Here we have a VERY clean example of any early Babbitt otto Link 6* metal piece. This has the signature step baffle and slightly smaller chamber (than the FLorida and later Links) giving some extra airspeed and brightness. This piece is a very nice player in excellent condition.
This is a very clean original example of an early Florida production Otto Link 6 Tenor piece. It obviously has a lot of plating, facing never altered, pretty big baffle etc. This is what the blue-note’rs played on and this is what people still go for for tone. It has plenty of metal on the tip should anyone want to customize or open it, currently measures at around .092 on my tools.
These are very popular loud and cutting mouthpieces, good functional standby for the working pro who needs leverage with the electric stage situation. This one is in original used but good condition, ready to go to work for you.
Here we have a couple of old Tonemasters in the shop. One is certainly original, the other might have been either cleaned roughly or sanded a bit. Either way both are slightly rough and generally in line for restoration.
This is a Zimberoff/Dukoff Hollywood produced under the brand “GEM” which (I cannot quite remember, I think it was associated with Gregory mouthpieces?), but I could be wrong. In any case this is the desirable large round chambered model. It is actually a Zimberoff/Dukoff Hollywood exactly and having the original facing size of 7 is quite rare. The photos below show the piece originally as found. I have just restored this to a beautiful .100 tip with an excellent original style rollover to flat baffle. This is an absolutely top professional and nuanced playing piece, very hard to find and very complex in color. This is the exact same model and quality of a slightly larger one I sold to Dave O’Higgins some years back, which can be heard on youtube. Photos will be updated soon.
Original stainless steel berg from the 1950’s. Denim table, type font stamp, all correct. Hard to find piece in excellent shape!
This piece was received in a trade and belonged to a NYC pro tenorman who bought it from Dave Guardala way back when. The table, facing, tip, baffle are all original. The biteplate was replaced by Guardala and done nicely. Out of many original vintage FL Links this one plays exceptionally well I think the tip size is around a 6* (have to go measure again) and this thing really really plays. It has a dark core like Links do, but it also has that long flat baffle of the this period and delivers a shockingly crisp, immediate and clear response. I have to say this one is rather aggressive and extremely fun to play.
This is one of the best Links I have actually ever played in this size. Buyer beware… of confusion and addiction to this Link!
This is an original 7 Slant Link from the early FL period, Excellent! I got this from the original owner who bought it in the 1950’s and used it for many years on gigs. No wonder why, this piece plays beautifully! It has kind of a chocolate tone, very rich, yet with an unexpected amount of bright given that these do not have a whole lot of baffle. However, that brightness, they did it with the facing and the chamber!
This piece plays so nicely, and it is exceedingly comfortable to blow. It is very rare to find not only an original 7, but one that plays so well. Please not the beautiful original milling markings on the table and the original tip rail and baffle! The biteplate area had some bite indentation that I filled and covered with a patch, it is a non-issue. The piece also has some cosmetic scratches which affect nothing. Any piece that plays THIS GREAT will certainly have such wear, and normally people just never let them go because the great ones are rare.
This is a recent restoration I did of an Otto Link ‘double ring’ tenor piece that I found in very worn condition. I have reconstructed the biteplate and protected it with a patch. I completely treated the table, tip, baffle and facing. I did use a specific facing on this piece making it play pretty much exactly like some of the best original early FL and double ring Links I have had. Wow, that was quite a success. One of the best DR’s I have ever done, this one also labeled “masterpiece”. Originally a 6, this is now a .097 so a slightly big 6*.
This has a very fine tip rail and a significant baffle in the original style of these pieces. The tone is lyrical, vocal, warm with a slight buzz and nearly perfect amount of resistance.
This is an Otto Link “double ring” tenor piece that I set up and personally used on many gigs over the years. It has a very balanced response with the characteristic warm and lyrical vocal sound these are known for. This one is faced at .100 close to it’s original size. It is very comfortable to play and has a truly wonderful tone. I have kept it for many years as evidence of its excellence. This is also why I labeled it “masterpiece”.
