My Andy Sheppard Autograph Series Metal Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review.
I will start this review by saying when I heard about the plans of a Andy Sheppard Se...ries mouthpiece from the man himself in Newcastle I could not wait to try one. It took well over a year later and they are now in full production.
I have long been a true Sheppard hard core fan. For me he is still my favourite modern saxophonist out there. He is a rare bird out there as he does his own thing and when you hear a couple of them lush tones you know its him. Theres too many great players out there that all sound the same. Sheppard for sure has his own vibe, style and amazing sound. In Newcastle when I jammed with him I also tested the Sheppard Autograph Tenor, Newcastle model which I later bought. He said his Otto Link he was playing was a 10 tip !!! he had done bits of reface work tweaking it to his likes. He played with no mic that day and WOW it was crazy rich and lush indeed.
I was sent to try out the two AS mouthpieces which come in a size 7* and the 10 tip. Both are made by the legend Morgan Fry here in the UK and as ever his finish work is superb, of the best in the world. They come in bare brass, no plating just like the Autograph tenors. He has used some special brass mix here. The bite plate is very nice, a brown tortoise shell kind of plate. They have an AS logo on them, nice touch.
They come in a very cool black box, velvet pouch and a signed card from Andy himself.
Sound,,,
Enough of me rambling, lol whats my thoughts on them !
7*, Well to be fair I need over a 115, 8* tenor tip on any tenor. So a 7* always feels odd and hard work as I do blow a lot of air into my horns but this 7* still performed very well and easy on a wide choice of reeds. You hear that Link vibe for sure but way more power. Theres great focus here. Very precise indeed.
My real review here is on the 10 tip as its in my tip size ballpark. WOW its a monster piece. Anyone thinking of the 10 size and fearing of it please forget about that. Its such an easy player. Morgan and Andy have got this perfect !!! I have owned and played many great Guardalas over many years and love them for there pure tone and huge power. Andy himself played a Studio DG for a good while, his soprano mp is still a DG. My dream and I think his was to have a mp with that amazing hard to beat great Otto Link richness but it being so easy to blow which most Links aren't and to have massive power for ANY setting, style and that modern sound. Plus to have fantastic intonation, ease of use, very reedly and of course versatile .Well after my testing, gigging etc I think, I know they have found all these factors in the 10 tip AS mouthpiece for sure. For me it can purr and roar to 11 no problem. Very full, rich tones with just the right amount of edge when pushed. Never harsh, just a perfect mix of bottom, middle and clear full soaring top tones. Altissimo is scary easy, again big and full. I tested them with Rico Jazz Select 2 medium and 2 hard plus Lupifaro Classic 2 reeds and Legere Sig, 2 1/2 and Legere classic reeds. All worked very well indeed. The sound I got as in that Sheppard vibe for sure, very full, huge focus in sound. Clear and so much scope to bend, shape my own sound. I am now of course using the 10 now myself and I know were going to get on very well. Check them out, there great. Peter Scaddan of Lupifaro Saxophones UK stock them. Give him a message or call to try them yourself.
David Keighley.
I will start this review by saying when I heard about the plans of a Andy Sheppard Se...ries mouthpiece from the man himself in Newcastle I could not wait to try one. It took well over a year later and they are now in full production.
I have long been a true Sheppard hard core fan. For me he is still my favourite modern saxophonist out there. He is a rare bird out there as he does his own thing and when you hear a couple of them lush tones you know its him. Theres too many great players out there that all sound the same. Sheppard for sure has his own vibe, style and amazing sound. In Newcastle when I jammed with him I also tested the Sheppard Autograph Tenor, Newcastle model which I later bought. He said his Otto Link he was playing was a 10 tip !!! he had done bits of reface work tweaking it to his likes. He played with no mic that day and WOW it was crazy rich and lush indeed.
I was sent to try out the two AS mouthpieces which come in a size 7* and the 10 tip. Both are made by the legend Morgan Fry here in the UK and as ever his finish work is superb, of the best in the world. They come in bare brass, no plating just like the Autograph tenors. He has used some special brass mix here. The bite plate is very nice, a brown tortoise shell kind of plate. They have an AS logo on them, nice touch.
They come in a very cool black box, velvet pouch and a signed card from Andy himself.
Sound,,,
Enough of me rambling, lol whats my thoughts on them !
7*, Well to be fair I need over a 115, 8* tenor tip on any tenor. So a 7* always feels odd and hard work as I do blow a lot of air into my horns but this 7* still performed very well and easy on a wide choice of reeds. You hear that Link vibe for sure but way more power. Theres great focus here. Very precise indeed.
My real review here is on the 10 tip as its in my tip size ballpark. WOW its a monster piece. Anyone thinking of the 10 size and fearing of it please forget about that. Its such an easy player. Morgan and Andy have got this perfect !!! I have owned and played many great Guardalas over many years and love them for there pure tone and huge power. Andy himself played a Studio DG for a good while, his soprano mp is still a DG. My dream and I think his was to have a mp with that amazing hard to beat great Otto Link richness but it being so easy to blow which most Links aren't and to have massive power for ANY setting, style and that modern sound. Plus to have fantastic intonation, ease of use, very reedly and of course versatile .Well after my testing, gigging etc I think, I know they have found all these factors in the 10 tip AS mouthpiece for sure. For me it can purr and roar to 11 no problem. Very full, rich tones with just the right amount of edge when pushed. Never harsh, just a perfect mix of bottom, middle and clear full soaring top tones. Altissimo is scary easy, again big and full. I tested them with Rico Jazz Select 2 medium and 2 hard plus Lupifaro Classic 2 reeds and Legere Sig, 2 1/2 and Legere classic reeds. All worked very well indeed. The sound I got as in that Sheppard vibe for sure, very full, huge focus in sound. Clear and so much scope to bend, shape my own sound. I am now of course using the 10 now myself and I know were going to get on very well. Check them out, there great. Peter Scaddan of Lupifaro Saxophones UK stock them. Give him a message or call to try them yourself.
David Keighley.