News / saxophone mouthpiece
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Morgan Company Makes Morgan Mouthpieces!
The Morgan Mouthpiece Company makes Morgan Mouthpieces. This is a bit odd to say, but we design and create our own mouthpieces from beginning to end. This is how companies like Meyer Bros, Otto Link, M.C. Gregory and other great mouthpiece makers made mouthpieces back in the 1940's and 1950's. By the late 1970's, most mouthpieces were no longer produced by hand. Most manufacturers had replaced skilled craftsmen with milling machines. Interiors and facings were cut by machines. Much of the knowledge and skill of the craftsmen was no longer utilized and in danger of being forgotten. A skilled mouthpiece...
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How It Came To Be: Morgan C-Melody Tenor Mouthpiece
The C-Melody saxophone is a C pitched saxophone that was popular in the 1910s - 1920s. For the most part, it was considered a parlor or home instrument. At the time, many homes already had a piano and lots of piano music. A saxophone pitched in C allowed the player to read melody lines from piano and voice sheet music. While popular throughout much of the 1920s, their popularity waned in the late 1920s and by the early 1930s, most manufacturers had ceased production of them. Many of the 1920s C-Melody saxophones are still in remarkable condition since most were...
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How It Came To Be: Morgan Excalibur Tenor Indiana Model
In the early 1970s, the Otto Link Company in Florida was purchased by the Babbitt Company in Indiana. The first hard rubber Otto Link Tone Edge Model tenor saxophone mouthpieces made by the Babbitt Company had more baffle and material in the floor than other Tone Edge pieces made prior or since. This version of the Tone Edge has become known as the "Early Babbitt" Tone Edge Models. These early 1970s Tone Edge mouthpieces retain the core tone associated with Links but have more edge and punch. The original "Early Babbitt" version of the Tone Edge Model continues...
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Hacked Preview of our New Baritone Saxophone Mouthpiece Prototype
Today is April 6th and it is the Birthday of Gerry Mulligan. Today is a great day to give an unofficial glimpse of our new mouthpiece for baritone saxophone. This is just a preview of the prototype from phone pictures of progress from our craftsmen. Official information and photos will be out when production starts later this Spring. This is Gerry Mulligan: Gerry famously played much of his career on a mouthpiece made by M.C. Gregory. This is an original M.C. Gregory baritone saxophone mouthpiece mold which was recently acquired by the Morgan Mouthpiece Company: Using our pure rubber formula,...
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The Ralph Morgan Mouthpiece 'Making' Philosophy
There are many differences between Morgan Mouthpieces and other mouthpieces being manufactured today. A return to the principles of construction and acoustical design used for well over 100 years, from 1808 to around 1910 proves that they worked far better than the modern day ideas used today. Here is a list of the 'old' characteristics you will find in a Morgan Mouthpiece. The curvature (duck-billing) of the beak surface is attributable to early study by Gustave Langenus, which we continue to use in our production. Removal of a precisely graduated bulk of material in the beak area allows that portion...
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Saying Goodbye to An Old Friend
On occasion, businesses have to assess the products or services they provide and determine whether it makes sense to keep all that are being offered. Sadly, after 30 years, we have decided NOT to continue with our student level Protone model mouthpieces. Our primary focus is our Professional model pure hard rubber mouthpieces, the Jazz, Excalibur and Classical models and that is where we would like to place our energy and resources moving forward. For all of you Protone players out there, we say thank you for your support of the Morgan Mouthpieces. Chances are that this was the first...