Otto Link moved once again in 1974 to Elkhart, Indiana when it was bought out by J.J. Babbitt where it remains today. The result was the vintage 'Early Babbitt' Super Tone Master mouthpieces. These are considered to be the last great vintage mouthpieces that were manufactured by Otto Link. To the naked eye these mouthpieces seem almost identical to current production STMs, but they are actually very different.

Charecteristics of Early Babbitt Super Tone Masters:

'Early Babbitt' Otto Links are often considered by many players to be kind of the unsung heroes of the vintage Link family. If you can find a really good 'Early Babbitt' it might be better than a lot of 'Florida' and 'New York' vintage pieces. Otto Link also changed their ligatures once again, making the top screw much larger. SETTING A NEW STANDARD Otto Link 24k gold plated metal mouthpieces combine gleaming good looks with the rich sound quality of a larger bore rubber mouthpiece for exceptional style and sound. A wide selection of facings offer superior tone quality and projection with complete control, making Otto Link a top choice of professionals. New Otto Link Florida Babbitt Mn; View: Otto Link Double Ring Vintage STM Florida Tenor Sax Mouthpiece. This mouthpiece has been altered after the factory! For sale is an amazingly rare and elusive size Double Ring Otto Link NO USA Super Tone Master tenor sax mouthpiece. THIS SALE IF FOR MOUTHPIECE ONLY! Developed over several years, the new FL Otto Link is a superb blend of professional musician input and skilled jj Babbitt craftsmanship. Created through minor adjustments in virtually every aspect of the mouthpiece – inside and out – the FL expands the opportunity for players to recapture the distinctive sound that players are looking for.

Tight fit on neck explained below
Larger facing stamp

The facing stamp changed to a much larger font on the 'Early Babbitt' models in comparison to the 'Florida' vintage pieces. These mouthpieces also had a smaller bore design in comparison to the 'Florida' vintage Super Tone Masters. Because of this there is a noticeable difference in the way 'Early Babbitt' and 'Florida' vintage mouthpieces fit on necks. 'Early Babbitt' mouthpieces are always quite a bit more snug on the neck than 'Florida' STMs.

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The baffle changed once again to more of a step baffle, producing a brighter sound, with even more projection. 'Early Babbitt' Otto Links are often considered by many players to be kind of the unsung heroes of the vintage Link family. If you can find a really good 'Early Babbitt' it might be better than a lot of 'Florida' and 'New York' vintage pieces.

Otto Link also changed their ligatures once again, making the top screw much larger.

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It’s not the first time J.J.Babbitt have paid homage to their coveted vintage models, with their previous release of a ‘New York’ and ‘Vintage’ model which I’m sure you’re aware of. But this time they’ve gone straight for the cash cow and released a ‘Florida’ model (or FL as is marked on the shank and box). Discuss Imovie 9.0 download dmg.

I’ve already seen a few reviews of these online where people compare the new FL models with various vintage Florida made ones. As with most online sax gear comparisons I find this both pointless and uninformative (great click-bait for an amazon affiliate links, I get it) but if you’ve played more than half a dozen Floridas you should know by now that they are all COMPLETELY different, not only is Otto Link historically inconsistent but a lot of the time these vintage Florida links have been worked on at some point in their long lives, hence two 7* Floridas from the same era can differ wildly, for a number of reasons.

So rather than pointlessly compare the new FL to some random vintage Florida, I’m just going to quickly point out the most obvious thing which Babbitt have done to make their new FL play a bit different which may or may not be reminiscent of some vintage Floridas.

Let’s talk about tip baffle, it’ basically all about the tip baffle..

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The elder scrolls v skyrim free download mac. Some of the most edgy ‘Coltrane-esque’ Floridas I’ve tried have had a noticeable amount of tip baffle, I’ve read in quite a few places that JC himself used to actually stick a bit of extra baffle in his mouthpiece to get some more edge. Lad.

J.J.Babbitt haven’t just stamped the F word on a slightly different take on the standard Link (like before) they’ve actually gone to town on the front end of this mouthpiece making it noticeably more pokey than any of their other metal mouthpieces, the tip baffle is not only set higher but is considerably longer. Gta 4 machine gun.

I'm baffled, what does this mean?

Well instead of being the usual fluffy Link that’s not tremendously happy when you give it the big spuds, the FL model offers up power, edge and projection more readily than their warmer predecessors. I’m not talking about an obnoxious level of binary power (nothing close to Guardala, Dukoff etc) just a more accessible tone palette… whilst maintaining that quintessential Link warmth.

If you’ve always loved the sound you get with a link but your performance demands are much wilder, this might be the chap and pretty reasonable when you think that a good link copy from a top maker can cost £500+ these days. But if you’re hoping this will curb your enthusiasm for hunting for THAT perfect vintage link I'm afraid you won't be deleting your eBay account just yet, because after all this is NOT a vintage Flordia Link….and you ARE mental. And you know it.

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And if you're dying to buy one be quick because I only managed to get a few!