Today, I am excited to be reviewing the return of the Brilhart Carlsbad Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpiece released by Conn-Selmer. These new Brilhart Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpieces are advertised as being made from the same Brilhart Carlsbad-era molds that Arnold Brilhart used in the 1950’s to make these iconic saxophone mouthpieces.
*It’s important to note that these new Carlsbad-era Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpieces are distinct from the mass-produced Brilhart Ebolin mouthpieces of the last 50 years, which strayed from the original Arnold Brilhart Carlsbad design played by so many great players of the past.
Brilhart Ebolin Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
Here is a description of the new Brilhart Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpiece from the Conn-Selmer website description:
The Iconic Brilhart Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpiece has returned for a new generation of jazz musician. Utilizing the original molds created by Arnold Brilhart, Conn Selmer has masterfully revived the Brilhart “Carlsbad” Ebolin saxophone mouthpiece. Each mouthpiece is engineered to precise specifications, producing a full, resonant tone while giving players the perfect amount of “edge” and carrying power.
Every Brilhart “Carlsbad” Ebolin mouthpiece is 100% manufactured and hand finished in Elkhart Indiana, USA.
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- Original Carlsbad Era Molds: Faithfully produces the exact feel of the West Coast Brilhart vibe.
- Hand Finished / Voiced: Ensures the best possible response, intonation and color.
- Serialized: Return to a signature element of the Brilhart artist lines of mouthpieces
Brilhart Ebolin Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
I know next to nothing about the history of Brilhart saxophone mouthpieces so I emailed Ryan Lillywhite (Director of Woodwinds at Conn-Selmer) asking about the history of Brilhart saxophone mouthpieces. Here is Ryan’s detailed response:
“A legendary figure in the saxophone history books, Arnold Brilhart (1904-1998) began in the 1920s as an in-demand saxophonist and prolific recording artist in New York. Brilhart was frequently heard on live radio performances and eventually recorded on some 30,000 records. He also headed a plastics company where he honed a unique expertise with injection molding technology and specialty plastic composites engineering.
In 1939, fueled by his passion for improving saxophone mouthpieces, he established his own Brilhart Musical Instrument Corporation in Great Neck, New York. As he reminisced in later years, “I started making reeds and mouthpieces because the ones on the market were so lousy” (New York Times, Dec 1 1994). Brilhart was on a quest for the perfect sound that combined sweet, fat and warm, complemented by enough bite to ring yet not become shrill.
One of Brilhart’s crowning achievements during the Great Neck era was the creation of the Brilhart Ebolin and Tonalin saxophone mouthpieces, released in 1940. Ebolin, made from a black composite with a white bite plate, quickly became a staple in the saxophone world. With unique facing options, these provided saxophonists a range of tonal options from dark and mellow to bright and punchy. Gene Ammons famously played an Ebolin tenor saxophone mouthpiece.
The Tonalin mouthpiece, distinct in its ivory-white color with black bite plate, was a softer material celebrated for its warm, focused sound and impeccable response. Its versatility made it a favorite among saxophonists across genres and the Tonalin quickly became a favorite of many saxophonists, with notable players like Benny Goodman and Charlie Parker endorsing it.
Brilhart also continued to make a hard rubber model from ebonite, a more traditional mouthpiece material. These had a larger chamber and became the iconic sounds of players such as Zoot Sims.
One notable addition to Brilhart’s lineup during the later Great Neck era was the Personaline series. These mouthpieces, crafted under Brilhart’s personal supervision, offered saxophonists a personalized playing experience with their customizable facings and chamber shapes. The Personaline series showcased Brilhart’s dedication to meeting the individual needs of players and pushing the boundaries of mouthpiece design.
In 1954, Brilhart relocated his company to southern California, marking the beginning of his Carlsbad era. Ebolin and Tonalin mouthpieces were initially made almost identically to those from Great Neck, and in later years the Carlsbad models have a slightly smaller chamber. These are distinguished by a quick response and slightly more “edge” to the sound.
In 1966, the Brilhart Company was acquired by Selmer who continued making and selling the popular mouthpieces. That same year saw the introduction of the Level Air model, a metal mouthpiece made of stainless steel which had a distinctly brighter sound than other Brilhart tenor sax mouthpieces.
