PPT Baritone Saxophone Mouthpieces
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Product Info:
All profits to charity
MOUTHPIECE INFOPPT MOUTHPIECESTENORBARITONESOPRANO
Coming soon, the PPT Baritone Slant
Summer Sale!
Soprano: £159
Tenor (onyxite): £179 £169
Baritone: £193 £179
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All profits from the sale of PPTs is donated to charity
The Concept
As with the tenor mouthpiece, I was looking for something that doesn't yet exist - a versatile mouthpiece for baritone sax that is capable of extreme dynamics from a gentle whisper to a gutsy roar. Up until now I used several baritone mouthpieces for different styles of playing: a Lawton, Berg Larsen, RPC and (my favourite) a vintage Otto Link Slant signature. I took inspiration from them all, but the new PPT is closest to the the slant signature, it has a similar facing and large chamber, but with the now familiar PPT bullet baffle, rather like a Berg Larsen but with a much smoother sound and more accurate intonation on both vintage and modern saxophones. I always found the Otto Link baritone mouthpiece was superb for jazz and smoky sensual ballad playing, but didn't quite make it when you pushed it hard for rock & roll or pop. Hence I decided to create the PPT, a mouthpiece that can do that without losing it's subtley on the ballads. Again, the suberb craftsmanship of Edward Pillinger has helped develop these into one of the best baritone saxophone mouthpieces out there.
The Sound
My concept behind the sound is exactly the same as for the tenor, except that I wanted the quiet low notes to not be quite as warm, the best description I can think of is that I want them to purr. I find that subtone on the baritone can easily get a muddy undefined character, which is true of tenor as well, but it seems to be more so on baritone due to the lower pitch. Using the Slant baritone as inspiration, we worked on getting a very focussed but still warm bottom end.
Again I wanted to create a mouthpiece that can achieve a warm and/or dark sound for ballads, jazz and swing as well as a fine loud roaring or growling sound for rhythm and blues
The Mouthpiece
These will be available only in tip sizes 7 and 8* only. Custom sizes are available, but without the usual 14 day return policy. I have found that with this mouthpiece these are the sizes that worksbest as the ideal sound is created by getting just the right balance between chamber, baffle and facing. These mouthpieces are extremely reed friendly and works very will with standard Rico reeds (depending on your tastes) as well as any other good brand.
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Customer Reviews
Hi Pete,
Just want to tell you know how pleased I am with the PPT baritone mpc. It's has all the attributes you aimed for, plus some extra magic! A complete joy to play, with just the tone I've been looking for on bari. Looking forward to trying the PPT tenor mpc soon. Any plans for a PPT alto mpc?
Cheers!
David
Sorry for not responding earlier - I thought I'd rather take my time with the mouthpiece first before reacting. It arrived here last thursday - with a hefty customs tag added, but I don't mind that (you'll see why in an instant).
I'm happy to say that I'm very pleased with the PPT baritone mouthpiece; it sort of ends my indecision - I was stuck between two mouthpieces, my trusted Brancher L27 (ebony) and my newly acquired (old series) Rico Metalite M7. I love the precision, clearness and brightness of the Brancher (because it's bright, but neither sharp nor edgy), but am also fond of the eruptive power and strong low end of the Rico (I've used it on stage more often lately than the Brancher). Now the PPT gives me both - and it's also easier to play in a pleasant mellow tone than both of the others, which means that I can also do away with the Meyer M8M I've use for section work sometimes (I've also used the Brancher for this, but it's easier with the Meyer). I'm really enthusiastic - and all that comes at a very reasonable price, too! :) One interesting observation is that the basic baffle/chamber design of the Brancher and the PPT are very similar (with the PPT offering a slightly bigger chamber, but the same type of smooth baffle); it seems that this is what I've been looking for all along. But newer Brancher pieces aren't offering this design any more.
I had some issues at first, though: It's not really easy to find a ligature that fits it fully (I don't like two screw ligatures - for convenience reasons) - I went with a Rovner Versa for bass clarinet that works reasonably well with the Alexander Superial reeds I use the most, but not quite so well with Hemke reeds (since they're slimmer). I'll also try a GF-System Maxima (I want to try one anyway, and the size I'm after will fit since it can be adapted) - I'll let you know how it works out (you can prevent me from doing so by telling me not to, of course ;)). The reason why I'm talking about ligatures at lengths is that this mouthpiece really needs a good fit - it's what I call "reed-conscious", i.e. it needs a good reed in perfect position to work at its best. While this may seem obvious, none of my other mouthpieces (with the possible exception of the S90 I have to play with the wind orchestra) is as sensitive to reed quality and placement as the PPT. At the beginning, I got some squeaks from a group of brighter reeds and some dullness from some less responsive ones - experimenting with placement brought both kinds nicely in line, which means that I'll be able to play more reeds for all purposes. That's more than a simple added bonus, that's a real feat!
Of course you may quote my comments! As I said, at the price you ask, this is a steal, so I'm absolutely comfortable with recommending the mouthpiece.
Thank you very much for this fine mouthpiece - now I'll have to adapt my setup post on SOTW :)
Kind regards Matthias G.
Hi Pete,
Just want to tell you know how pleased I am with the PPT baritone mpc. It's has all the attributes you aimed for, plus some extra magic! A complete joy to play, with just the tone I've been looking for on bari. Looking forward to trying the PPT tenor mpc soon. Any plans for a PPT alto mpc?
Cheers!
David
Pete
I'm very much enjoying the wide dynamic range and the tonal variety that
comes naturally to the 'piece.
Sadly there have been complaints from the rest of the family due to the increased volume. Hopefully they'll learn to live with wearing ear plugs!
I'm no mouthpiece expert and have only being playing Bari for a year, but it seems to me that you and Ed have created an excellent piece.
Best regards
Alex