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New Otto Link "vintage" hard rubber mouthpiece

Ed

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Staff member
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I picked up one of the new Otto Link "vintage" pieces tonight and have been putting it through the paces. For the last three or four years I have been playing a modified modern Otto Link hard rubber piece in a 7*. I made some baffle modifications to the piece as well as fixing the facing and making the tip opening actually be .105". My backup piece has been a Morgan 7L which used to be my main piece.

The new "vintage" link blows away anything I have. It subtones effortlessly. Plays up on the top of the horn easily. I can get colors out of the tone that I cannot get out of any other piece I have. It projects wonderfully. My only nit about it is that at mp volumes I think low C sounds a bit hollow. These pieces have a serial number on them - mine is 0271.

I'm tempted to get a second one . . . and it wasn't cheap.

I picked up mine at Bandsource. www.bandsourcecompany.com
 
I paid about $187 for the hard rubber one. The metal pieces are more.
 
I need to check that out. I play an old tone edge hard rubber 7* on alto that is nearly worn out. I bought it new back in the '70's, I probably paid like $20 for it back then. Coincidentally, a few days ago I just traded for a very fine old 9* hard rubber link. James Carter was obsessing over a mint 10* metal Lawton mp that I owned, so he traded me his HR Link for the Lawton. The new Link plays well with a slightly softer reed, but I'm still working a little harder than what I'm used to.

So I'm still in the market for a 7* or 8 replacement for my old piece. This Link vintage just might be the ticket.

Ed, thanks for the report man!



Julian
 
Julian,

These are for tenor only. No alto pieces. I'm seriously impressed with these new tenor pieces.
 
Well Ed, I gave it a shot. :cool:

Time for plan B.....




Julian
 
Hey folks,

No offense to the good folks at Otto Link, but I can't imagine that a stock piece would be better than one of Phil-tone Phil Engleman's or Ed Zentera's hand finished ones? Pardon the pun Ed, but what's the mojo that makes this one so good?

I've got one of Phil's tenor HR Otto Links and it's pretty darn good.

Hey Julian: I rarely play alto anymore, but I have an alto STM that Phil perfected and it's fantastic. You should have no trouble getting a really great customized HR link for your alto from either Phil or Ed Zentera. These guys know their links!

Rory
 
Rory,

I'm not going to say that the guys mentioned don't do good work but JJ Babbitt has put it together for this piece. That's all I can say. They really got it right.
 
I think the Phil-tone pieces are from the standard babbitt blank. They have a smaller chamber than the standard Otto Links but a much better baffle profile.
 
I have a Doc Tenney slant sig HR 7* that gets it done, too. My current tenor mpc of choice is a Link Millenium 7*. Now you've got me jonesin' to try the new Vintage. I wonder if anyone locally carries them...
 
Hey folks,

No offense to the good folks at Otto Link, but I can't imagine that a stock piece would be better than one of Phil-tone Phil Engleman's or Ed Zentera's hand finished ones? Pardon the pun Ed, but what's the mojo that makes this one so good?

I've got one of Phil's tenor HR Otto Links and it's pretty darn good.

Hey Julian: I rarely play alto anymore, but I have an alto STM that Phil perfected and it's fantastic. You should have no trouble getting a really great customized HR link for your alto from either Phil or Ed Zentera. These guys know their links!

Rory


Thanks for that heads up Rory. :-D How can I get in touch with Phil or Ed?



Julian
 
Thanks Rory, I got that.

I guess the hijack's my fault. :???:
 
I picked up a spare 6* yesterday as I am just more and more impressed with the first one I bought. It's almost as good as the first one.

What I am finding interesting about these pieces is that they really project yet have a fullness to the sound. They allow me to shape the sound easily and have a lot of colors in the tone. They're not cheap but they're really good.
 
are these suppose to be like the old slant sigs....these new HR tenor pieces? I hadn't even heard of em til now which goes to show how old & out of the loop I'm becoming. I have one of the last Buescher (pre-Selmer) 400 tenors (big bell flare) that still retains the snap ins & gold Nortons, but I've been using a NY STM 7 (a newer one) when I play tenor which isn't often as I mainly play alto. it plays with a good bit of resistance & I wouldn't mind something more free blowing......would this new blast from the past repro qualify as free blowing? if they are as good as the old slant sigs & play/sound as well the price isn't bad compared to what an original would be on ebay.

not to change the subject but I have an early alto Meyer NY USA piece that Ed Zentera tweaked & opened up; the response is excellent, he does good work.
 
I believe they were based on a late Slant sig piece. All I know is that they play a lot better than the standard hard rubber link. They're worth trying out.
 
I really have more confidence than most in Babbitt. For years, I had a Meyer 7 small chamber alto mouthpiece I loved, an older New York USA model. I told a friend to try a new Meyer 7 small chamber, and it played like gangbusters. There is a lot of inconsistency, but the good new Meyer altos from Babbitt are very good. I'm not surprised that they could produce the new tenor mouthpieces at very high quality
 
Which mpc plays better for you Ed,now that you have had them a little longer ,your 6* or your true .105 ?

Some folks have reported, on sotw, that the VHR is measuring a half size smaller in tip size than marked,
so a 6*measures as a 6.

Does your 6* actually measure .095 ?

I wonder when stores will be restocked and include various tips?
 
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I'm still playing the new "vintage" piece. Mine measures pretty close to what I expected and what would be in spec for a 6*.

The more I play it the more I like it. There's little chance of me going back to my old piece.
 
I'm seriously impressed with these new tenor pieces.

I gotta agree here with Ed.

We just got in our first of the Metal Vintage models (have the hard rubber on order now!). They are absolutely fantastic. These are not just a refaced modern link. These are a completely different blank and are hand done.

We got the metal 7 as our test piece. The craftsmanship is outstanding and frankly, the thing plays like some of the best Vintage Links (real vintage) that we have. We really gave it a test against a good Florida metal 7 and honestly, the new one won out in my opinion. Bigger, richer & broader tone while maintaining excellent response.

I put pictures of the metal one up here: http://www.kesslermusic.com/html/sax/VintageLinks.htm

We're looking forward to testing the hard rubber ones!

Dave Kessler
Kessler & Sons Music
 
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