While original Great Neck and Carlsbad era Brilhart mouthpieces are highly sought after, it’s no small chore for a saxophonist to find the right one: not only did vintage Ebolin and Tonalin mouthpieces from this era commonly suffer cracks in the shank, the facings were also notoriously inconsistent in facing and tip opening.
The Brilhart mouthpieces gradually became more generic and, while still being sold and appreciated for decades, drifted from the original professional models that Arnold Brilhart designed.
Then, in 2023, the Selmer company made waves in the industry when they found the original Brilhart mouthpiece molds and reintroduced the true Ebolin and Special mouthpieces back into the saxophone market. This new era is marked by carefully controlled molding and machining, expert hand finishing, and a reworked numbering system that is in line with other mouthpiece brands. The reissue of these classic mouthpieces is not a revival but an actual rebirth of the original Great Neck Ebolin molds.”-Ryan Lillywhite (Director of Woodwinds at Conn-Selmer)
Brilhart Ebolin Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
The Brilhart Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpiece came well packaged and protected in a beautifully crafted vintage looking black box with the original Brilhart trademark from 1942 on it (“Brilhart” with a mouthpiece on the left side and a reed on the right side). On the sides of the box are stickers with the facing number on one side and the serial number of the mouthpiece on the other.
Brilhart Ebolin Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
Inside the box, the mouthpiece is protected on all sides with foam and there is a card with the serial number, finishers name and play testers name on it. I like this personal touch of having a persons name attached to the quality of the mouthpiece. It seems to me that this practice would help improve quality standards in many mouthpiece companies that have had, and still have, quality control issues (not naming any names……). By the way, can you figure out the name of the person who worked on this mouthpiece from the signature above? Yeah, neither can I…….
Brilhart Ebolin Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
The Brilhart Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpiece has the classic cursive “Brilhart” logo engraved in white on the top of the mouthpiece with the 7 tip opening engraved in white below the logo. Below the 7 on the top of the shank is engraved “Ebolin” in white as well. The serial number is stamped into the body off of the right side of the table. The serial number is more discreet and is not in white.
Here is a list of the tip opening sizes the Brilhart Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpieces currently come in:
- #4 .060”/1.52mm
- #5 .065”/1.65mm
- #6 .070”/1.79mm
- #7 .075”/1.90mm
Brilhart Ebolin Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
The Brilhart Ebolin 7 alto saxophone mouthpiece looks great to the eye. The mouthpiece is smooth and shiny. The mouthpiece tip rail looks fairly even although the left side of the tip rail is thinner than the right side. The side rails look functional although there is some waviness and variation in width as they travel towards the tip of the mouthpiece. The shape of the tip rail was relatively close to the shape of the alto saxophone reeds I used (not exact) and the mouthpiece got suction consistently when testing it with the mouthpiece suction test.
The mouthpiece has a white bite plate that I am told is made of the same plastic material but in white. I’m not sure what good that does if your teeth are still making contact with plastic, but I always use a mouthpiece patch anyways so it makes no difference to me.
The diameter and beak profile of the Brilhart Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpiece felt very similar to the diameter and beak profile of a typical hard rubber alto saxophone mouthpiece like a Meyer. The body size of the Brilhart Ebolin alto mouthpiece is also similar to a typical hard rubber alto saxophone mouthpiece as well.
Brilhart Ebolin Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
The window of the Brilhart Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpiece is a bit thinner and longer than a typical Meyer alto sax mouthpiece window opening. As a matter of fact, as I compare the Brilhart Ebolin mouthpiece to a bunch of my other alto sax mouthpieces on hand, the Brilhart Ebolin has the longest window of any of them (but again, its window is a bit thinner than the others also).
The baffle of the Brilhart Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpiece has a gradual rollover near the tip that rolls over for about an inch and then heads straight down to the smooth chamber floor. The Brilhart Ebolin chamber looks to be a medium sized chamber and has a unique shape in that the chamber floor is rounded, the side walls are straight but travel inward from bottom to top making the top of the chamber thinner than the bottom. The roof of the chamber is also rounded and quite thick below the table.
Brilhart Ebolin Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
When first playing the Brilhart Ebolin 7 alto saxophone mouthpiece, my first impression was that it had a powerful core sound that had a brightness to the tone that seemed to carry throughout the room when playing. The tone had some buzz to it that made it lively and expressive while still having a substantial thickness to the tone.
