I am selling a friend's MKVI tenor and  it includes  a mouthpiece  that Don Menza made for him when he was living in LA. Seet the included pictures.    Despite its high step- down baffle it is not overly bright. The catch is that you have to play it using a lot of subtone. The lower you go the more subtone you need for it to respond.  The tip is about 105 thou in. and the lay is  a 24 mm. I know Menza has a reputation for being able toget  his sound on just about any mouthpiece he tries. Any comments?      Peter

I've had a couple of those over the years....your description of the  
mouthpiece and of Don are very accurate.....both of the ones I have  
owned were extremely open....140+......
On Jan 3, 2012, at 2:51 PM, Peter Deley wrote:

> [Attachment(s) from Peter Deley included below]
>
>  I am selling a friend's MKVI tenor and  it includes  a mouthpiece   
> that Don Menza made for him when he was living in LA.
>  Seet the included pictures.
>     Despite its high step- down baffle it is not overly bright. The  
> catch is that you have to play it using a lot of subtone. The lower  
> you go the more subtone you need for it to respond.
>   The tip is about 105 thou in. and the lay is  a 24 mm.
>  I know Menza has a reputation for being able toget  his sound on  
> just about any mouthpiece he tries.
>  Any comments?      Peter
>
> 

 Menza made this piece for someone else so the facing and tip opening are  quite moderate. The playing style required to blow it is on the extreme side. I should try it with a softer reed..  Peter

--- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, STEVE GOODSON <saxgourmet@...> wrote:
>
> I've had a couple of those over the years....your description of the  
> mouthpiece and of Don are very accurate.....both of the ones I have  
> owned were extremely open....140+......
> On Jan 3, 2012, at 2:51 PM, Peter Deley wrote:
> 
> > [Attachment(s) from Peter Deley included below]
> >
> >  I am selling a friend's MKVI tenor and  it includes  a mouthpiece   
> > that Don Menza made for him when he was living in LA.
> >  Seet the included pictures.
> >     Despite its high step- down baffle it is not overly bright. The  
> > catch is that you have to play it using a lot of subtone. The lower  
> > you go the more subtone you need for it to respond.
> >   The tip is about 105 thou in. and the lay is  a 24 mm.
> >  I know Menza has a reputation for being able toget  his sound on  
> > just about any mouthpiece he tries.
> >  Any comments?      Peter
> >
> >
>

I worked in Reno and Tahoe during the 80's and lots of players in the area (Vegas as well) used Menza pieces.  You are right about extremely open - one piece that a colleague used was .155"  - he played a LaVoz Medium on it, and it worked fine.

Don would visit the area fairly frequently, he was considered a god by most of the show musicians, not only for his jazz playing but his doubling.  He is a fine double reed artist.  

I had the opportunity over the years to play several of the Menza pieces around the area, most were made of Delrin rather than brass, and they all played very smoothly, no sub-tone needed.

I eventually came to the conclusion that the extreme openings were not as extreme as it might seem - every reed used on one of these pieces quickly took a "set", and became quite banana-shaped, so the true tip opening was probably only about .115 - .120.

--- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, STEVE GOODSON <saxgourmet@...> wrote:
>
> I've had a couple of those over the years....your description of the  
> mouthpiece and of Don are very accurate.....both of the ones I have  
> owned were extremely open....140+......
> On Jan 3, 2012, at 2:51 PM, Peter Deley wrote:
> 
> > [Attachment(s) from Peter Deley included below]
> >
> >  I am selling a friend's MKVI tenor and  it includes  a mouthpiece   
> > that Don Menza made for him when he was living in LA.
> >  Seet the included pictures.
> >     Despite its high step- down baffle it is not overly bright. The  
> > catch is that you have to play it using a lot of subtone. The lower  
> > you go the more subtone you need for it to respond.
> >   The tip is about 105 thou in. and the lay is  a 24 mm.
> >  I know Menza has a reputation for being able toget  his sound on  
> > just about any mouthpiece he tries.
> >  Any comments?      Peter
> >
> >
>

    The one I am discussing is quite moderate- tipped ,  which is what the owner wanted.  It definitely needs lots of subtone to speak though. Perhaps it needs a change in the curve or else these just don't play well  unless they have huge openings. The owner insists he played this piece successfully for several years.   I know about the reeds curving like bananas  because I  have played on a metal Link 10*, which is a 130 + for the last 20 years..   It usually  looks and plays like a  105-110, which is how I like it.  It gives that big mouthpiece sound but with  the response and blowing ease of a more moderate tip. Once in a while I get a reed that won't get the banana curve  and I have a tough time getting a sound out of it unless I use the old trick, described by Tom Ridenour, of curving the reed down  with my tongue before putting it on the mouthpiece.  Peter