GS Mouthpieces

Extremely Precise Replicas of the best vintage mouthpieces. Hand faced to perfection.

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  • GS NEW YORK Alto

    * GS NEW YORK Alto Mouthpiece Meyer Bros NY Replica

    $ 199

    Introducing the GS NEW YORK alto mouthpiece! This is an extremely precise copy of my favorite Meyer Bros New York alto piece from my collection of New York Meyer mouthpieces.

    A great New York Meyer just sparkles. The response is clean, warm, and effortlessly free blowing, but centered and with an elusive extra magic to it – even compared to any other version of Meyer.

    What you get: The Best Meyer Ever

    If you’re not a vintage mouthpiece geek, you probably didn’t know that there are three different mouthpieces that are stamped Meyer Bros New York (not incuding the Tru-Flex or the NYUSA). The first is a rather stubby, fat bodied one. Then this one that the GS NEW YORK copies, with NEW YORK on the same side as MeYeR and ‘medium chamber’ in small font on the table side. The last version has a fatter body again, and has MEDIUM on the same side as MeYeR and NEW YORK on the table side. The following photo makes this clear.

    Some folks prefer the third version. I prefer the second, though we may offer the third version as a GS mouthpiece someday as well. The one we copied has just the right balance of warmth and projection to stand out as the one, holy grail, best-ever (in my opinion anyway) do-it-all alto mouthpiece that you need. There are lots of other great alto mouthpieces on the market, but to my knowledge nobody has actually successfully produced an exact copy of a Meyer Bros NY like this before, until now.

    These also all get hand faced by me. That’s the main slow step in getting them to you, but I’m facing them as fast as I can while keeping the facing work perfect. The hand facing is a step that you can’t skip. If you try to make a replica mouthpiece and you don’t replicate a really excellent facing, you might as well not bother. So you get my favorite 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 facing that I’ve played so far, on whichever tip mouthpiece you request. Tips are as follows: 4= .069″   5= .072″   6= .076″   7= .080″ 8= .085″.

    The baffle on each tip opening is placed just where Meyer would place it relative to the tip rail and chamber, so each one is a really good copy of the appropriate tip of Meyer Bros. One big advantage we have is that we make these entirely in house, so we can keep improving them until they are perfect. By using biocompatible dental resin and 3D printing for the complex, organic chamber and baffle shapes, we can keep improving and iterating the model until each one is perfect. We spend a LOT of time and effort on that, and I hope that it shows in the quality of mouthpiece and the playing experience that you get.

  • GS Mark II Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece

    GS Mark II Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Freddie Gregory Super Deluxe Mark II Copy

    $ 199

    The GS Mark II tenor saxophone mouthpiece is an extremely precise copy of my favorite Freddie Gregory Super Deluxe Mark II tenor mouthpiece.

    What is this?

    Many players may not know much about Freddie Gregory’s Super Deluxe mouthpieces. That’s not a big surprise, as Freddie did not make that many of them, and the ones he did make are mostly still in the hands of their original owners. The few that have come up for sale over the last 5 years that I’ve seen have been priced way out of the reach of most players– typically $2400-$4000– for a mouthpiece! Which is nuts, but those who know these mouthpieces REALLY seem to be willing to pay to get one. And sadly, since Freddie died eight years ago, no more of these are available. (Till now.)

    Freddie is known both for refacing and for making his own mouthpieces. The original Super Deluxe Mark II is not a refaced mouthpiece made by someone else , the way my favorite Reso Chamber tenor mouthpiece is. The Super Deluxe model was entirely designed and made by Freddie.

    It was sold in four variations on the same design: Mark I, Mark II, Mark III, and Mark IV. They all have a good amount of projection, but the Mark I is darkest and the Mark IV is brightest. We may copy my favorite Mark IV someday as well, but I wanted to start with the Mark II because it’s bright and projecting but not too bright, and it seems to be one of the most popular ones of these. Bob Mintzer played one of these for a long time, and may still from time to time. I know he has a lot of Freddie’s pieces. Jeff Coffin plays a Mark IV, which sounds a whole lot like the Mark II that we copied for this project (Jeff was kind enough to make several audio comparison samples of the GS Mark II and his Freddie Mark IV, and they are definitely more similar than different.) Steve Neff has some original Mark II sound clips on his website here. We will do some videos as soon as Tyler is finished with the GS New York alto videos he’s working on.

