I have a throat injury in my past that still to this day periodically hampers me quite a bit. As a result, I can’t play mouthpieces with chambers and baffles that have sharp angles.
This circumstance takes a lot of today’s mouthpieces out of play for me as many people have figured out how to speed up the flow of air as well as maximize the ease of play with the use of these techniques.
As a result, I always have an eye on what’s happening within the mouthpiece marketplace. There are in reality only a few brands I can play. This is why I still hold onto old mouthpieces that at some point over the years worked for me, even if I don’t play them all the time.
One of these mouthpieces is the Ottolink NY. People reading this are like “yawn”. Yes, it’s old tech and boring. However, this thing fits the mold for me as it’s wide open inside of it and no sharp angles.
Rollover baffles are what I can play, and even some of them give me problems. There are some really cool new takes on Ottolinks that I really want to work for me, but they blow so freely that it sets off my injury. To use a New England phrase, wicked annoying.
So my workhorses over many years have been the stock Otolink NY’s. They are not perfect by any stretch. Bring them to a mouthpiece makes and they’ll often often choke on their scoff as they’re not even evenly made/measured. Pretty funny.
Oddly enough they really work for me a lot of the time. I go between a 7 and 7*. These pictures are of my 7* because the 7 is on my horn. They are sometimes reed finicky, and there is some back pressure, especially on a bad reed. However a certain amount of back pressure is good for me as it takes pressure of my throat and puts it on my diaphragm. Another reason why these old school things work for me.
I don’t have any pictures of them when they were brand new, so this is the mouthpiece’s current state. I’m wearing through the plating so I’ll have to get another one soon.
There you have it. My otto link 7*.
I’ve included a video that honestly looks like it was shot on an iPhone 4, but it was just dark. I’ll upload a newer video when the house is quiet an I can record something.
Peace