It was easy to bend notes and apply vibrato and the Brilhart Ebolin mouthpiece responded immediately to changes in dynamics as well as articulation. This ease of bending and vibrato can easily be heard in the first melody I play on the clips below (On the Sunny Side of the Street) where I bend up to a high C# on the 7th note and then add vibrato to the note.
Brilhart Ebolin Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
The intonation on the Brilhart Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpiece was within the normal expected parameters on my Selmer Reference 54 alto saxophone and the range of the saxophone was very even, smooth and fluid. These attributes really help the Brilhart Ebolin alto sax mouthpiece sound great when playing fast jazz lines as you can hear in the sound clips below.
The brightness, buzz and crisp tone of the Brilhart Ebolin alto sax mouthpiece gave it an authentic bebop sound. As I played through my usual Charlie Parker lines on the sound clip, I could feel how that brightness allowed the accented notes in the bebop lines to pop a bit more. At the same time, the smoothness of the tone from note to note allowed the line to sound connected and flowing while those accented notes really stood out. I loved that quality while playing the mouthpiece as well as when listening back to the clips.
Brilhart Ebolin Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
The Brilhart Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpiece was about an 8 on my 1-10 volume scale for alto saxophone mouthpieces. The straight side walls and unique chamber shape seem to allow the tone to be more focused, concentrated and brighter in my opinion.
If you read through the list of players that played Brilhart Ebolin alto sax mouthpieces at the end of this review, you will notice that most of them played in big bands and the one exception to that, Maceo Parker, without a doubt had to be able to cut through the mix in loud situations playing funk music so the Brilhart Ebolin mouthpiece can definitely be pushed to cut through those high volume playing environments.
At the same time, the Brilhart Ebolin alto sax mouthpiece would sound great in smaller settings as well, whether playing in a jazz duo, trio or quartet. I don’t think I would suggest the Brilhart Ebolin alto sax mouthpiece for classical music because of its brightness, but for a straight ahead jazz gig it would be killer.
Brilhart Ebolin Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
On the sound clips below, I try to give a good range and variety of alto saxophone sounds and textures so that you can hear the Brilhart Ebolin 7 alto saxophone mouthpiece perform in different styles.
For the first clip, I posted the sound clip with a slight reverb added to it so you can hear what the Brilhart Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpiece might sound like with reverb added. This is actually very close to how it would sound if I played it in my garage, basement or bathroom. This is also how it might sound in a big hall or room with a natural reverb in it.
I love how the Brilhart Ebolin mouthpiece sounds with reverb, but it sounds just as good on the second sound clip with no effects in my opinion. This is also very important! I have played mouthpieces in the past that sounded killer with reverb on the gig, but when I played them in a dry room at home or while teaching I absolutely hated the sound of them. Trust me, hating your sound at home in a dry room is not something that will inspire you to practice. You need to find a mouthpiece that gives you a sound in both environments that you absolutely love in my opinion.
Brilhart Ebolin Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
The Brilhart Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpiece is what I would consider a versatile alto sax mouthpiece. Just the fact that Maceo Parker and Charlie Parker used one is a testament that the Brilhart Ebolin can be used for straight ahead jazz and funk music. Those are the top two players in both those genres of music so that is quite the endorsement.
Brilhart Ebolin Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
In my opinion, the Brilhart Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpiece is a great alto saxophone mouthpiece if you are a student and looking for a step-up mouthpiece that is affordable. While playing the Brilhart Ebolin I couldn’t help but think of the many middle school and high school students around the country whose tones would be greatly improved by progressing from their Yamaha 4C mouthpieces to this Brilhart Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpiece. It has enough volume and brightness to carry through the mix of a band but still carries that classic Brilhart alto saxophone type sound that can help a student develop more maturity and character in their sound.
That’s not saying that the Brilhart Ebolin alto sax mouthpiece is just a “student” mouthpiece in the least. I’ve read that players such as Maceo Parker, Charlie Parker (he also played the white Brilhart Tonalin model as well), Marshal Royal (Count Basie Band-he supposedly used Brilhart Ebolin 7* with a 4 1/2-5 reed according to his words), Benny Carter, Skeets Hurfert (Dorsey Band, Laurence Welk Orchestra), Russell Procope (Duke Ellington Band), and Brad Leali (Harry Connick, Jr. Orchestra, Count Basie Band, Kennedy Center Honors Band) all played or play Brilhart Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpieces. This list alone is a testament to the fact that the Brilhart Ebolin alto sax mouthpiece is a great choice and versatile option for professional alto saxophonists as well.
