Question:
Zagar recent production trials
I have presently among my tenor mouthpieces collection three Zagar models, all in a 7 opening: Silvertail 2006 (Vibralloy), Vintage bronze 2006, Super Big Bore 2007.
Here are my findings on a Serie III and The Martin tenor:
1. By far the brightest is the SBB 2007
2. By far the warmest: Silvertail
3. Best balanced: Vintage bronze
4. Loudest is the SBB but the Vintage bronze is a really close second. The Silvertail appears a bit more powerful than the old Cool School production and maintains the same exceptionally good bottom register.
5. They all appear to be finished exceptionally well, but I can't claim to be a great expert in this field.
The bronze mouthpieces respond much quicker than the vibralloy and have an exceptionally good highs production. This and the overall tone are the main strength of those mouthpieces, IMHO.
Maybe it's worth mentioning, even if I don't really care, that the bronze pieces don't scratch even with the FL and Oleg ligatures, the vibralloy just the opposite, scratches almost immediately.
The vibralloy emulates very well hard rubber in playability and tone production. The design of all of them seem to have just minimal differences and withouth going really in depth the all look the same. The SBB with a closer inspection seem to have some rollover baffle, a very low one though.
I think those mouthpieces are a good example of how material has an impact on sound: it may be marginal when compared to the overall geometry, but plays a role too. The way the bronze pieces respond is just too different from the vibralloy and the geometry looks about the same.
While I believe those mouthpieces are all good, I have a definite preference from the Vintage bronze (got from Hornimprovement and those guys are a real pleasure to deal with and very accomodating in your requests), followed by the Silvertail. The SBB is an exceptionally responsive mouthpiece which should appeal to high baffle lovers. It has little or no baffle but plays up high with the ease of a SR Tech Fusion (just to name one I tried). Since I prefer fuller pieces down low, this is the one I'll be returning. Other players might like this one best.
I am not going to compare those with vintage Links since I never played one. Chances are that if you love metal links you'll like the Vintage bronze and if you love HR Links you'll probably like the Silvertail (now called V-model, if I remember correctly).
My current mouthpiece of choice is a Tenney-Link STM and the Vintage bronze competes well with it. I don't know yet which one will be the winner.
Please understand that this post is just an opinion: like any other, of course, but sometimes I fell it doesn't hurt mentioning again. ;)

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I also noticed that my V-seris gets marked with my FL lig. I spoke to one of the reps at zagar (I think it was Greg?) and he said that it was actually the lig that was being scratched by the mpc.
He told me to do a small test. He said to dip a cotton cue tip into some brass polish, and then gently rub the mark. They were correct, the mark came of. The surface is harder then the lig, and the lig then leaves a mark. I now feel more comfortable knowing this, and have decided to keep the V alto mpc.
IMO I agree to rispolis comments that the vibaloy plays like HR. This has also been my experience. For me, I know one think for sure from playing experience and that is that altos work best with HR mpcs, and tenors with metal mpc.
The sound and response from the alto V in vibaloy is a cross between my Slant 6*, and my favorite NY meyer. It has the projection of the NY, but is fuller in sound. I now have about 8 weeks wait for my SSB mpc to arrive from down under, and I just cant wait!

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Rispoli, would you please talk about the differences between your STM and the vintage bronze? How similar are they?

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Originally Posted by sinkdraiN Rispoli, would you please talk about the differences between your STM and the vintage bronze? How similar are they?
Maybe I need to spend more time to compare those to be more accurate.
Presently I think the Tenney has somehow a thicker sound on my serie III and the Vintage bronze requires much less effort to produce the highs, overall blows freer (not as a Jody Jazz ESP or DV NY).
The Zagar is slightly brighter overall, especially with the FL lig, the Olegature reduces the difference between the 2.
I also find much easier with the STM to take in more mouthpiece.
I find them similar in concept and different enough to justify keeping both.
Like I said, I might revise these impressions later.

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Originally Posted by rispoli Maybe I need to spend more time to compare those to be more accurate.
Presently I think the Tenney has somehow a thicker sound on my serie III and the Vintage bronze requires much less effort to produce the highs, overall blows freer (not as a Jody Jazz ESP or DV NY).
The Zagar is slightly brighter overall, especially with the FL lig, the Olegature reduces the difference between the 2.
I also find much easier with the STM to take in more mouthpiece.
I find them similar in concept and different enough to justify keeping both.
Like I said, I might revise these impressions later.
Hi rispoli. How does the SBB compare in brightness, sound and response with the Jody Jazz DV NY?

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I can't A/B them right now because I sent back the DV NY already.
The SBB is a bit brighter and equally responsive, the DV NY I remember being more free-blowing but with a buzz in the sound which did not appeal to me.
Less buzzy than the regular DV, however.
The DV NY tone is closer to the Vintage bronze.

