My last article featured things I have been during this period of social distancing/self isolation. In addition to playing my horns; working with my student remotely; yada, yada, yada; over the last few days I finally got around to something I’ve been wanting to do since Christmas: I started scanning some of the more interesting vintage ads, articles, etc from old industry rags.
On Christmas Eve I went to visit my good friend and fellow musician, Jack. Jack was a clarinetist and saxophonist in one of Canada’s Air Force bands. Please don’t ask me which one, I am not sure. All I know is that he knew my other really good friend, also a fellow sax player, the late Hans Martini. They were in Germany together, and I believe they were both posted in Oromocto, NB at the same time as well. But I digress…
One of Jack’s favourite past times is to go to a great used bookstore in Chilliwack. It was there that he came upon a stack of old Down Beat, Musical Merchandise, Metronome, Band Leaders and Record Reviews, as well magazines named after individual players like Getz, Basie, et al.
Jack bought the entire collection of industry rags, which date from 1939-51. After reading through the entirety of his collection, he lent them to me so that I could read them as well. He knows of my love of vintage horns, so he thought that I might find the vintage ads especially interesting.
These magazines are very delicate, and since I don’t want to damage them more than they already are, I am handling them very gently. I want to be sure to return them to Jack in the same [mostly] very good condition that they came to me in.
And with that as an introduction, let me start right in with today’s group of offerings…
Vintage mouthpiece ads
Berg Larsen
If you have any playing experience whatsoever, you know that Bergs used to be THE bari sax players MP of choice. Not only that, but Bergs have been an industry staple since, well, their first incarnation.
Sadly today’s Bergs can’t hold a candle to those of yesteryear. Like many of the great MP companies of the past, it has changed hands, and the quality of their pieces is now often inconsistent and shite.
These ads are a throwback to when the Berg Larsen still stood for quality and excellence in mouthpieces.
If you want to find out more about these interesting pieces, check out Theo Wanne’s MP Museum.
Otto Link
Like Berg Larsen, Otto Link is also no more the brand it once was. (This can be said of almost every great company that used to make mouthpieces.)
If you love your old Link piece—like I really love my vintage HR tenor piece that Hans Martini gave me—then these ads will let you wish they still made pieces like they once did.
Theo Wanne’s Mouthpiece Museum has a section dedicated to the Otto Link of yesteryear as well.
Meyer
What is there to say about this company? If you play a Selmer Paris alto, you know what I’m talking about. 😉 I finally caved to pressure and paired my Mark VI with a vintage Meyer. Yup, now it sounds like a Selmer should in a sax section. 🙂
New Meyers? Sigh… Let me just copy and past what I wrote about Bergs and Links from above…
It is also no more the brand it once was…
Again Theo Wanne has done an excellent job of illustrating the brand’s history.
Remlé
Remlé Musical Products Inc. is the corporate entity of Beechler. Yes, it still exists today and produces Beechler mouthpieces, but here is a great old ad from bygone days.
I’d be curious if anyone has ever seen one of these. I must admit, until I saw this ad, I hadn’t heard of either the company’s corporate name or this MP.
I hope you enjoyed this trip down MP memory lane. Not sure which topic I’ll choose next. Might be more mouthpieces. Could be accessories. Maybe horns. Whatever it is, you can count on it being vintagely vogue.
Keep healthy everyone. 
What tenor sax did Ben Webster play? I Can’t seem to ever find out what instrument some of the old guys played. I understand that maybe they played more than one make at different times.
I did some poking around, and I did find some references to this set-up: a Selmer Balanced Action and an Otto Link New York Master Link 4* but it was opened up to a .85 tip and #3 reed. However, he may well have played other horns over the course of his career as well.
Sadly, the link that I found that was listed for more information about him and other greats from the past, no longer exists. (It was from Rutgers University that apparently has his old BA, along some other horns belonging to other famous players.)
Thanks so much Helen. I always appreciate your efforts and all that you do for we who indulge ourselves in saxophones. Alan
Geoff Lawton already thought that the quality of work on the stainless Bergs could be improved.
Interesting Theo. Is that why we have Lawton MPs?
Berg made more mouthpieces than Lawton. Geoff made his mouthpieces more consistent and with a better finnish. He took pride in his work and was a craftsman first.
In th 80″s I prefered a Lawton mouthpiece above a Berg. When it was stolen I replaced it with a crystallite Dukoff. Besides the Dukoff I use a Wanne Brahma, a Runyon Quantum and some miscellanious mouthpieces for special effects.
The Crytallite Dukoff you use, is that for tenor?
I have one for alto that I was planning on putting on consignment in a shop in the States. But alas… Now this….
I use it on a 1956 Hohner President tenor. It has a very versatile sound and reacts to all changes in embouchure.