    OK so that should be fairly clear now: The GS Mark II is an extremely precise copy of my favorite Freddie Gregory Super Deluxe Mark II, which is a different design from anything that Otto Link or Berg Larsen or Dukoff made etc. Along with the Mark IV, it’s his most popular design for sure.

    How does it play?

    Describing the tone is hard, because people probably haven’t played one of these. They’re also not that similar to other common mouthpieces like Meyer, Dukoff, or Berg Larsen. It’s different from any model of Otto Link, and is not a redesigned Link chamber at all. The baffle curves from nearly flat at the tip rail, into the chamber in a smooth curve, and the throat opens out into a medium-large chamber. Chamber volume is similar to a metal Otto Link, so it tunes great on basically any saxophone. The shank is long enough that you can pull out on a Conn 10M or something that wants a large mouthpiece volume, and it works well. The side walls start out nearly straight and are more scooped as it moves into the chamber. The magic in these pieces is in the baffle, and we spent a long time getting that just right.

    Tonally, my best attempt at a verbal description would be to say that this has a more projecting tone than a GS Slant or a vintage Otto Link, but it kind of opens out and gets wider and more robust as you push it. Some mouthpieces get more shrill the more air you put into them. The GS Mark II gets more lush and almost ‘operatic’ as you push it. It’s really fun to play. If you want something different from a Link style tenor mouthpiece, and you want a piece that is brighter but not too bright, and that has plenty of power and projection when pushed without getting thin and shrill, that’s what the GS Mark II really does well.

    Facing Information:

    Freddie’s facing curves are usually about .001″ more open than the equivalent Otto Link, so we are reproducing his curves on the GS Mark II. The original that we copied was a 7 measuring .101″ and I also have a 7* and 8 that we used for the .106″ 7* and the .111″ 8 tip. As an interesting side note, most Freddie 8’s are actually stamped 7**, but I think that’s probably because he had them stamped 7* and then would just add another star for an 8. I’ve seen that enough times now to think it’s definitely intentional. They always seem to measure .111-.112″ for me, and we settled on .111″ as it’s closer to what people are used to in an 8.

    A word on price: People are *constantly* telling me that I should raise the prices of the GS Mouthpieces. However, they are intended to be a service to the saxophone community, so that as many players as possible can get a great mouthpiece that is entirely faced by hand and that plays as well as a much more expensive original. The GS Mark II tenor mouthpiece would probably sell almost as well at double the price, but we will be keeping the price $199 as long as possible, because that’s the whole point of the project.

  • GS RESO C Melody Saxophone Mouthpiece – Best Ever!

    $ 199

    **Update: Due to strong demand, I’m about a week behind on hand facing these mouthpieces for sale. However, regardless of which shipping option you pick, I’ll upgrade you to express 2 day shipping – or FedEx International Priority shipping if you’re overseas. So even though it’ll take me a week to make your mouthpiece, you’ll still receive it surprisingly quickly, especially internationally.

    I’m very excited to present GetASax.com’s very own mouthpiece project: GS Mouthpieces (main page) 

    The big idea here is to let you experience the magic of the best mouthpieces I have ever played, for a price that makes them widely accessible for the first time.

    This listing is for the C Melody saxophone version, which is based on the original tenor sax version here. C Melody saxophone is the red headed stepchild of the saxophone family. But no longer! Turns out, it just needed the right mouthpiece. If you think you know C Melody, using a stock Conn or Buescher mouthpiece, you are in for a big surprise. It plays a LOT like a good tenor sax. After all, it’s only one note above tenor. This mouthpiece might make you fall in love with your C melody for the first time, or renew your love if you are one of the few, proud C melody fanatics out there.

    This mouthpiece is a very precise copy of my personal Reso Chamber tenor mouthpiece modified for C Melody saxophones! It’s so good that it literally puts the C melody saxophone back into play as a usable modern instrument. That’s no overstatement. Here’s a video of this mouthpiece in action. 

    A note on the different tip opening options: The FG Special facing gives you a tenor facing copied from my tenor piece, refaced by Freddie Gregory to a perfect 7*.This works well if you’re coming to C melody from tenor. But for many players, I would recommend getting the 6 tip for C melody. The 6 tip feels for C melody sax about how a 7 tip feels on tenor sax. It’s very comfortable. This mouthpiece takes tenor reeds, and I find that I like the 6 tip for the C melody piece using the same reed that I use on tenor. (Rigotti 2.5 strong). If you are a newer player, or coming from alto, you might want the 5 tip which measures around .080 and is quite easy to play. If you want a little mellower tone, or if you are most comfortable on a harder reed (like a Rigotti 3.5 or so) then the 5 facing will be perfect for you. It’s an Otto Link facing curve and is really responsive and takes air nicely.

