"After
a pretty grueling year of mouthpiece searching, I finally found a little
slice of heaven. Ken Barry has put together mouthpieces that achieve
what I think mouthpiece designers have been trying unsuccessfully to
do over the last few years. Mouthpieces with just the right amount of
resistance, darkness, sheen, flexibility, accurate pitch, ergonomic
comfort and vibe. On top of that he offers a variety of models that
help you really tweak your search for your unique sound. Available in
a palette of colors based on classics but brought to new heights. He
is not only a master craftsmen , he is a saxophonist that possesses
a world class tone himself. You can't beat that. He is coming from an
insiders view. Don't just take my word for it. Get a hold of one right
away, he keeps them totally affordable. You'll be tempted to buy a few,
I promise.... Thanks Ken, on top of everything else, you are a beautiful
cat, be cool, BF" -- Recording artist and Yamaha endorser Bob
Franceschini on the NF 108. Bob has toured and recorded with the
likes of Mike Stern, Dave Weckl, Dennis Chambers, Anthony Jackson, and
many others.
"THIS
NEW ONE IS IT. Right on the money. Though I will carry my old metal
Otto Link in my case as an extra, yours will definitely be my primary
one. It's like a gift from heaven. Its sound is overwhelmingly beautiful
... full, round, dark and completely individualistic. It's my sound,
Ken. It's the sound I've dreamed of all my life. You are the undisputed
master in my book. Absolutely wonderful! It makes me not want to put
my horn down; I just want to listen to my horn's new, wonderful sound
over and over again. I'm completely overwhelmed and grateful."
-- Jazz legend Benny Golson
on the Uptown Xtra Dark large chamber .130 tip opening (now renamed
as the Benny Golson model); February 2007
"I
believe that sound is the single most identifiable attribute of a saxophonist’s
playing, and the right mouthpiece setup is vital in the creation of
that sound. While playing the Saxscape mouthpiece, simply put, I am
able to achieve the sound I hear in my head. Ken Barry has come up with
a great design, and I have been thrilled with my Saxscape Uptown Xtra
Dark. The mouthpiece gives me the deep, dark sound I always imagined,
without sacrificing clarity, projection, or response. Thanks, Ken, for
your hard work and dedication to the sound of the saxophone. I look
forward to playing Saxscape mouthpieces for years to come." --
Jimmy Greene, Criss Cross and RCA Victor recording
artist, performed with Freddie Hubbard and Harry Connick, Jr; August
2006, on the Uptown Xtra Dark tenor .124 opening
"I just began working with Ken in the past year. He was able to take a metal Link I had and make it playable to the point of it being my main tenor piece. ...Ken is a good craftsman, a player himself, and is dedicated to making great mouthpieces." -- Grammy nominated artist Dave Liebman, formerly with Miles Davis and Elvin Jones; December 2003
"Ken demonstrates
an uncanny ability to understand the mechanics of creating wonderful
mouthpieces. He makes pieces as a player, not a machinist. ... Understand,
I was not looking for a tenor piece. I had them. Including a killer
Link that I refaced (ask Ken). Ken's Uptown Live has relegated the Guardalas
to spares. That is the level of expertise possessed by Ken. ...BTW he
also plays a killer horn." -- Nick Franciosa,
September 2006. Nick worked for over a year as a horn evaluator for
Dave Guardala, and has studied tenor with Bob
Berg and Steve
Grossman.
"The
mouthpiece is full of nice resonant overtones, and is a welcome relief
from some of the edgier mouthpieces. It tends towards the mellow side,
but with strength. ... The articulation had a consistent crispness throughout
the whole range." -- Bob
Mover, Vanguard Records recording artist, toured/recorded with Chet
Baker, Charles Mingus, Kenny Barron, Rufus Reid; July 2005, on the Hudson
model tenor mouthpiece prototype
"To throw in my personal impression, I really liked this piece
a lot more than many Slants I've played as some of those vintage Links
can be pretty sluggish players. Ken's got the baffles in these pieces
set up really well for a great airflow and lots of color. My work to
the piece was an enhancement to an already excellent design. This is
a "good one", fellas..."
