Berg Larsen 110/0 Original Denim piece. This is an earlier model, nicely done. Tip size is actually .115 which is somewhat unusual for Bergs as they tend to run small. I have not played it yet, but will report back.
Otto Link Baritone FL Double Ring Original 5*
Otto Link Baritone FL Double Ring 5*. This piece has a tip size of .110. Facing is original and clean. I have polished the tip rail and baffle ascent only, smoothing some small dings that are common with well loved pieces of this age.
Selmer Soloist (short) Original E
Beautiful original Selmer Soloist E. These are harder to find now. They play wonderful as is, excellent candidates for opening to .095-.100, and nice addition to any original 5-digit Selmer tenor in original case, as original equipment.
Otto Link FL USA very nice original 6
Very excellent original Link FL USA 6. Everything original, tip size is .095 so functionally a 6*. I have not played it yet, but I am guessing it’s very good by the appearance.
Archetype W20-04 .103 Special (on hold)
This piece arrives at a .103 tip size with a special setup; slightly short custom facing and WT style shorter high baffle. The special facing quite successfully captures the compressed focus of .095 (6*) at .103. The WT style baffle offers in your face presence while also not crowding the venting of mid and high end with a longer baffle. For a larger chamber (early Link style) .103 this is very compact, yet has a facing “spring” resistance producing a piece that plays very fat AND very fast.
Archetype W20-03 .100 Fresh out of the Bardo
Wonderful Link 7 tip size, hand finished and beautiful. Quad ring is experiencing multidimensional soul division. This piece plays fat and takes a lot of air as we would expect from a 7, which is the upper end of what these were designed for. Fat, with a shimmering edge. Facing is slightly short for speed and crisp response, already away to the first pre-order!
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The Archetype is Born
I have just finished the first Archetype mouthpiece, Serial numer, (W20)-#1. This first one had some cosmetic blemishes and required extra hand work. I expected it would be subpar but to the contrary it is amazing, shocking, utterly surprising in its closeness to the original and the excellent feeling and tone it is producing. We are starting production now. More info to come!
Horned Toad Select Archetype Model Available for Pre-Order
The Archetype model tenor mouthpiece is starting production and now available for pre-order.. This is a very detailed reproduction of an extinct historically significant Otto Link transitional model, the prototype “Super Tonemaster”, AKA the “Quad Ring”.
Body color and some details will vary from the image. Biteplate will be black ebonite.
These will be hand finished, in house, in the original NY Otto Link style, but one of the few craftsmen who can really recreate that style. This will be the first, and probably only option to acquire an example of the Quad-Ring Link, and they are going to be amazing players with a proper setup.
This prototype was a design test at the end of the Tonemaster production featuring some incremental aesthetic, bore, finish, and response changes that resulted in the very famous Super Tonemasters of the NY and Florida eras. Continue reading
Otto Link FL Double Ring 9 Optimized
Here we have an excellent surviving example of a Florida production Otto Link ‘double ring’ 9 facing that I have cleaned up and optimized after years of use. This is probably a somewhat later model double ring as it has rhodium or nickel plate. The early models had gold plate (which wore off rather easily). The nickel or rhodium does not wear off as easily but when it does it leaves scars in the brass as we see here.
Otto Link Early Babbitt ‘square chamber’ 7* original
Here we have the rather rare and hard to find ‘Early Babbitt’ square (or oval) chamber Otto Link Soprano piece, popularized by Steve Lacy among others. I also prefer these. This piece is in original condition I believe and does show some wear, although a very good player. 7* is really an optimal size for these!