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Hi Andrea,
How are you doing? Hope fine...
Ths for your nice picture from Zagar pieces...
Your brazilian friend,
Claudio

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I'm really thinking about buying a Zagar Silvertail. I filled out the questionaire on the Zagar website and was called by David himself. He pointed me toward this choice, because he stated that it would be close to a Stan Getz sound. Anybody played one and also felt that way?

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Originally Posted by BMBtenor I'm really thinking about buying a Zagar Silvertail. I filled out the questionaire on the Zagar website and was called by David himself. He pointed me toward this choice, because he stated that it would be close to a Stan Getz sound. Anybody played one and also felt that way?
Surely that's the one among its product line more suitable to that type of sound but quite possibly a well faced Link HR may be even more suitable.

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I was just playing some bossa nova tonight and enjoying the sound of Zagar's Cool School tenor mpc. I recently picked up the Cool School along with a Zagar-Morgan. The Cool School was a good exercise to blow the Cool School, since it really encouraged me to open my throat and fill the horn with air. I think I was learning to hold back a bit when playing in my living room b/c my DV is so loud! Ha! It was a great warm-up, and when I slapped my DV back on I almost blew an ear drum because I had gotten used to the large chamber and I was really pushing a lot of air through it. :D
But seriously, I think the Cool School made me sound more like Stan Getz than any of the other pieces I have, which include:
Yani, DV, Strathon, SR Tech Fusion, Lakey, JJ HR.
The nice things about the Cool School are that it plays really well on the low end and the intonation is very good throughout. And I could really shape the sound. A nice piece for light jazz, but I know it would get lost in my rock band!
I haven't tried the Silvertail, but if Zagar is recommending it you might want to take his word for it. He seems both knowledgeable and sincere, which can be hard to fake when you're selling something. And it seems like he has a pretty wide range of mpcs. The two that I just got from him play pretty darn well.

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i first got my first zagar mouthpiece in july/august last year. it was one of the first vintage bronze he put on the market and i had it in a 7. i found it very good but noticed subtle problems in it. i recently traded to one of the new vintage bronze's in an 8 and was blown away by the difference. very responsive and easy to play. while i was at davids house i also tried the SBB and silvertail. silvertail was great but didn't have the same edge as the bronze. i didn't really like the SBB though, that extra heat treatment (can't remember what its called) and time put into it really didn't make the difference for me and preferred the standard bronze.
i've gotta say though, hes a great guy and was cool trying out all the pieces he had and getting a bit of an insight into how he makes them and the physics behind it.

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Gdday Nick T..... It's Nic Lancaster here!!! How are you...
i still really like my vintage bronze piece. I have all three of Zagars pieces now, and i really enjoy playing them all...
BMBtenor, If you want a getz sound, make sure you get a traditional Silvertail, and when you're playing, try putting your teeth as close to the reed, if not touching the reed, this is what i do on the Silvertails (^o^)
The SBB is a personal preference for me, i like the added brightness. SOme wouldnt, but my tone is naturally moody, and my sax is black, which makes it extremely dark, and with a link mouthpiece, it creates what i call a dead sound.
With a vintage bronze, it's nice, but the thing i like about the SBB and the SIlvertails was that no matter how much air i put through them, they never crackle/distort, (The vintage bronze distorts the sound far less than the links, and i think it only does it on the middle g, which i think is a transition thing from my SBB to the vintage bronze)... In addition, none of Zagars range have a baffle, it's a chamber design, so the big chamber can be controlled and sound even. Also, the ligature is being scratched, not the mpc. I prefer the oleg ligatures, but everyones preference on ligatures. I play 3m unfiled Rico Jazz Select reeds, which are fantastic, and produce a brighter, less edgy sound than a vandoren v16 reed (i like the brightness, but i like to create my own edge). Anyway, it's good to see you on here Nick,
Nic

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(Oh, btw, I know Nickvi from High School, so this is a friendly discussion, not sales talk... please dont get the wrong message, )

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How about some sound clips people???
I found that the Vintage Bronze (non-SBB) was the best for the money. Couldn't really tell that much of a difference between this and the SBB (06) to justify the difference in cost - though I didn't have them at the same time. Both of these played well if you like that vintage Link sound. As I've said, I found that the SBB 2007 model had way too much buzz and regardless of what reed I used, I couldn't live with it.

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sorry, no mic at home to record, ill record myself at my friends house and put some clips on this thread later..

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Thanks nichwan. I agree though, some sound clips would be great!
-Kyle-

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Originally Posted by nichwan sorry, no mic at home to record, ill record myself at my friends house and put some clips on this thread later.. Hey nichwan, just wondering how the SCs are coming along... really interested in hearing the super big bore especially.