Ed Zentera, master refacer,
commenting on an Uptown Dark .107 that he refaced, November 2006
"Monday morning has arrived the mouthpiece. Wow!! it is fantastic!!!!" -- Max Ionata, professional musician in Italy, on the Uptown Dark .138, November 2006
"...It's a killer!! Just what I needed... It seems to give me the
best of all worlds. Loads of projection, a small amount of edge, and
VERY fat! Nice. Given the situations that I find myself playing, I find
it is a very versatile mouthpiece. I have never played an original Metal
Florida Link, but if they are anything like this I can see why they
fetch a small fortune on eBay. Mind you, with the NF, who needs to spend
a bunch of cash on an old piece. Thanks again." Paul Mason,
British musician, on the Uptown NF .108, October 2006
"The
Mouthpiece is very well balanced and is a true storyteller. What I mean,
I can play ballads with high dynamic and expression range without effort.
But it also has a lot of power to play fast pieces and "loud" pieces
but it has this overall warmth I've been looking for. What I mean its
a leader but it is not flashy or sharp if I playing very loud on it...
Thank You for making this wonderful
mouthpiece for me." -- Peter
Berlau, professional musician in Germany; October 2005, on the Uptown
model, .116 opening
"I
received the two Tenor Mouthpieces that you made for me. Tonight I had
a chance to play the “Downtown” . Ken…this piece amazes me. This is
one of the top pieces I have ever played. The price was more than fair,
the workmanship is outstanding, the sound it everything I have been
looking for... I think that I can now put many of my mouthpieces on
EBay. Yours Ken will be my favorite. You will not see this mouthpiece
on EBay that I can promise. " -- Frederick Goldring, October
2005, on the Downtown model, .112 opening
"I'm thrilled with my Saxscape (Downtown) mouthpiece. I was seeking
a fuller, thicker sound without sacrificing brightness and found it.
The result is a mouthpiece that is extremely versatile- mellow and cool
or cutting and edgy when needed, and always easy to control. Ken responded
to my inquiries and customized a mouthpiece for me quickly. After trying
many other mouthpieces on the market, I got the service and the sound
I was looking for." -- Neil Eggert, November 2005, on the Downtown
model, .100 opening
Streaming Audio sample of Neil's playing on the Downtown
"The
Uptown model that I purchased from you has immediately become my main
mouthpiece for straight ahead playing. It has all the fantastic qualities
of a slant sig link…fatness, great intonation, lushness… with more projection,
and superb articulation. It's also quite reed friendly. It was a pleasure
to work with a craftsman that was so kind and accommodating to my needs.
Can't wait for the alto pieces to come out. " -- Jerry Laboranti,
February 2006, on the Uptown model, .115 opening
Streaming Audio sample of Jerry's playing on the Uptown
"Just wanted to get back to you on the piece. It's been a few
weeks and I've really been digging it. It definitely adds a lot more
focus to my sound, yet has a warm, fat bottom end and thick top end.
" -- Raghav Chari, February 2006, on the Uptown model, .105
opening
"Ken has really captured the essence of the great vintage pieces and coupled them with a great level of response, flexibility and projection needed by the modern player. The Saxscape Uptown .106 gives me all of the core and heart of the best vintage pieces but also gives me the response, flexibility and projection that I need for all styles of playing." -- Chel Illingworth, Berklee School of Music graduate, Boston area musician; February 2006
"I just REALLY like the bigger sound of the .110 piece you sent me -- I can compete better with other guys I play with...and I just really like the sound. ...you really DO stand by your products. And, your products are amoung the very best -- you are the new Dave Guardala in saxophone mouthpieces-- they rock! (can use that quote if you want...it's true!). Looking forward to your alto mouthpiece -- whew! Gonna be good, I'm sure!" James Lynch, March 2006, on the Downtown model, .110 opening
"Just a quick note to say thanks for a great mouthpiece. I was one of the lucky ones to win it off ebay (Uptown 7*). A great sound. Just been round to a friends house and spent a few hours going over some of his tunes, Piano and Tenor, and the sounds sits perfectly. I will be using it on a soul gig this weekend, and although not as loud as my S**** (Which will be going onto EBay soon!) should sound a lot better. I'll let you know how I get on. I find it a very versatile mouthpiece, which I find getting the Altissimo register much easer than any other mouthpiece that I have used." --Paul Mason, British musician; February 2006, on the Uptown .108 tip opening
"The
Red River... is just outstanding man. This is the mouthpiece that is
intended for all of us sax players that wish we were soul singers. It
allows me to "sing" sweet with just the right amount of texture in the
tone....where you can "squeeze" the notes....go from angel to devil.
