OK, It looks like January is high baffle, powerhouse, mouthpieces on steroids month so far. For this review I’m playing a PMS Michael Brecker II Fat Boy Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece. Now, if that long name confuses you, you are not alone. Anything connected to Dave Guardala is going to be a bit confusing (I won’t go into details……….but he wound up in some trouble for ripping people off and had to spend some time in jail………Let’s leave it at that)
Supposedly, Mr. Guardala sold the rights to his mouthpieces to WWBW and they started manufacturing them and selling them on the WWBW site but……..soon after I saw Guardala mouthpieces being offered by a company in Germany called PMS. I don’t know all the legal behind the scenes details but……WWBW is still selling their Guardala mouthpieces and PMS is still selling their Guardala mouthpieces. The mouthpiece I am reviewing today is from Germany and is a PMS mouthpiece.
PMS Guardala Brecker II Fat Boy Tenor Mouthpiece
The mouthpiece is called a MB II which is for Michael Brecker II. Dave Guardala made many mouthpieces and the one he is most famous for making is the one Michael Brecker used. This is a version of that mouthpiece. Is it exact? I have no idea………. I’ll just offer my review.
PMS Guardala Brecker II Fat Boy Tenor Mouthpiece
The mouthpiece looks great! It is a beautiful gold and is engraved with “Fat Boy” on the top of the piece. As I compare it to another PMS Guardala, is is indeed fatter and seems to weigh more than a regular Guardala made by PMS. The regular Guardala’s have a rounded top but the “Fat Boy’s” have a peak at the top of the mouthpiece that gives it a different and unique shape. The baffle is long and runs at a gradual decline until it slopes down into the chamber.
The rails, baffle and table look beautiful and perfect but……… the tip on this piece doesn’t really match the reeds. The corners slope off faster than the reeds do. I tried Rigotti Golds and Vandoren Java’s and found this problem with both. I like my reeds to line right up with the tip of a mouthpiece so when I put the reed on and it didn’t line up I think it irritated that part of me that is a little OCD. This kind of thing might not effect playing at all but I am just used to it so it rubbed me the wrong way. (PMS might have shaped there tip using another brand of reed that slopes faster in the corners………..)
PMS Guardala Brecker II Fat Boy Tenor Mouthpiece
The Guardala MB II played great with a Rigotti Gold 2 1/2 medium reed. At first, I tried a new Vandoren Java 2 1/2 and it was way too soft for me. I tried to record a clip but I couldn’t even get through it because the reed was so soft. The Rigottt Gold was just the right strength and offered just enough resistance to feel comfortable.
PMS Guardala Brecker II Fat Boy Tenor Mouthpiece
I won’t lie to you…….the Guardala Michael Brecker II is not a dark mouthpiece. It is definitely on the brighter side of the spectrum of saxophone sound. I think you can hear it in the sound clip. I kept wanting to morph into my old Michael Brecker licks but I tried not to (you might hear one or two………….)
The strength of a good Guardala is the focus it has. It has a very tight focus and core to the sound. When you play it feels like a laser beam of sound is coming out of the bell and pointing straight at the mic. Other mouthpieces without this focus feel more like a wave of sound is coming out of the bell.
The PMS Guardala Michael Brecker II also has more volume because of that higher baffle. When you blow full force it really opens up and gets LOUD! You have to be careful or you might damage your hearing…… The downside of the high baffle is that the tone isn’t as thick or full as a lower baffle mouthpiece.
PMS Guardala Brecker II Fat Boy Tenor Mouthpiece
Let me know what you think in the comments below. Thanks, Steve
PMS Guardala Brecker II Fat Boy Tenor Mouthpiece
Same clip with 30% reverb and a little EQ