    Tone wise, this mouthpiece is medium dark, but not too dark, with moderate focus, and gets punchy without thinning out when pushed. Balanced and responsive, it’s one of the best all-around tenor mouthpieces I’ve played, and it works just as well on C Melody! It’s ideal for jazz, beautiful on ballads, and can handle burning bebop lines like a champ. The facing is just right. Subtone is effortless, response is quick. Altissimo pops right out. It’s very free blowing and takes air extremely comfortably. The 7* .105″ tip opening is very comfortable. Newer players can easily manage it with a 2.5 tenor sax reed. And for pros, it slots right in with a Rigotti 3 light to 3.5 medium. (I like the Rigotti 3 light personally.)

    See below for more details.

  • GS RESO Otto Link Reso Chamber Replica Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece (All Facings)

    $ 199

    **Update: Due to strong demand, I’m about a week behind on hand facing these mouthpieces for sale. However, regardless of which shipping option you pick, I’ll upgrade you to faster shipping if I can. So even though it’ll take me a week to make your mouthpiece, you’ll still receive it surprisingly quickly.

    I’m very excited to present GetASax.com’s very own mouthpiece project: GS Mouthpieces (main page) 

    The big idea here is to let you experience the magic of the best mouthpieces I have ever played, for a price that makes them widely accessible for the first time.

    This mouthpiece is a very precise copy of my personal Otto Link Reso Chamber tenor mouthpiece, which was faced by the great Freddie Gregory to a perfect 7*. It’s medium dark, but not too dark, with moderate focus, and gets punchy without thinning out when pushed. Balanced and responsive, it’s one of the best all-around tenor mouthpieces I’ve played. Even if you normally play brighter pieces, the GS Reso is worth having in your arsenal. It’s ideal for jazz, beautiful on ballads, and can handle burning bebop tenor lines like a champ. The facing is just right. Subtone is effortless, response is quick. Altissimo pops right out. It’s very free blowing and takes air extremely comfortably. The 7* .105″ tip opening is very comfortable. Newer players can easily manage it with a 2.5 reed. And for pros, it slots right in with a Rigotti 3 light to 3.5 medium. (I like the Rigotti 3 light personally.)

    The computer model we developed for the Reso is accurate down to .001” compared to my original Reso Chamber. Each mouthpiece gets carefully hand faced, precisely measured, and tested, so that it really is totally right! Bottom line: You get the equivalent of a $1500+ vintage mouthpiece for only $199. People keep saying we should charge more, but the whole idea from the start has been to make the best mouthpieces widely accessible, not to maximize profits. A lot of people have never played a really good mouthpiece. It’s time to change that. 

    Using cutting-edge tech, we went through over 50 prototypes so that now every one of these sounds like the original.

    When you select any tip opening other than the FG SPECIAL 7*, then you will be getting a Reso Chamber built from my original facing Reso Chamber. The reason for this is pretty easy to explain: Otto Link manufactured mouthpiece ‘blanks’ with a zero tip opening. Then they opened them up from a closed tip to whatever tip opening they wanted. In order to give you different tip openings authentically, we needed to do it the same way. So we started with a smaller tip Reso Chamber, and then we used Otto Link facing curves to carefully model ‘opening’ the 5 tip to whatever facing you want, just like if it were done on a facing machine. We also move the baffle work to the appropriate position like on a hand finished piece. This Reso Chamber mouthpiece is unbelievably good. It is just as rich and complex as the FG SPECIAL RESO, but it plays just a little brighter, and the mouthpiece itself is also a little longer (Otto Link used a couple of different molds to make the Reso Chamber model.) It’s the one that Steve Neff reviews here. So if you normally have to pull out a lot to tune, or you want just a little more punch than the FG SPECIAL RESO while remaining basically dark and rich, that’s what you get!

    If you want an exact copy of the Reso Chamber Joe Allard Facing that we scanned, including the J.A. stamp on the table and the more rounded tip profile, then select the 5 JA facing. It measures .081″ or so and takes air nicely. The smaller tip GS RESO mouthpieces are perfect for concert band or ensemble tenor settings. If you’re coming from a Yamaha 4C or Vandoren and want something richer, warmer, and more interesting, consider one of the smaller tip GS RESO models. They are excellent all-purpose tenor mouthpieces.

