FYI.  I just got one of these sent to me by a client.  It is (cast)
Sterling Silver but otherwise nearly identical in design to a Guardala 
Studio.  The facing work is superb.  Better than Guardala (handmade 
and LTs) in my opinion.

Can we get some pics of this mouthpiece


>From: "Keith Bradbury" <kwbradbury@...>
>Reply-To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
>To: MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [MouthpieceWork] B. Tibbs
>Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2007 00:57:44 -0000
>
>FYI.  I just got one of these sent to me by a client.  It is (cast)
>Sterling Silver but otherwise nearly identical in design to a Guardala
>Studio.  The facing work is superb.  Better than Guardala (handmade
>and LTs) in my opinion.
>

_________________________________________________________________
Play Flexicon: the crossword game that feeds your brain. PLAY now for FREE.� 
  http://zone.msn.com/en/flexicon/default.htm?icid=flexicon_hmtagline

> FYI.  I just got one of these sent to me by a client.  It is (cast)
> Sterling Silver but otherwise nearly identical in design to a Guardala
> Studio.  The facing work is superb.  Better than Guardala (handmade
> and LTs) in my opinion.
>
Sounds nice. A bit pricey at 5 "c-notes", but I understand that fine
artisans need to make a living. It would be nice to try one someday.

I checked out the Brendan Tibbs website. http://www.tibbs-vision.com/tibbs/

Interesting. Also, plenty of, shall we say, unsubstantiated claims; but
certainly no worse than anyone else! Personally, I should have preferred to
see an emphasis on the quality of the workmanship and less b.s.

> Every mouthpiece is cast in one piece (similar a bell). The metal is
> directionally solidified in the mold with the Tip being the first point of
> solidification and the shank the last. This aligns the crystals in the same
> direction (tip to shank) and makes the silver extremely hard as if it had
> been extensively hammered. However perhaps the most important property of
> this crystal alignment is sound is transmitted in one direction only...into
> the saxophone.

Cast metals don't necessarily solidify into aligned crystals, unless some
extremely particular methods are employed to control the cooling. I know
that much. But in any case, wouldn't the vibrations of the mouthpiece itself
would be transmitted onto the cork, rather, and thence into the neck? So I
am skeptical that this makes a great difference in mouthpiece sound, but it
makes great ad copy.

> Manufacturing a mouthpiece from silver allows one to create a design that
> would be overly dark in brass (or gold). The higher frequencies become more
> pronounced when using silver. Drop a silver ring along side a brass ring
> onto an anvil and listen to the difference.

Yes, as we know, a key part of every performance is dropping the mouthpiece
onto an anvil. The real reason metal mouthpieces are preferred is due to the
completely undistinguished "dink" of hard rubber as it strikes the anvil.
And of course, this has forced the glass mouthpiece into near extinction.

However, with the advent of inexpensive Chinese horns, perhaps performances
may now culminate with the dramatic dropping of the entire saxophone onto an
anvil.

> Most health professions will agree that putting a plated metal object in
> your mouth for any period of time is likely to cause you serious health
> problems. Plating brass involves an unpleasant cocktail of chemicals, such
> as cyanide, cadmium and nickel. Every brass mouthpiece has under the gold
> or silver plate a thick layer of nickel. These chemicals are leached into
> the mouth and body every time you put a plated object in your mouth. It is
> not wise to place a plated object in your mouth.

There's nothing like an appeal to fear. I await seeing some solid evidence
of health problems incurred as a result of metal mouthpieces, plated or
otherwise. Perhaps we're all as mad as hatters (IIRC they suffered from
mercury poisoning), but we just don't realize it.

Barry

http://www.tibbs-vision.com/tibbs/models.html has a picture of the Custom
Studio Tenor like I have here.  It is pricey, but pricey and good beats
pricey and bad.   This one is marked a "10" and measures .116" at the tip. 
The site only lists sizes up to 9.





 
____________________________________________________________________________________
The fish are biting. 
Get more visitors on your site using Yahoo! Search Marketing.
http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/arp/sponsoredsearch_v2.php