 10MFAN™ METALS ARE RELEASED, RICH WILL CARRY THOSE TOO.

All the best,
Mark


Come and see what all the talk is about:
www.10mfan.com
 
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