Otto Link New York Double Ring Metal Tenor Mouthpiece (refaced by Keith Bradbury aka MojoBari, then Brian Powell)

Being an Otto Link guy, it was just a matter of time before I would go for the "most wanted" model - famous NY double ring piece. The story behind this mouthpiece is a bit longer. I bought it on eBay on September 2, 2007, for 685$ following the auction with the description of the piece as written below. The photos were a bit blury but the guy seemed thrustworthy. Or so I thought. When the mouthpiece arrived it looked like crap. I put a harder reed and was able to get a beautiful tone out of it, but it was stuffy, unplayable. I then took a closer look and I definitely saw the traces of some very bad reface work. There was a break in the facing curve, rails were thick, total disaster. I planned to initiate complaint through eBay and at the same time I contacted Keith Bradbury, aka MojoBari, to discuss the sitation with him. To cut the story short, the seller offered to pay for professional reface job to Mojo and I asked Mojo to first fix the piece, then make it more open but to preserve the tonal character of it as the tone was magnificent. You can see below the report from Mojo.

The result was superb mouthpiece. It is not a looker, due to plating gone or removed by the refacing. You can still see #4 on the table, serial no. E49 on the side, reg. u.s. pat. off on the oposite side, Otto Link co. New York N.Y. on the shank below the double ring and, of course, Super Tone Master on the other side of the shank. Mojo engraved very shallowly 50, 0.88, Mojo +5. With a bit harder reed you are getting that beautiful vintage Link sound these are known for. Easy to manipulate, responds well, even throught the horn, lush bottom, a bit crisp altissimo. Very fun to play mouthpiece.

Now, after several years, I started having some 'squeeking' problems with this mouthpiece so I sent it to Brian Powell to examine and readjust it a bit. Report from Brian is also given below. Brian restored it to again its beautiful condition. The main thing about this mouthpiece - how it sounds - is preserved and that unique character of NY double ring is still untouched.

With this one, it was a bumpy ride but was well worth it.

Here is what Theo says about these:
""SUPER TONE MASTER" (1950s) - THE 'DOUBLE BAND' MODELS:
The first SUPER TONE MASTER mouthpieces were made in New York, as shown on the shank. They had a serial numbers on them identical to the later TONE MASTER mouthpieces. The tip opening was marked on the table.
All of these mouthpieces are characterized by two parallel bands traversing the shank. They are known as the Otto Link double band mouthpieces. The first pieces had a very long bite plate. Later, they permanently switched to shorter bite plates. They had silver plating under the gold like the NY TONE MASTERS.
The first ligatures looked identical to the NY TONE MASTER ligatures, only missing the OTTO LINK name on the ligature screw top. They were the best sounding of all Otto Link ligatures due particularly to the reed plate design.
THE MOVE TO POMPANO BEACH, FLORIDA:
While making the SUPER TONE MASTER mouthpieces in the early 1950s, Otto Link moved to Pompano Beach, Florida. The mouthpieces made in Florida looked like the earlier SUPER TONE MASTER models with a few exceptions. The serial numbers were larger and NEW YORK was no longer stamped on the shank. They also sounded brighter due to a bit more baffle material right behind the tip rail."

Up for Auction is a Vintage Otto Link New York Super Tone Master. Tip,Table, Rails etc look great. 1 Small teeth mark on bite plate. This piece comes with the original lig, a newer cap and a cool old unoriginal Brilhart box.Serial no. E 49. Facing stamped 4. Has the Reg.U.S.Pat off. stamp. I have seen these Vintage Pieces going for as much as $1250.00. The starting bid on this piece is much lower. Ask for more questions or pics. All sales final. Bid with confidence. Check my feedback. These Old New York Super Tone Masters and Ligatures sound great and are highly collectable.