Today, I am reviewing another great saxophone mouthpiece made by Theo Wanne at TheoWanne.com. Theo Wanne was one of the first sax mouthpiece makers to reach out to me and ask if I would be willing to do some reviews of his mouthpieces years ago. I had heard his name for years as the guy to go to for mouthpiece work and when he started his own line of saxophone mouthpieces I had to try them out! I have reviewed many of his sax mouthpieces on this site that you can find here. Theo Wanne’s saxophone mouthpieces are innovative and some of the best playing sax mouthpieces on the market today. He also has a ton of historical information about the history of saxophone mouthpieces on his website to check out also.
This review is on the NY Bros alto saxophone mouthpiece. This NY Bros mouthpiece has a 6 tip opening which is a .076 tip opening. It is modeled after the best vintage Meyer mouthpieces that Theo has encountered which is pretty cool!
Theo Wanne NY Bros Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
Here’s a description from Theo Wanne’s website about the NY Bros alto saxophone mouthpiece:
The BRAND NEW Theo Wanne™ New York Bros Alto mouthpiece brings the best of the vintage alto mouthpiece world to the future!
Theo Wanne is the world’s foremost expert on vintage sax mouthpieces and he understands WHY a Meyer sounds great. So, Theo utilized the best design principles from decades of vintage Meyers to make the new Theo Wanne™ NY Bros alto mouthpiece. It is the ultimate vintage Meyer.
Theo talks about the history of the Meyer mouthpiece and the NYBROS concept here! The NY Bros truly is designed with all the knowledge of what made the vintage models so great, only now made with an accuracy and consistency previously only dreamed of.
You also asked for Theo Wanne™ quality and design at a very friendly price everyone could afford. So we did that too!!!
SOUND
- Versatile! Great for all styles including Jazz, Rock & Roll and even classical.
- The most expressive traditional Meyer sound you’ve ever heard!
DESIGN
- Perfectly sculpted medium chamber and roll-over baffle.
- Crafted to the highest accuracy in the history of Meyer style mouthpieces; perfect side and tip rails!
- Designed by Theo Wanne, the foremost expert on the design and manufacturing of vintage mouthpieces. Incorporating the best features of every Meyer vintage, from the 1940’s to present.
DETAILS
- Premium Harry Hartmann Fiberrod™: Manufactured with a special formulation of Harry Hartmann Fiberrod™, made especially for Theo Wanne™, to sound and look just like vintage hard rubber but does not discolor and smell like hard rubber when exposed to heat and the sun.
Theo Wanne NY Bros Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
The table, rails, tip and baffle look smooth, even and perfectly crafted. The chamber looks about the size of a medium sized Meyer chamber. The baffle is a rollover baffle that then angles down into the chamber where is finally stops at the back of the chamber. The rollover baffle looks moderate to my eyes so I categorized it as a medium baffle here on the site The sidewalls look straight to me. The inside of the chamber is smooth and flawless.
The NY Bros mouthpiece is made of Harry Hartmann Fiberrod. I haven’t heard of this material before but it looks and feels similar to hard rubber to me. According to the info on Theo’s website, it doesn’t have that nasty hard rubber smell that hard rubber can get which is nice if that bothers you.
Theo Wanne NY Bros Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
Like the Theo Wanne Slant 2, I tried a number of reeds on this mouthpiece before I settled on the Rigotti Gold 3 medium reed which is without a doubt the best reed possible for me on this mouthpiece. I say that very rarely but I honestly felt like the combination of this reed with this mouthpiece was the perfect amount of resistance coupled with control and power that I could possibly want. (I was very happy!!)
Theo Wanne NY Bros Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
The NY Bros alto mouthpiece was very comfortable to play and felt similar to the profile of a Meyer mouthpiece. The tone was crisp and clear with just the right amount of focus to it. It does lean to the bright side of an alto sax tone for me but still has a richness and character to it that I loved. I’m not talking Sanborn bright here of course, but more of a Cannonball or Phil Woods type of brightness. Crisp, vibrant and singing in my opinion. Think Phil Woods on “Musique Du Bois”………(Phil Woods played a NY Meyer so that’s a good comparison……)
Theo Wanne NY Bros Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
The Theo Wanne NY Bros alto sax mouthpiece played smooth and evenly throughout the range of the horn. The intonation was excellent.
