Question:
Zinner Bass sax mp review
Apparently my first review got lost in nether space.
I just picked up a Zinner 54-6 from Benedikt Eppelsheim.
An excellent man to do business with and an equally grand mouthpiece!
Although slightly on the concert classical side this mp makes a Conn from 1921 play in tune. Yea! Takes some wind but plays a clean round magnificent note. If you have played a metal Otto link for Bari, you will be familiar with the amount of air needed. Use a 2 or 2 1/2 Reed.
An already big sounding horn sounds even bigger and with a powerful round room filling note. the facing is fantastic for subtlety and power too.
Although not cheap at 220 euro about 266 or so us dollars this is a robust , in tune mouthpiece for old Conns. I think I'd get the jazzier one for a brighter tone if I can muster up the cash. I am impressed with Benedikt Eppelsheims advice and free insight into this venerable beast of the subteranean notes and Hans Zinner for one very nice Mouthpiece. Zinner is the man to see for big bore bass sax mouthpieces!
I have no financial gains from this just a very impressed Bass sax owner.
All you Bass sax guys should get curious to the Zinner mp. Big bore, big sound and in tune with a great facing and smooth as glass interior walls.

Answer:
Update.
With a Rico Plasticover the tone is more open and clear and powerful;quite impressive and plays with less air.

Answer:
Questions on Zinner for bass
I'm interested in the Zinner on bass sax as I think that one came with the Keilwerth bass I just bought through eBay. The mouthpiece is actually marked "Keilwerth", but the ligature is a "Zinner" and the seller told me the mouthpiece is a Zinner.
I've got a few questions:

1. Are you using bass sax reeds, as I didn't know that you can get Plasticover for bass ?
2. Is there lots of Table on your Zinner not covered by the reed ? On mine, the Rico bass sax reeds seem very short and the ligature has to be near the front of the flat table.

The seller has built up a baffle in the mouthpiece using wax or something, looking for a more modern sound. However, I can't get much out of the piece in the second register (but I can play the whole horn with bari mouthpieces). I'm thinking of removing the baffle to try to experience the mouthpiece as it was manufactured.
I'm also thinking of playing around with bari mouthpieces to see what that does to the sound and intonation.
All the best
Rhys

Answer:
Hi, I use a Legere Contra bass clarinet reed with great success #2.
Covers everything perfect! Vamp is slightly short I think but it works.
Plasticover is a Bari #21/2 and is slightly smaller in width but can be centered and plays robust.
If you are having troubles with the mouthpiece, get it refaced.
Paul Coats has had to do that for some one else who had problems with a Zinner for a Keilwerth.
Paul is reasonable and does real nice work. There are other refaces, so if you have some one in mind that could be your best route. The baffle shouldn't make the horn not play but the facing being crooked or short by just a few thousandths could.
Are you using a soft enough reed?

Answer:
Hey Bar-Ron,
are you located in the Munich area?
If you are, may I show up and test that piece?
If you have played a metal Otto link for Bari, you will be familiar with the amount of air needed
I do :)
Chris

Answer:
across the ocean I am.
If you are in Munich, wouldn't Zinner or Eppelsheim be nearer?
If your local shop carries Keilwerths, they have Zinners on them.

Answer:
Originally Posted by Bar-Ron Apparently my first review got lost in nether space.
I just picked up a Zinner 54-6 from Benedikt Eppelsheim.
An excellent man to do business with and an equally grand mouthpiece!
Although slightly on the concert classical side this mp makes a Conn from 1921 play in tune. Yea! Takes some wind but plays a clean round magnificent note. If you have played a metal Otto link for Bari, you will be familiar with the amount of air needed. Use a 2 or 2 1/2 Reed.
An already big sounding horn sounds even bigger and with a powerful round room filling note. the facing is fantastic for subtlety and power too.
Although not cheap at 220 euro about 266 or so us dollars this is a robust , in tune mouthpiece for old Conns. I think I'd get the jazzier one for a brighter tone if I can muster up the cash. I am impressed with Benedikt Eppelsheims advice and free insight into this venerable beast of the subteranean notes and Hans Zinner for one very nice Mouthpiece. Zinner is the man to see for big bore bass sax mouthpieces!
I have no financial gains from this just a very impressed Bass sax owner.
All you Bass sax guys should get curious to the Zinner mp. Big bore, big sound and in tune with a great facing and smooth as glass interior walls.
I want to upgrade my review.
Intonation is slightly flat on the bottom notes.
I am using in a sax quartet and still need to work my embouchure to blend on some notes. So although the Mp is an improved sound and power we still have the imbalance of intonation at the extremes of the horn in relationship to themselves.

Answer:
Intonation is slightly flat on the bottom notes. If the low notes are flat and the high notes sharp, a smaller chamber should help and pull the piece out on the cork some. Try sticking in some temporary putty to make the chamber smaller. Stay away from the tip so you do not change the sound much.

