Theo Wanne Classic Mouthpieces – The
Amma
Theo Wanne of MouthpieceHeaven.com (and now TheoWanne.com)
has long been a gifted, talented and sought-after mouthpiece
refacer. For about five years many of us have eagerly awaited
the arrival of his production pieces. He has now unveiled
his truly remarkable and equally unique new mouthpiece – The
Amma.
Over the past few years Theo has immersed himself in the
process of developing and perfecting this world-class mouthpiece.
Theo has now done just that. The Amma is a meticulously crafted
large chamber mouthpiece that surpasses the very capable
Custom Links for which he is so well known. If you are a
fan of vintage mouthpieces and Links in general, you will
likely be a big fan of the Amma.
The description of the Amma goes as follows: “Reminiscent
of the vintage mouthpieces of the 1940s and 50s, the AMMA
brings the craftsmanship of the past together with the technology
of the future to create the ultimate medium baffle, 'true'
large chamber, mouthpiece.” I couldn’t have said
it better. The Amma is Theo’s response to the booming
vintage mouthpiece market and the need for a better mouthpiece.
No stranger to the vintage mouthpiece trade, Theo operated
Mouthpiece Heaven for several years where he catered to the
needs of some of the most respected saxophonists of our time.
The endless search for that vintage piece and the perfect
reface may be a thing of the past for many. The job of thinning
the rails, scooping out the sides, leaving just enough rollover
and perfectly flattening the table – all done already
by Theo on the Amma. The result for me is an even-sounding
mouthpiece from low Bb into the altissimo that retains the
character of my individual sound.
If the above paragraphs have peaked your curiosity – read
on and listen for the details. I will share my experiences
with Theo, the mouthpieces themselves and the accessories.
There are also audio clips below of me playing on the Amma.
The Pieces – Theo originally sent
me 2 Amma 7* to try, one was gold plated and the other silver.
I had them for about a month and used them live on stage
and in the studios – both recording and teaching. Here
was my initial reaction, shared with Theo about a month ago:
“The pieces are AWESOME!! I got home about a half
hour ago and greeted the mailman with your package. I've
been playing both of them and my custom Link back and forth.
I intend on playing them a whole lot more in the next couple
days.
Briefly what I've noticed:
- There is almost no significant "feel" change
in the way they blow compared to my custom Link. I like
that.
- The silver seems tamer and a bit darker than the
gold, which seems a little more familiar to me.
- Both the silver and the gold Amma play great from
subtone Bb (always a bone of contention for me) up to the
extreme altissimo. I play regularly up to G, a ninth off
the horn. Some pieces choke off - not these.
- The shrillness I sometimes experience on the custom
Link (with a hefty wedge) is far reduced on the Amma. I
can get plenty of bite but the lower baffle keeps the sound
more pleasing.
- The overall sound of the Amma is a bit fuller and
seems to have a bit less noise in the sound than my custom
Link. (I'll have to try a bunch of different reeds to really
tell.)
- Some mouthpieces will add more body to the sound
or have a very even scale up and down, however they "gloss
over" my
natural sound. The Amma adds a bit more body to the sound
and still gives the natural resonance I produce as someone
who plays on the brighter side.
Well congrats my friend!!! I look forward to playing these
on the next two gigs this weekend, recording with them and
writing a complete review for SaxShed.com.”
As I played the pieces over the next month my initial reaction
proved to be very accurate. The silver was a bit tamer than
the gold and the gold seemed to have a bit more color to
it. (Descriptions can be tough I know) As I put these two
pieces through the paces there were some adjustments I felt
needed to be made to the final production pieces. One concern
was alleviated with the addition of a plastic mouthpiece
patch, which I use on all pieces, clarinet to baritone. Theo
was very responsive to all of my observations and implemented
some changes to address my early concerns. After trying the
original two pieces for a month, I was sent an additional
5 nearly identical pieces with the new modifications. The
first two were excellent pieces but the next 5 – off
the charts! Theo sent 2 silver and 3 gold pieces that had
slightly different characteristics. They all sounded great,
one a bit darker, another a bit brighter but all felt nearly
identical in the way they blew. They all played and
felt very much like that old Custom Link. The Amma was different
from my Link where had more body to the sound, less noise
in the sound and a more reasonable amount of edge and projection.
I sounded equally comfortable on all of these 5 Ammas – something
I have not often experienced when trying out many of the
same mouthpieces.
The Liberty Ligature – This was my
first experience with a built in ligature on a mouthpiece.
There have long been mouthpieces made with attached ligatures
but I’ve never owned one until now. The Amma ligature
is truly unique. To look at it you can see inspiration from
the original Otto Link ligatures and even the Francois Louis.
There is one large screw and the option of interchangeable
pressure plates. If you don’t want to mess around with
the positions or optional pressure plates, you can just use
the ligature in the standard position when shipped with great
success. The ligature is secured in place by beveled setscrews.
There is a 5/64 tool supplied to facilitate the removal and
replacement of the Liberty Ligature. Another tool is available
for the removal of the pressure plate. The design is such
that the ligature can be set higher and lower on the reed,
causing a variation in the focus or spread of the sound.
In my own experience I tried all the positions and ultimately
set it back in the second holes, just as it came to me. Those
who want options will have plenty.
The Reed Replacer Cap – Since the
Liberty ligature stays on the mouthpiece, it is best to keep
the reed on the piece while not being played. The removal
of the reed from the mouthpiece while being stored could
result in the metal ligature rubbing against the mouthpiece
table – something you don’t want. To alleviate
this problem the Amma is supplied with this cool little Reed
Replacer Cap. It is a cap similar to the Francois Louis cap,
however it has an extension for the table. The plastic extension
replaces the reed under the Liberty ligature, keeping the
table and ligature from making contact during storage. There
is an available Francois Louis Smart Cap Theo has modified
for use on the Amma as well.
The Double Pouch Mouthpiece Holder – If
you have played for any length of time, you likely have more
than one mouthpiece. The Double Pouch Mouthpiece Holder gives
you two additional storage pouches for your valued pieces.
Although each Amma comes with it’s own individual leather
pouch, this leather pouch has room for a couple mouthpieces,
reed cases and all topped off with a belt loop! If you like
all the bells and whistles – this is for you.
With the introduction of Theo Wanne’s Amma, the bar
has been raised once more. The design, attention to detail
and quality put into each and every Amma is a testament to
his high standard. Kudos to Theo for creating this new jewel
for the tip of your horn - the origin of your sound.
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You can visit Theo Wanne Custom Mouthpieces at TheoWanne.com and
learn more about the Amma and other innovative products. |
