Which Guardella will you be buying?

[john]

Was that the one you felt was too bright for you?
I haven’t tried any of the alto pieces yet but now there is the Studio Fatboy for alto which sounds interesting to me.
You’re right that Guardala himself didn’t make any models for alto but Nadir is making several models for alto now like the King you mentioned, the Studio and the Studio Fatboy.
BTW, I noticed the pricing on that UK site, wow quite high compared to the manufacturer’s site. if you consider getting another one talk to me first as I can shave that down for you.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for making the offer Johnny!

[Dazza]

Listening over and over I reckon for me it will be the MBII. I actually think JF makes it slound better than his original. The tip openings seem a bit scary though but it is the sound I am after ultimately. The differences are slight to my ear and they all are great sounding MP’s.

[Kevin]

Johnny, will you be demoing the 2 Alto MPs?

[Michael]

Johnny, I was curious between the MBII and the MB Fatboy, did you find one requiring more air support to play than the other? Also about the Studio Fatboy for Alto, do you know if he makes a Studio Fatboy model for Tenor?

[john]

I found both of those both the same to play, and I love them both. I guess if someone “made” me pick one I’d go for the Fatboy. Just a little bigger tone all around… I just laid a track with it for the first time and I’ll be putting it up shortly or tomorrow.
There is no Studio Fatboy for tenor, just a Studio which is a 7* so slightly smaller tip opening, the others are an 8*.
I guess if you’re worried about the opening being to big a jump from where you’re at now the Studio might be better at this point, but I didn’t try a Studio yet so can’t tell you the exact difference from the 4 I got. He says the MBII is Bright, the Studio is Brighter, and the King is Brightest.

[john]

@ Kevin, I’d love to get the alto pieces but can’t promise anything like that yet.
I can’t expect to be given every mouthpiece they have right off the bat, matter of fact i paid full price for my first 2.
I am developing a relationship with this company so hopefully I can swing something like that down the road…

@ Dazza, I hear ya! in the video I started with those hard rubber mp’s to show how you just can’t get the big bold sound until
you move into a bigger tip opening and high baffle if you want it loud and brighter.
Like I said to michael above, the Studio is a 7* but anything smaller than that is not gonna do it so at some point you gotta make the jump.
You’re not playing on anything much smaller than a 7 are you Dazza?

[wayne wojnarowski]

Johnnie do I understand this correctly, as of now you cannot get alto MP”S by Guardala ?? When and if you can in Future would you demo them like you did Tenor Presentation, it sounds like you can purchase alto MP’S, from this Nadir person yes? no? what would they cost?

[Dazza]

JF – I’m blowing a Meyer 7 and often now feel i have much more air to deliver than I can blow through that opening. I reckon I have the technique in my embouchure and good sir support to cope with the jump.

[Michael]

@ Johnny: I’m actually thinking about going with the Studio for a few reasons. When I had what I call the “watered-down” Amazon Guardala it was a Studio model; so even though it wasn’t a true, authentic Guardala like Nadir is obviously making (hope I spelled his name right), I still already have a feel for a Studio so it wouldn’t take me too long at all to get re-adjusted to it without it being too difficult. So for me with the Studio model, a demo isn’t really necessary because I already have an idea, first hand, of what it’s like…although it would be cool to get your take on it some time for sure. Also, because of some of the stuff I’m doing this year is in more intimate settings v.s. being on a big stage, my concern is using such a powerful Guardala that folks may say I’m just too loud LOL With the Studio, I would be able to have more control through the entire range of the Sax, including soft ballads. Although Nadir doesn’t have a Fatboy Studio for Tenor, I did notice on his site for the Studio he has the choice of either “Original” or “Hand Made Master Enhancement” I would be really interested in knowing what he did to enhance the Studio. The Master Enhancement cost a couple hundered $ more, but if it’s the best thing to do in the long run then paying the extra $ is worth it. Check out the link below to his site and click on the options of “hand work” to see what I mean. In his description he describes it as “The Middle” of the Guardalas; it’s above the Crescent models (the Crescent is too narrow/flat for me) but not the same as an MBII, etc. It as a tip opening of .116″, that’s just about perfect for me.
https://nadirsaxwind.com/shop/dave-guardala-reborn/the-studio/
On a side note, I do have a Vandoren Jumbo Java T95 for Tenor coming that I’m going to try out. The Alto A55 is awesome…it has a tip opening of .095″ that’s HUGE for Alto but combined with the comfort of an Ebonite MP it’s been great for me. These MPs are constructed with the same Big Step Baffle and big tip openings that we’re talking about to get that rockin’ sound, but they’re constructed of Ebonite; way superior to Hard Rubber but not quite like a Metal MP; but they do compare to many metal MPs in projection; but obviously they don’t compare to Guardalas. Based on my experience with the Alto Jumbo Java, I simply had to try to Tenor model so that I can make the best decision possible

[Author]

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