In the first minute of the sound clip I am just playing something deep and thoughtful as part of my morning meditation. (Ok, there was no meditation but when I listened back I thought that’s what it sounded like…..Deep thoughts with Steve Neff kind of thing……) Personally, although the tone was brighter, I loved the richness and complexity of it. The high palm key notes sounded light and sweet to me.
At 1:28 I play some bebop lines and it feels like it is a different sound and mouthpiece than the first minute of the clip in my opinion. The NY Bros gives enough core and focus that when playing bebop it has a nice “pop” to the sound when tonguing and accenting different notes in bebop lines.
At the 3:30 minute I get a little a little more bluesy and funky with the sound for a little bit. It goes into that genre well but I’m not sure it gets the edge that is needed for that style of music. When I was listening back it still sounded sweet and “nice” to me. Although, I must admit that I wasn’t fully going for that vibe so it might just be me holding back a bit………
Theo Wanne NY Bros Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
I really loved playing the Theo Wanne NY Bros alto saxophone mouthpiece. I felt very comfortable on it once I put that Rigotti 3 medium reed on it. This is one of those mouthpieces that I feel just kind of went where I wanted it to as I played. I wasn’t fighting it, I felt relaxed and flowing if that makes sense. Usually, I tend to like a darker sound a bit more on alto but I found the tone of the NY Bros to be complex and interesting enough that I couldn’t stop playing it. ( I recorded the sound clip and when I was done was surprised it was over 20 minutes long! I cut it down to around 3 minutes as I know you all have things to do………)
If you like the sound of the Theo Wanne NY Bros alto sax mouthpiece, you can order one from Theo on his website at www.theowanne.com. Tell him Steve sent you………….Great work Theo!!
Let me know what you think in the comments below and if you try a Theo Wanne NY Bros alto sax mouthpiece yourself please come back and let us know your own opinion also. Thanks, Steve
Theo Wanne NY Bros Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece
Wow! That might be the best one I’ve heard here. Love it! I could listen to that all day. Nice complex tone. Very rich and engaging to my ears. I know tone is somewhat subjective and is in the ears of the listener, but mine love this one! I love the Rigotti reeds with this kind of piece and that does seem like a perfect match. To me, much more of a Woods type sound than the others. Thanks for the review Steve.
I think I’m going to order one….
Think about going to the 5 opening. Have you tried? Not easy to get Rigotti Reeds;-))
Regards Georg
Hello,
I have played for three days now on that mouthpiece. I really love it. Rigotti works for me as well BUT I prefer the François Louis (which are made by Rigotti) to get more core. The Rigotti makes it rounder ….
Thanks for the advice:-))
Worth every penny! Perfect craftsmanship … I Think I’ll get a tip 5 too.
Regards Georg
Hi Steve, do you know the facing curve on this mouthpiece? I’m wondering if Theo used Meyer’s design facing curve (41.2 on glass gauge). The sound is a bit thin in the recording but then I noticed that it is what I perceive. The low frequencies are there but perhaps due to the extreme resonant and efficient reed performance it is easy to mis judge the sound. I think a slightly off-axis mic positioning (which is the position we hear the sound as a sax player anyway) would take care of balancing the sound.
