Bill Evans Signature Tenor Mouthpiece Limited Edition
$1,695.00
Model 1AO -The world's finest tenor mouthpiece
1AO - I call it the "One and Only" because it's the only mouthpiece I've played throughout my entire career.
In 1980, Michael Brecker spent many months painstakingly working with a craftsman creating a totally "handmade" mouthpiece. They meticulously refined all of the things Mike didn't like in other mouthpieces : stuffiness, too open or too closed, too much high end or too much low end, ease of playing in the altissimo, etc.
They created a mouthpiece that was extremely dynamic and freeflowing, truly one of a kind. In 1981, I was fortunate enough to try this mouthpiece and it immediately blew me away. At that moment the love affair began and has been going strong ever since. With much enthusiasm and permission from Mike, I was able to buy this mouthpiece. I've been playing it ever since that first day I tried it in 1981. Over time I made a few small changes to make it even better, and VOILA!
Returns Policy
We do not except returns.
In the event of some unforeseen reason you wish to return the mouthpiece you may request to do so. This will be decided on a case by case basis. No refund will occur until the mouthpiece has been fully inspected and is deemed "good as new". If you drop your mouthpiece on a hard surface you will ruin it. The brass tip will bend and you will not be eligible for a return. If you file your mouthpiece or remove any metal in the hopes of finishing the mouthpiece you will not be eligible for a return. The mouthpiece is completely finished when shipped from the factory and no other tampering or finishing is necessary.
A 25% restocking fee applies to all domestic US returns deemed worthy of a refund. A 50% restocking fee applies to all international returns. Most countries charge import taxes that range from 17% to 38%. We are unable to recoup any import and or VAT taxes once a mouthpiece is shipped internationally. Customer is responsible for return shipping costs.
So for about the price of a 10MFAN piece, or more than the price of one of those new Saxquest mouthpieces, you might enjoy the privilege of being able to return a Bill Evans piece.
Guardala MB1/traditional copy,
Simple money saving idea if you want something similar, see fellow SOTW member Sakshama for the same spec and just as good I say, oh, and MUCH cheaper
I have nothing to gain by saying the above, simply my honest view after owning many original Guardala and Sakshama mouthpieces and to me this looks similar.
Sakshama already makes homages to Guardalas. I doubt there is much to learn from copying this 'piece. Don't most Guardalas sound much the same? :twisted:
I'm sorry if anyone considers this picking on Bill, but ...
At every step of the manufacturing process this mouthpiece was meticulously attended to by the finest of tradesmen including : machinists, design engineers, polishers and platers. It took over 4 years to complete this process.
How many design engineers does it take to copy an existing mouthpiece? It seems that he could've saved a lot of time and money if he'd taken the job to Theo Wanne. I consider Theo the leader in the field of producing high-precision, well-crafted mouthpieces using CNC methods.
+1 Met Theo recently at a seminar he gave at Capilano University and yes, he is the real deal. Brilliant and a super nice guy!!! Ended up buying a Gaia2 sop mpc...Killah.
Yeah Doc, I'll pick on Bill. To be honest, in the demos it doesn't sound to good these ears, the ad reminds me of a cheesy Sugal E-Bay listing, and on a final note, ditch the bandana Bill, it's getting old.
Hah! I was actually thinking of looking for a Bill Evans Signature bandana. It looks like just the ticket for cutting the glare from my pate under spot lights.
See what it does to make Stevie Van Zandt look better?
He's probably been on the road so many years that he may be in another reality and obviously hasn't been mouthpiece shopping in 3 and a half decades. Maybe he needs to research things some more. He's a very talented musician though, done a lot of stuff with the best.
Yeah, in his autobiography, Miles Davis said Bill Evans (the saxophone player) was one of the most musically talented people he had had in his bands. That says quite a bit in my book. If he wants to wear a bandana and try and sell mouthpieces for 1600 bucks I say go for it. Nobody is forcing you to buy it.
For that price though it ought to sound better than 'very nice'. Whatever, more power to him if he can sell a mouthpiece at $1700 but I suspect the profit maximizing price is somewhere far below that.
"I've been playing it ever since that first day I tried it in 1981..." He must have forgotten he was actually playing a Link when he was with Miles, at least in 1982 anyway. (And he sounded much better on it imho)
Starting from a blank takes me 4-6 hours to get a nice mpc completed. 4 years....must have had freaking aliens from planet Zatox working on it. With all due respect, being a great musician doesn't mean diddly in the world of manufacture. Has anyone heard Otto Link play?
To be fair to Bill, maybe he's thinking that his original Guardala can be sold for at least 1500+ and probably a lot more being Bill Evans mouthpiece.......... These are supposedly exact perfect copies so .........sell them for 1700?
You guys are cruel, I'm not a Bill Evans tone fan and don't consider an eighth note rest a missed opportunity but he has played with the best and worked steady for a long time which is more than I can say for myself. Granted the mouthpiece price is pretty strange but why get all snarky over it like its a personal affront or something? Somebody else may be behind it all, he's just the front man.
1) I find it deceitful that he doesn't give any attribution to Guardala. Is he afraid that someone will come after him for royalties?
2) Hyperbole invites response - sarcasm is one appropriate vehicle.
3) Bill claims to do the finish work himself, sticks on a high price, then has an expensive return policy. As you say, he's played a lot of notes, cut a lot of albums, and perhaps (hopefully) been rewarded well for that - but that doesn't validate him as a mouthpiece maker.
If you think this thread is "cruel", then you don't want to listen to a crowd of sixth grade girls. That can get harsh.
Well Guardala was a convicted crook, maybe he doesn't want to be associated with that or maybe he's the front man for the man himself:yikes! Oh my word!
You're right this could never hold a candle to sixth grade girls or junior high, I remember those days well.
It's unlikely that Evans is fronting for Guardala since in the one news article I found about the conviction it appears that Evans was a witness for the prosecution.
And her mouthpieces do play very well! I was fortunate to get mine in trade, but they are top notch quality!
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