GS Supersonic Tenor 50’s Dukoff – Bright, Projecting, Funky

Bright, projecting, funky vintage 1950’s Dukoff copy that is like an Early Babbitt Link but more fun and better sounding. The GS Supersonic tenor is an early 50’s Dukoff hard rubber piece sold under the Zimberoff House of Note brand. It is my favorite bright vintage mouthpiece – it has a more complex tone than modern ‘bright’ pieces that tend to have a big step baffle don’t sound good soft or subtoning. The Supersonic is beautiful in subtone and stays warm while cutting through. It’s more sophisticated than an Early Babbitt Link, and it sounds similar but (to me) better in every way. (People keep asking why we didn’t do an EB copy – this is why.)

Most people will never get to play an original Zimberoff Supersonic, because they are rare and expensive, and most people who have one won’t sell it. I’ve been collecting them for 15 years, and the GS Supersonic is an extremely precise copy of my best one, which is an original 7 tip (CV Special facing). It’s a very special piece, and one of the best tenor mouthpieces I’ve played.

This is for people who want to cut through a band (ideal for wedding bands etc), to brighten up a dark saxophone’s tone (I’m looking at you, Keilwerth), or just to scream, but without getting too shrill. If you’re in high school or college band, this makes pep band a lot more fun too on sax, because you can actually be heard rather than completely swamped by the brass.

About facings:

Short answer – All the facings are good. The 7 CV and the regular 7 both have the same facing. Just the CV mouthpiece itself (not facing) is about 1/2″ shorter on the shank end. If you play a GS Slant, Mark II, or Reso, the 6, 7*, 8 and 9 facings will be almost identical and will feel very familiar. The 7 facing is a little different since it copies the CV Special, but it is actually very similar to my regular 7 facing as well.

Long answer:
You can get a precise copy of the original piece by selecting the 7 CV version which is a shorter mouthpiece and has Charlie Ventura’s favorite 7 facing. The Dukoff Supersonic is a pretty short mouthpiece (in overall length) compared to most other hard rubber tenor pieces. On all of the other versions we offer besides CV Special, the mouthpiece you get will be longer than the original. We found that the piece plays the best if we match the overall mouthpiece length of a metal Zimberoff Dukoff / Dukoff Hollywood, which makes the mouthpiece tune well on modern horns like Yamaha, even if you have a very firm embouchure. Both pieces have identical chamber, baffle, tip and everything. Just the ‘default/recommended’ version is a longer mouthpiece overall.