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10mFan Robusto Impressions

11K views 25 replies 14 participants last post by  10mfan 
#1 ·
Hi Folks,
I would like to share my first impressions of the hard rubber Robusto. This one is a 7** tip size, played on my 1933 Conn Chu transitional tenor. This mouthpiece sounds huge! It projects a wide, loud tone. Much louder and spread than my other pieces, which consist of a Morgan Jazz 6L, a Vandoren V16 HR 6, and a current Link NY STM 7*. As mentioned before about the Robusto, it is a very versatile and dynamic mouthpiece. It can be played softly and it is very sweet. My main hr piece has been my Morgan 6L, which is such a lovely tone. The Robusto will play low like the Morgan, but you still have this vibrant energy from the Robusto, like a big cat on a leash. The Morgan has a more focused tone; the Robusto is more spread and seems to have more texture to the tone. I have tried two ligatures with the Robusto: a Rovner Dark and a Rico H. It responds well to the lig change in that it gets a bit warmer with the Rovner and still sounds great. I am still trying reeds, but so far it sounds great with my Rico and Java reeds. A fat sound with both. It is a very easy playing piece and there is no problem getting lots of energy and volume from this piece. You really do not have to push very hard, and you're there. By contrast, my Link takes more effort, and still falls short of what the Robusto puts out. Granted, it is a stock current production Link, so it may have more potential if it were worked on by a good refacer. The Vandoren V16 HR 6 is cool, I always liked it as a pretty versatile piece. but there is no comparison between it and the tone and muscular flexibility of the Robusto. A great and fun piece. I am looking forward to settling in to the Robusto. I think it's a piece that will offer a lot over time.

Cheers!
Cliff
 
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#4 ·
Thank you, guys. Much appreciated.

“Striped Master”....I love it.
Hey, where do I send the check. :)

Maybe I should’ve called it The Zebra? Lol

Lord knows, I don’t need any shrills. Thousands of people are enjoying these pieces and I’m really glad you guys here are part of that group. It’s been my only piece for 4 1/2 years and I just couldn’t be happier.
I have sold vintage mouthpieces for over 30 years, and there isnt a single one that holds a flame to my Robusto for me as a player.

Very special mouthpiece.

Thank you guys.
 
#5 ·
I just took my Robusto out to play after reading this thread. I haven't played it in a long time. It's just as awesome as I remember it. It really is a great all round piece. I can get some serious power and wailin' highs out of it or lay back and play standards. Great mouthpiece! Thanks for reminding me........
 
#6 ·
Yep, it's friggin' great. Before I got this piece I had the good fortune to borrow a friend's Black Widow. That piece was really fine, like a Robusto after a couple of espressos. I wanted something that settled a bit lower and would be at home in the territory of my Morgan Jazz. The Robusto is it! Although, both the BW and the Robusto have so much latitude, the Robust reaches up to where the BW is, and the BW easily bows down to the lower ranges. I think the ultimate kit might be a Robusto and a Black Widow (in metal???.....pretty please!!!). You would have all the bases covered from sultry ballads to screaming' blues/rock with that.
 
#12 ·
Thank you very much.
For me, it’s exactly what I wanted in a hard rubber mouthpiece, because nothing in the marketplace does what this does for me.
I’m extremely grateful so many players worldwide are enjoying these mouthpieces.

Hope you all enjoyed the Holiday.
 
#13 ·
I have both a robusto and a BW. I thought the robusto was a killer piece until I finally got comfortable with the BW. The BW is my main piece now, but I do crack out the robusto if I'm going to play a more mellow jazz gig on my VI. The robusto is a bit less resistant than my BW and it pairs nicely with the VI, which is a bit more resistant than my Z. On my 82Z (my main gigging horn) it's always the BW. But both are killer pieces. I was also playing a morgan as my main piece before, and when I changed up to the BW it was the first time my bandmates ever asked if I was playing a new piece and commented on how good it sounded. BTW, I use a Legere signature 2.25 and Rico H on all my tenor pieces.
 
#14 ·
I got the Robusto when they first came out, and I (very) unfortunately traded it. I didn't experiment with reeds at all, let alone ligatures. Basically I was being impulsive and pretty darn lazy. I had no idea I was holding such a great piece in my hand and I was trying to match it to a reed. I don't beat myself up too bad, because at that time I was only 3 years into obsessive G.A.S. and before that I played the same 90's otto link STM since I started playing the horn. Luckily I decided to give the Robusto another shot quite recently and I've never been so happy with my sound. Robusto is a killing piece. Crazy killing piece. What really grabbed me right away was HOW this piece played. It just felt right. I've played lots of pieces, have tried or owned a lot of high end modern pieces in the past 7 years, played some great vintage Links, Dukoffs, Brilharts, etc. At the time I switched to the Robusto, I was playing a HR early Babbit. I still love that piece, but what took me away from it off the bat was the feel and ease of the Robusto, especially in the lower register. It articulated much cleaner, and there was no "muddiness". The palm keys were also fatter. There was cleaner articulation all around. There was a little more edge, just enough to carry the sound, and when I played live I could just hear what I was doing more which inspired me to play. Everything was cleaner and more audible from note to note. For me, this is hands down the funnest piece I've played. The sound to me is a middle of the road, rich, beautiful, thick, classic tenor sound. It's the only piece that I've played that has this HUGE of a sound that also cuts very clean and precise. This is a jazz piece that is extremely versatile. There is also just a warm depth to the tone, rich with harmonics. To me it's a dream come true because I can get the sound I want but I don't feel like I'm being drowned out. It's a huge sound but without any tubbiness whatsoever. There's pop, ease of play, great articulation, and I feel that the piece is much more sensitive than anything else I've played. I can take in more mouthpiece and get more edge, and with blowing in the piece a different way I can get a smooth relaxed sound, and it's so easy to do everything in between. I'm just totally blown away, and I've never been so excited to practice. If you haven't had a chance to try this piece, I highly recommend checking it out, and it's really worth the time and effort to find what works best with the piece for you. Different brands and strengths of reeds, and ligatures as well. I'm so glad I did and I've never been happier with my setup. Mark and Eric, couldn't thank you guys enough!
 
#16 ·
Thank you guys very much for all the great reviews!!!
I hope you get yourself another one, Craig.

Chris, that was such an incredible review. I’m so glad you’re loving this piece clearly as much as I am.
Enjoy and thank you for all the great words.
Happy New Year’s to you all!
 
#21 ·
Hi,
I have a buddy like you that was a drummer for almost 50 years and took up the sax---I love it! I don't have any clips of me up on youtube, but there are loads of clips available on the website for you to hear THE ROBUSTO in action. Ive got a little something of me on my iPhone and I'd be happy to send it to you, if you'd like to hear it. Just shoot me your email or instant messenger address.
 
#22 ·
I second the OP's impression about the mouthpiece!
Although I own one the first 100 Robustos ever made and having played these mouthpieces for a couple of years now I still get new sounds from it.
Here's a short impression of my 7* Robusto paired with a RSJ 3s reed, a FL ultimate lig and my 10m tenor. Just recorded that for fun:

Weird Nerd Blues

Have a nice day and best regards
Jo
 
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