Go from silky Philly soul to Texas Roadhouse before the next chord change.
This piece is just killer Ken!... This is a mouthpiece that has "it"
happening for me. It is as if you took different aspects from all my
favorite pieces, poured 'em together and came up with all that spicy
goodness in one mouthpiece for me... Makes me also feel like it gives
me a very unique and personalized sound and will set me apart......The
voices of a million angels could not express my gratitude.....I am in
heaven with this mouthpiece.
" I played a gig last Saturday and besides how much I just overall
love the sound and playing on the mouthpiece I noticed when I got to
play some slow ballads when I did some soloing and held the palm key
notes out that it really has a clarity. In my soul singer analogy it
is like those notes are now sound more like the natural voice instead
of falsetto. More full...great singing quality the mouthpiece has. More
than any other piece I've played on it makes me feel as if my "voice"
is coming through and there is more of a singing quality to my playing.
" I still (why I don't know) continue to slap on some of my other
great high end mouthpieces for comparison. It is wild.....I will play
on one for a while and think...yeah this is working. Then I put the
Red River on and as soon as I hear that tone, power and attack and just
exclaim "This is the real deal and the tailor made fit for me". For
the first time in a good while I know that I am going to now play on
the Red River all the time and quit trying to second guess. The Red
River is the epitome of a Soul mouthpiece to me. Usually mouthpieces
are catagorized as Classical, Jazz, Rock......well brother you broke
the mold and created a new genre and alternative for those of us after
something else. Very well done." -- Mark Rybiski, March 2006,
on the Red River model, .115 opening
"...
It´s a great mouthpiece. I had a lot of gigs within the last two weeks
and I had the opportunity to play it in different situations: On a Jazzgig
(Standard playing...), on a TV-show with a "kind of Jazz-Rock" -band,
Bigband, Studiogig and so on. It is very versatile and I could do everything
I wanted. The sound is very flexible, the mpc can play very soft and
very loud and I never lose the control, I´m really amazed!!" --
Jörg Kaufmann, professional musician in Germany;
numerous TV, recording, concert credits; March 2006, on the Uptown,
.130 opening
Streaming Audio sample
of Jörg's playing on the Uptown
"Just a note to tell you that I really, really like the .104" Uptown Dark you sent me. I must say, I wouldn't liken it as much to a modern Link as an "Early Babbitt." And then it has something else, too, that's all it's own and very, very good. Excellent work-I would HIGHLY recommend your mouthpieces to any serious tenor player that is on the "quest" for the ideal piece." -- Jon Goforth, Seattle area professional musician, April 2006, on the Uptown Dark .104 opening
"BINGO....I
love it!!!! I've been playing it nonstop since it arrived. You're a
genious. I love this facing. Great sound, nice articulation, reed friendly.
Most 2.5 reeds work on it. I love both of them. I'll call you in a month
or two. I might want another one. Might want a Hudson!!!!! Enjoy the
reeds. You're the BEST!!! Arnie" -- Arnie
Krakowsky, graduate of Berklee School of Music, Boston area professional
musician; April 2006, on the Uptown .110 opening
"Hi
Ken, today the mpc has arrived: an unbelievable wonderful mouthpiece.
Brightness is perfect. I love it. It's much better than my Freddie Gregory
7**, but this one seems to be a little bit more open. ... big sound
the whole range, good attack. Great work. I'm proud to have a Saxscape
mouthpiece." -- Sven
Hack, musician in Germany; May 2006, on the Downtown .112 opening
"Ken, now that I have spent a little time with the mpc, I just
want to tell you again how much I like it. My tastes and sound I'm going
for has changed over the last couple of years and your mpc has made
the sound in my head a reality. A good friend of mine, a sax player,
came to my gig last Friday and said it was the best I have ever sounded.
He called me today to tell me again. Most of my work is coverband /
horn section work and the Red River allows me to have the punch, projection
and slight edge needed, yet still maintain a rather dark, solid sound.
Thanks again, Bryan" -- Bryan Castro; May 2006, on the Red
River .120 opening