Answer:
Originally Posted by MojoBari If the low notes are flat and the high notes sharp, a smaller chamber should help and pull the piece out on the cork some. Try sticking in some temporary putty to make the chamber smaller. Stay away from the tip so you do not change the sound much.
Thanks, I actually sanded the cork a bit so I could push the Zinner in further.
Bb is perfect, low C# and D are a little off but within reason. High B C and D are workable with an open throat. I can get F alt G alt and G# altissimo with little effort. I think this is the mouthpiece for this horn. I can do octave jumps doing light eigth notes with out any squeals. The legere reed is best for all around dynamics but if I need ubnoxiously loud frightening power I tried a Rico plasticover and it Barks!! WOW

Answer:
Originally Posted by Bar-Ron Thanks, I actually sanded the cork a bit so I could push the Zinner in further.
Bb is perfect, low C# and D are a little off but within reason. High B C and D are workable with an open throat. I can get F alt G alt and G# altissimo with little effort. I think this is the mouthpiece for this horn. I can do octave jumps doing light eighth notes with out any squeals. The legere reed is best for all around dynamics but if I need obnoxiously loud frightening power I tried a Rico plasticover and it Barks!! WOW
I don't know how to load pix onto this site but I added a baffle with putty and this mouthpiece does every thing from subtle to wolfn' mean.
I have become accustomed to the horns intonational variances and can be quite dynamic although I'm no pro. I wish I could make a removable baffle like a Runyon spoiler. That would add some flexibility.
Mojo would you suggest I fashion a Plexiglas ramp that imitates my putty insert?

Answer:
I'd like to see that mouthpiece with the baffle. If you can't work out how to post a picture in this thread, maybe you could email some pix to me rhysonsax AT aol DOT com
I've got a Zinner/Keilwerth mouthpiece with a large wax baffle added, but this just seems to make it hard to play the second octave.
Rhys

Answer:
Originally Posted by Bar-Ron Mojo would you suggest I fashion a Plexiglas ramp that imitates my putty insert? That is fair game. A removable baffle will only work well if the sides of the mouthpiece are straignt and have a slight taper so the baffle wedges in place. Otherwise you need to use some poster-hanging putty to hold it in.
I make removable baffles out of plumbers epoxy. I use the mouthpiece as a mold by greasing it up with petroleum jelly. After it starts to set, I pop it out and clean the mouthpiece up. Perfect fit witout a lot of sanding.

Answer:
1 Attachment(s)
Haven't done this before, but here is my attempt to upload a picture of the baffle in my Zinner bass sax piece.
The picture's not great, but you should see that it's a huge baffle finishing in a drop-off. Probably something much less extreme would sound better.
What is yours like, Bar-Ron ?
Rhys

Answer:
The stock Zinner mouthpiece for bass sax (Keilwerth) has a square chamber with a fairly high baffle. It's loud and bright, but problematic as far as flexibility is concerned.
Zinner makes 3 bass sax mouthpieces with a round chamber. The most conservative is like an old stock mouthpiece, but it has a little more power. There is another Zinner bass mouthpiece with a medium rollover baffle that has more power and "edge". Flexibility (such as big jumps in the low register) suffers somewhat, but it's a good contemporary mouthpiece. There's another Zinner bass mouthpiece with an even higher baffle, but it gives me problems in the low register, and the middle D natural tends to "explode" into a high A - a common bass sax problem. All Zinner bass mouthpieces are intended to be used with a bass sax reed, I think, but a baritone reed works very well and in some cases, better. Fibracane reeds are almost a little too narrow, however.
Zinner mouthpieces are available with 2 backbores - A very large backbore for Eppelsheims and Keilwerths, and a smaller diameter backbore for Conns and Bueschers. If you intend to switch back and forth between a bass and a baritone mouthpiece, get the small backbore for your Conn or Buescher bass sax. If you have an Eppelsheim or a Keilwerth, get the large backbore.
A search of this site and BassSax.com will bring you up to date on the various Zinner bass mouthpieces. They are the best thing available in current production for bass asx, as far as I am concerned.

Answer:
Ahhh, how to load picture. I have experimented with all kinds of shapes and lengths. I love the different sounds I get.
Sorry guys my expertise in putty formation excedes my ability on computers
How does one post an image???

Answer:
Originally Posted by saxtek The stock Zinner mouthpiece for bass sax (Keilwerth) has a square chamber with a fairly high baffle. It's loud and bright, but problematic as far as flexibility is concerned.
Zinner makes 3 bass sax mouthpieces with a round chamber. The most conservative is like an old stock mouthpiece, but it has a little more power. There is another Zinner bass mouthpiece with a medium rollover baffle that has more power and "edge". Flexibility (such as big jumps in the low register) suffers somewhat, but it's a good contemporary mouthpiece. There's another Zinner bass mouthpiece with an even higher baffle, but it gives me problems in the low register, and the middle D natural tends to "explode" into a high A - a common bass sax problem. All Zinner bass mouthpieces are intended to be used with a bass sax reed, I think, but a baritone reed works very well and in some cases, better. Fibracane reeds are almost a little too narrow, however.
Zinner mouthpieces are available with 2 backbores - A very large backbore for Eppelsheims and Keilwerths, and a smaller diameter backbore for Conns and Bueschers. If you intend to switch back and forth between a bass and a baritone mouthpiece, get the small backbore for your Conn or Buescher bass sax. If you have an Eppelsheim or a Keilwerth, get the large backbore.
A search of this site and BassSax.com will bring you up to date on the various Zinner bass mouthpieces. They are the best thing available in current production for bass asx, as far as I am concerned.
At least as far as my Conn is concerned I agree!!!
Eppelsheim was very helpful on getting the right mp.
I am smokin with the Zinner and with putty will travel. (Paladin)
Zinner, Legere, Conn = Smokin' 8-)