Selmer MK VI 105xxx Original US Lac. Excellent Horned Toad Overhaul

105xxx Selmer MK VI, this is a sweet spot vintage of MK VI right after 100k.  Most everyone who is experienced agrees that these are especially good; punchy, focused, on the brighter side yet still complex sounding.  This is one that I restored years back and put a lot of meticulous care into.  It has large domed brass resonators and (gold) painted pads with a really beautiful tight concise feel.  In the years since I set this up I feel it has not changed much, still plays like a new horn. I recently received it back on a trade and was happy to get a chance to play it again. I’ve gone through and updated one pad and done a little adjustment.

This horn has that wonderful dark lacquer, some normal blemishes for a played horn but is in very good physical condition.  It plays very powerfully with a fundamentally dark core and very cutting edge.  It is a very fast and precise horn.

 

 

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Gear Nerd Summit

Had a really wonderful hang with Josh Redman, fellow tone & subtlety aficionado; inspiringly great player and exceptionally good, smart and fun person to be around. Being able to share that level of appreciation for detail in sound is why we do this, but some people are just plain cool.

Otto Link Tonemaster Marinated Masterpiece .097

This is a wonderful player, “Bluetrane” period Otto Link Tonemaster restored to a tip size of .097.  I would classify this as a chocolate butter rich complex tone. It has more clarity and projection than an original Tonemaster by a large measure, but is also not a super bright modern vibe at all.  It is very much accurate to the aesthetic of the original Tonemasters but extremely clear and brilliant with a true facing making it very reed friendly and not stuffy in any way.

For modern mouthpieces this would be considered dark I guess, but for a vintage Link this is probably in the middle tonally, and for a Tonemaster it might be just a bit bright and shimmery- still not a bright piece.  It is very organic and flexible.  It’s a joy to play this one, no effort was spared in making it the best it could possibly be without hyping or altering the inherent character.

Obviously not a whole lot of plating left on this one.  Biteplate shows some use (because it really was always just an inherently great piece) but the biteplate is functional and I will leave it.  Will work fine with or without a patch.

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Otto Link “Missing Link” 4-Ring Transitional Rare Mouthpiece (Part 1)


I just got this amazingly rare and special piece, an otto Link 4-ring transitional piece from Tonemaster to ‘Super’ Tonemaster; this is the first Super Tonemaster before the ‘Double Ring”.  It is a NY production piece from the Otto Link (not Florida, Ben Harrod).  This has the first super tonemaster body and from my feeling a slightly different chamber from Tonemaster as well, but not exactly the same as double ring.  Of course the double rings models vary plenty amongst themselves but this still feels a bit different to me.

 

 

This type of piece was immortalized in photos of John Coltrane, specifically this set by Charles Stewart taken in 1964.  He was always switching mouthpieces of course but it is interesting that this is somewhere near the ‘Love Supreme” recording time period.

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Horned Toad’s Vintage Otto Link Survey Videos!

Marin Spivack, veteran restorer of vintage mouthpieces takes an in-depth journey through the different models of vintage Otto Link tenor (because they are a lot less famous for alto) saxophone mouthpieces. We will cover the 1940’s to the 1970’s. Not ALL models and examples will be featured but plenty of detail based on what is available. Be prepared for corny humor and some time wasting, it’s a bit long, but you may learn to identify and understand the differences in the models. There may be mistakes and contradictions, we do our best. This is for the true nerds and enthusiasts.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5