HI Arya, I don’t know the facing curve. Sorry. I got some tools years ago to measure curves but got so frustrated trying to do it that I gave up. Playing off-axis in my opinion loses some of the direct focus and gets more of the room sound I think. The recordings sound a bit more spread to my ears when I do this. Steve
Hi Steve, I just noticed Theo Wanne has NY Bros 2 alto mouthpiece out after they talked about it for months. NY Bros original was on sale for last few months and it is still on sale in some places to open up room for this new version. They mention “NYBROS 2 with an updated baffle and floor, the NYBROS 2 has even more body and fullness to the sound.” It would be great if you could have your hands on one of the new models and if possible compare it with the older design. Of course more body and fullness sounds good but I don’t know does it mean a bit more spread sounding? Is the difference creates a pay off for anything by means of tone definition, character, etc. I mean is it just a taste difference and someone could perhaps like the older tone character, or it has made the mouthpiece a better mouthpiece for all players? It would be good to see what users would say, and of course a demo audio track would be great just to have a feel for it. I hope you consider doing the demo and review for this one. I bought a new Meyer production 6MM a few months ago and the table was aweful! and neither me nor my sax repairman who also does some refacing could make it a good mouthpiece, so I’m given up on Meyer and I’m looking for Meyer kind of tone but with a more reliable manufacturing precision. Thanks a lot.
According to Theo, the new Wanne NY Bros 2 will be made out of hard rubber, in addition to the other changes Arya has mentioned. I will be trying an 8 as soon as they are released.
After trying so many mouthpieces (Meyer HR and metal, Yanagisawa metal, Aizen Jazzmaster HR, Ponzol metal, just to name a few) – I came to the conclusion that Theo Wanne’s NY Bros is by far the best mouthpiece for me. It has so many tonal qualities, it is easy blowing, has a reach and full sound but at the same time it projects, and I am so happy with it, it does not come off my Yani WO-1 alto. Fantastic choice!
I played quite a while on the NY brothers and still love it…. use Rigotti Marca and Silverstein Reeds to fineadjust sound….
There’s only one thing … the fiberrod Material gets dents very easily….
I think that’s the reason they switched to hardrubber for the NY2
Great piece really!!
Hi Steve,
I liked the sound of your clip playing this piece so much, I ordered one, but in a 7 facing.
The company I bought from only had the new NY bros 2 so I went with it, I’m really pleased I did.
It’s the best m.p. I’ve ever owned and great for any kind of playing, it has a huge sound, and makes altissimo playing pop out real easy, with tons of colour throughout..
If you tried the #7, I challenge you to not be able to put it down for at least an hour.
all the best
Andy
That’s great to hear Andy. I haven’t tried the NY Bros 2 yet. I’m glad you are happy with it and my review helped in your search! Thanks, Steve
Hey Steve, Right off I noticed that this particular mpc is the FR and not the hard rubber. Having said that I can only wonder what you’d make the hard rubber sound like however, this mpc is extremely bright and actually tinny sounding. Thanks for reviewing it because I was thinking about purchasing one. What all the reviews I’ve read say is that the Theo Wanne “Meyer” is free blowing and on the bright side. I guess there’s some give and take in what you want from a mpc. I currently play on a Meyer 6* hooked up to a 1939 King Zephyr all original pads: I lucked into this baby! I found it on eBay it was an estate sale and it is in almost original condition. Plays like a dream!! Anyway, the Meyer that I have, I purchased form WW&BW and it is impeccably perfect and of course it is machine made, can’t find a flaw on it. Having said that the Meyer offers more resistance which impedes the free flowing a bit however, the resistance creates a darker sound which appeals to my style of playing. I use a Java Red 3 which also gives me a richer sound then the Rigotti 3 medium although Rigotti is an excellent easy playing reed. I would like to say your playing is exemplary and is the only style I’ve heard on line that is similar to mine which, really makes me happy because I purchased your blues book and at some time in the future look forward to working with it. Best wishes Harold!!
Could you please compare this to the Meyer connoisseur and burnin alto? They seem to be fairly similar
I can’t really compare mouthpieces unless I have them at the same time and can play them side by side. These three mouthpieces are similar but there are so many variables from the various tip openings, the reeds I used, the ligature, etc….. that it is hard to compare without having them side by side. I have provided the sound clips and photos as a source to compare mouthpieces and in the sound clips I try to play many of the same lines and phrases so people can listen and compare. I would suggest trying to compare them with all the information I have provided. I did really like all three of these mouthpieces and one of them doesn’t stick out in my memory as my favorite or better than the others but they are all just different in the way they sound and blow. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. Steve