Otto Link Early FL no USA 7 “Marinated” Universe of Tone!

This here is a very special mouthpiece. It came to me a somewhat worn FL no USA 7 Otto Link. It was obviously a phenomenal player. Some of these, the great ones you can tell they are the special ones because they have been just played so much that the tip rail has no longer any definition, worn right into the baffle. These are the pieces that old time roots players played into the dirt. These folks KNEW when they had a good one.

When I saw the worn baffle on this piece I knew it was one of those; a certain type of Otto Link that plays effortlessly with a complexity and range that most others cannot approach. This type of FL Link is not so easily found. I’ve played a few over the years, a friend of mine has an original 10 that feels as easy as a 7 to play and it is the same model as this with the same kind of dedicated playing wear.

In this case this was so worn it needed a reset. The biteplate had a massive valley worn into it. I’ve replaced that with a new and beautiful hard rubber biteplate. The table, facing, tip, rails, baffle have all been recreated from zero in specifically the authentic style and finish of this model period of Otto Link. There are many people who can reface a mouthpiece, but not too many taking this approach. This piece is a very good example of how good they can be.

I have not bothered to address the outer cosmetic wear on the mouthpiece. If that is more important to you it is not hard to have it done, I have put my efforts into the function of the mouthpiece. In that area it excels with a very complex sound, a lot of warmth and a rare smoothness and definition throughout the range of the horn.

Tip opening is exactly .100 on my tools. It plays with the original character it should have but a LOT easier to play than most originals will. This piece is for the real player, or the one who wants to up their game with a hand crafted prime vintage universe of tone.