Couf Bari Paired With A Theo Wanne Durga 3 = Perfection

It was almost a year ago to the day that I got my Couf Blackgold Superba II baritone from Paul at PM Woodwind. When UPS delivered the horn to the door in October 2018, I didn’t realize that such a known entity as a Couf, would send me down a rabbit hole of confusion when it came to mouthpieces. 

I don’t like change. I find something I like; produces the sound I like; works across all my horns; so I stick with it. Period. Full stop. However, my closet queen Couf tested my resolve.

After months of playing the horn with my SS Berg, I still couldn’t get the left palm keys to speak unless I was running up a scale. My Runyon Quantum worked, but it didn’t have the overtones of the Berg. Yup, I actually wrote that.

As for the rest of my mouthpieces? None of the bari pieces I have that work on my Martin Committee III or on the Mark VI—including my killer HR Berg, a Metalite, a Graftonite, a Zinner, a vintage scroll shank Selmer, a couple of vintage bari/bass pieces that I tried just for fun, or even the minty Peter Ponzol in gold plate that I borrowed from a colleague—allowed the Couf to play in tune. And don’t even get me going on reeds… The Couf definitely has some preferences when it comes to what kinds of reeds work (very few) and which don’t (almost all of them). 

Given this backdrop, I decided to reach out to the good people at Theo Wanne. I’d heard so much about the brand and about what the Durga mouthpieces can do for a bari, that I thought: What have I got to lose?

Although the Durga was originally designed for vintage horns, it had never been tested on a Couf before. The folks at Theo Wanne were reasonably confident the Durga would work though, and provide me with the performance I was looking for. They advised me it would take about 4 weeks to get a Durga made up for me.

The General Manager for Theo Wanne lives in my end of the world, and he was kind enough to meet up with me in person so I could try out the Durga not only on my Couf, but also on my Mark VI and on my Committee III. After only a couple of minutes I was hooked. The Couf’s palm keys played beautifully, and the horn was in tune over its entire range. And yes, the Durga absolutely rocked on the Selmer and Martin as well. I even joked that I might be referring to myself as a former Berg player. 

Is the Durga great for every job? No, no it is not. If I am playing classical music—something I would be using my Mark VI for—the Durga will lose out to my vintage scroll shank any day. However, the more I play it, and the more I learn the Durga’s nuances, the more I realize how versatile the piece is. I might yet some day try it out in a more conservative environ, just to see how I might be able to shape the sound to the setting. 

At the moment I’ve paired the Durga 3 with Harry Hartmann’s Carbon Onyx reeds. The Onyx allows the Couf’s natural overtones to ring out without turning them brittle and harsh. 

With the Durga 3/Onyx set up the Couf is loud enough that it can be heard through the din of the trumpets, trombones, and rhythm sections if I push it just a bit. Otherwise it has a nice warmth, yet maintains that overtone buzz/unblended sound you want from the bari in a big band section.

If I were still regularly playing in R&B, blues, & rock settings, the Durga 3 would make the Couf my go-to horn for all my jobs. It turns my Black Gold beauty into a bari that can go toe to toe with the smaller saxes, trumpets, and bones in a section, as well as provide it with an edge that can be heard around the rhythm section if required. 

I will get around to posting a sound recording in the next little while. I’ve just got a lot of stuff going on so that project is behind. 

If you are looking for a fantastic mouthpiece for your vintage bari, I highly recommend you give the Durga a try. It is simply freaking fantastic!