     

    Material:

    GS Mouthpieces are made of a premium biocompatible dental resin, and printed at an especially high resolution. You don’t see messy print lines everywhere, because the print is so high quality! This dental resin is designed to be in your mouth, so it’s ideal for a mouthpiece.

    The density and the hardness are almost identical to vintage hard rubber! So GS Mouthpieces vibrate like hard rubber and feel familiar and comfortable to play.

    Finishing:

    Each GS Reso gets carefully hand faced and finished before coming to you. This is super important. The magic of a mouthpiece is in the facing. If you buy a generic, mass-produced mouthpiece, chances are the table is not flat and the facing is uneven between the side rails. As a result, the reed vibrates unevenly. It feels stuffy and dead, resistant, and all-around disappointing to play. SO many people have this problem, whether they know it or not. I don’t know how many players I’ve helped to get their first actually good mouthpiece, and all of a sudden playing is fun!

    Since we flatten the table, you get an easy reed seal. There are no print lines or marks messing up the facing. It’s smooth and perfect like a boutique mouthpiece. The facing is also finished by hand, which is a BIG plus. I’m really picky about this, so I learned to do it myself so I could be sure these pieces were actually the same as my Freddie Gregory-faced Reso Chamber. Each facing is measured at ten points to make sure that it is even and consistent throughout. 

    Mouthpiece facings are unforgiving. Small problems can make a big difference in playability. Unlike any other mouthpiece of its kind or anywhere near its price, each one of these GS mouthpieces goes out the door only when it is faced just right. Every one is as good as the best mouthpieces I have played.

    I have been collecting mouthpieces seriously for over ten years now, and I have been saving the very best ones over that time. I currently have about 750 pieces, and of those there are about 20 that I think are in that Holy Grail category. Those are the mouthpieces that will be coming out in the GS Mouthpieces line. Keep an eye on this, if you want to put together a collection of the best playing saxophone mouthpieces ever, while keeping costs to a minimum. Each one has a magic of its own, and each one gives you a unique and beautiful tone and response that makes it a joy to play! 

  • GS SLANT Otto Link Florida Slant Signature Tone Edge Replica Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece

    $ 199

    **Update: Due to strong demand, I’m about a week behind on hand facing these mouthpieces for sale. However, regardless of which shipping option you pick, I’ll upgrade you to express 2 day shipping – or FedEx International Priority shipping if you’re overseas. So even though it’ll take me a week to make your mouthpiece, you’ll still receive it surprisingly quickly, especially internationally.

    GS SLANT is an extremely precise copy of my BEST vintage Otto Link Slant Tenor mouthpiece. More precisely, it’s a copy of an original facing 7* Florida Slant Signature Otto Link Tone Edge tenor mouthpiece in perfect original condition.

    This is the version of the ‘Slant’ that nearly everybody wants. It’s the most iconic and desirable hard rubber tenor mouthpiece ever made. When I hear people describing their ideal tenor tone online, it’s most frequently a description of what a good vintage Otto Link Slant sounds like: Dark and powerful, with a good amount of focus and projection. Brightens up and projects when pushed, but never thins out. Super even across all registers. Tunes great on almost any saxophone vintage or modern. That’s what the GS SLANT gives you, for only 15% the cost of an original vintage Otto Link Slant Tone Edge tenor saxophone mouthpiece.

    Compared to the GS RESO, the GS SLANT is a little brighter and punchier (but not bright), and more focused (though still warm and full). It has an instantly recognizable 50’s-60’s jazz tenor tone. We’ll post hi-fi sound samples of the GS SLANT on a variety of brands of saxophone very soon! See below for the GS SLANT vs Vintage Slant A/B video.

    If you’re a pro looking for the best do-it-all jazz tenor mouthpiece for an affordable price, I think you’d be hard pressed to beat the GS SLANT. It really captures the magic of the original mouthpiece, and that is saying a lot. It’s the only Slant copy I’ve seen that exactly copies a vintage Slant. Even upgrading to a vintage Link Slant at 8x the price wouldn’t actually sound better! And if you’re an amateur or younger player looking for your first good mouthpiece, this gives you the chance to jump right to an excellent mouthpiece that is completely hand faced, without messing with a bunch of machine faced intermediate mouthpieces.

    To read all about GetASax.com’s very own mouthpiece project, visit: GS Mouthpieces (main page) The big idea here is to let you experience the magic of the best mouthpieces I have ever played, for a price that makes them widely accessible for the first time.