Brilhart Ebolin Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
If you love the beautiful sound and look of the Brilhart Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpiece by Conn-Selmer, you can find them for a very reasonable price (169.00 at the time of this review) on the Sweetwater website. I have agreed to be an affiliate for Sweetwater so if you purchase a Brilhart Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpiece from this link, Neffmusic will receive a small commission on the sale while your cost remains the same. (This helps to support my site and keep the saxophone related reviews, articles and transcriptions coming to you…..). Sweetwater even offers the option to pay in three installments as well which is nice.
If you try a Brilhart Ebolin alto saxophone mouthpiece or have any thoughts, comments or questions on this review, I would love to hear what you think in the comments below. Thanks, Steve
*To hear the most detail from these clips it is best to listen to them from a computer with nice audio speakers or headphones rather than from an iPhone or laptop speakers. It makes a world of difference!
Sound Clip 1
Brilhart Ebolin 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review-Rigotti Gold 3 Light Alto Saxophone Reed-Slight Reverb Added
Brilhart Ebolin 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review-Rigotti Gold 3 Light Alto Saxophone Reed-Dry (No Reverb)
Thanks for doing this. I sold my Frank Wells a while back while someone still recognized his name. I might play a show next year and need to resurrect the alto and this looks like a good inexpensive choice.
-Ted
You certainly make it sound lovely. I am new to the saxophone and have a Selmer C*S 80 and recently added a Yanagisawa metal with a 6 tip opening. I am comfortable with a 2 or 2.5 with 3 different reed companies. I would like to try one of the Brihart Ebolin. Which tip opening would you suggest?
Arnold actually lived till 1998. (You have 1988.)
It sounds good. Don’t stop with alto. A baritone piece would be welcome – originals are rare.
Thanks, Paul. I changed that. I also have questions about him recording 30,000 albums. There is no way that can be true. If he started recording at the age of 20 until lets say 80. That would still be 500 hundred albums a year. That is impossible. I wonder if that number reflects the number of actual albums that went out to the public? Like he recorded one album and 2,000 went out, he recorded another and 3,000 went out, etc……. That quote is from Theo Wanne’s website so maybe he has more info on the details.
I also just saw this on Theo’s website “1988 – Arnold Brilhart passes away in California on May 21, 1998.” 😂 I guess that is where the 1988 year came from for his death…….
Also, I’m not buying a bari sax at this stage of the game. I’ll leave the bari sax mouthpiece reviews to a younger fella……..😂
Nice review Steve. On Sweetwater the tip opening on the 7 is listed as
Tip Opening:
0.081″ (2.05mm) | Size 7
You have it listed as 0.75/190mm above.
Thanks. Someone else pointed out this discrepancy with the tip openings. I’m waiting to hear back from Conn Selmer to get some clarification.
Hey everyone, I heard back from Ryan at Conn Selmer and the chart in the review is the official tip openings. The dropdown menu at Conn Selmeris not correct but they are fixing it. The tip openings listed on the Sweetwater page are also not correct but Ryan is reaching out to them to have them corrected.
I wonder why Meyer and now the Brilhart molds were “found” by Babbitt and Conn-Selmer?
Will Conn-Selmer do a custom facing curve?
At this price, it’s certainly worth a shot!
I will like also a tonaline model for tenor, the mouthpiece white with a black bite plate, with a more dark sound and less brightness, buzz and crisp tone.
This is the same sound I remember of this mouthpiece in the shop in the 70’s. At the time there were no serial number and, if I well remember, the price in Roma was 20.000/30.000 lire. The sound seems to me the same.
Any chance they’ll revive the Tonalin mouthpieces?
I only use vintage Brilhart mouthpieces on my saxes – a Carlsbad Tonalin Personaline on my Selmer 1956 Mark VI alto, a Great Neck New York Tonalin on my 1933 Martin Handcraft Standard tenor, and a Carlsbad Ebolin on my 1935 Conn bari.
They don’t have a Tonalin model currently on the market but if they release one in the future I would like to try it.
interesting sound, but not perfectly finished, with a plastic aftertaste, thank you very much