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 Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece. My last review was of the “Fat Boy” version of this mouthpiece. This is the regular version from PMS.
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 Michael Brecker II 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 don’t think so because I’m pretty sure that Brecker’s mouthpiece had a straight or smooth edge on the end of his baffle. Every other MB II I have seen has had a straight or smooth edge. The rumor is that PMS went with a “bullet” type baffle so that the mouthpieces could be machined and less handwork was needed.
PMS Guardala Michael Brecker II Tenor Mouthpiece
The mouthpiece looks great! It is a beautiful gold and is engraved with “MBII” on the top of the piece. The baffle is very long and has that curved “bullet”edge I talked about above. I have seen this same baffle type on the Guardala “King” and “Super King” mouthpiece produced by WWBW.
The rails, baffle and table look beautiful and perfect ……… the tip on this piece does match the reeds better than the “Fat Boy” mouthpiece I reviewed earlier.
PMS Guardala Michael Brecker II 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. This mouthpiece has a .114 tip opening.
PMS Guardala Michael Brecker II 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………….)
I found this MBII to be a bit brighter and edgier than the “Fat Boy” model I reviewed earlier. You can compare the sound clips and judge for yourself. Because it has that longer “bullet” shaped baffle, the air travels faster into a smaller chamber and gives it that brighter sound. The “Fat Boy” had a fatter more round sound to it in my opinion. Less edge on it than this MBII. You can hear it more on the higher notes of the recordings………
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.
I gave this mouthpiece a 3.75 rating for tone. This is a purely personal rating as I prefer a darker and fatter tone on the tenor saxophone. I will say that if you like this type of tone then you might choose to rate it higher. I usually rate a piece 4-5 if it is more of a tone I really love………
PMS Guardala Michael Brecker II Tenor Mouthpiece
Let me know what you think in the comments below. Thanks, Steve
PMS Guardala Michael Brecker II Tenor Mouthpiece
