Today, I am reviewing another tenor saxophone mouthpiece from SYOS mouthpieces in France.  This is the SYOS “Take the A” signature model 8* tenor saxophone mouthpiece which is modeled after the old SYOS Chad LB model which I reviewed in the past (Chad LB SYOS mouthpiece review).

The SYOS company hit the saxophone mouthpiece scene a number of years ago and immediately caught the world’s attention by producing these really bright colored 3D printed saxophone mouthpieces.  I must admit, that at first, I was very skeptical of plastic 3D mouthpieces, but after reviewing quite a few SYOS mouthpieces (20 SYOS mouthpiece reviews to date), I have come to respect the SYOS business model and the quality and playability of the SYOS saxophone mouthpieces I have played.

SYOS “Take the A”  8* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece

This “Take the A” signature model tenor saxophone mouthpiece I am reviewing today is dark blue and is an 8* tip opening.  Although, I requested the 8* tip opening and the dark blue color for this mouthpiece review, the SYOS “Take the A” tenor sax mouthpiece can come in any of nine tip openings from 5-9 and in a variety of ten attention getting colors.

As I wrote earlier, the SYOS “Take the A” tenor saxophone mouthpiece is based off of the SYOS Chad LB model that I first reviewed years ago SYOS Chad LB Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review.  The Chad LB model is no longer in production as Chad has moved on to create his own line of mouthpieces but the SYOS “Take the A” is the same design and specifications as the original Chad LB model.  Here is what SYOS writes in the description of the “Take the A” tenor saxophone mouthpiece:

“Our best seller is back! This mouthpiece has changed its name but not its quality! Based on the mouthpiece we designed a few years ago for Chad Lefkowitz-Brown (Chad LB), this mouthpiece will give you edge and power with a nice amount of brightness.”-SYOS website

SYOS “Take the A”  8* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece

Before we get to the playing of the SYOS “Take the A” tenor sax mouthpiece, let me give you a few tidbits of info from the SYOS website on these SYOS saxophone mouthpieces.

First of all, you have three choices when you visit the SYOS website and order a sax mouthpiece.  You can order a “SYOS Signature Mouthpiece” which is basically what the mouthpiece that the player whose name is on the mouthpiece plays.

If, however, you want to be unique and are on a quest to find your own unique sound, you might want to pick the second choice of ordering a custom mouthpiece from SYOS which I have to say looks like a pretty cool process.  Here’s what you do on the SYOS website:

1. First, you choose what saxophone you play. Soprano, Alto, Tenor or Bari Sax


2. Second, you choose whether you are a beginner, intermediate or professional sax player


3. Third, you choose what type of music you play (you can pick more than one category)


4. Fourth, this is the coolest part, you choose your sound preferences.  There is a slider for tone that goes from very dark to very bright.  You can choose where in that tone spectrum you feel you would like to be.  There is also a slider to choose how powerful you want to be.  The slider goes from soft to powerful.   Now here’s the coolest part because as you are reading this you might be confused about how you might choose what you want or you might be confused about what your preferences are.  SYOS gives you a bunch of examples with sound clips!   How cool is that?  The following list of player are listed and rated for tone and power. Ben Webster, Chris Potter, Coleman Hawkins, Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson, Michael Brecker, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and Wayne Shorter. (Can I just point out at this point,  how awesome Chris Potter must feel about being included in this list!)


5. You click “Submit” and wait by your mailbox for your custom mouthpiece that will answer all your dreams to be delivered.

A third option, is that you can order a SYOS Originals saxophone mouthpiece.  They make three mouthpieces for each saxophone (soprano, alto and tenor saxophone) called Smoky (darker and warmer), Steady (medium) and Spark (brighter and louder).  I have reviewed all of these SYOS Originals saxophone mouthpieces in the past and they were excellent.

SYOS “Take the A”  8* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece

Here is a few comments about the material SYOS mouthpieces are made from in case you are curious:

We use ABS plastic to craft our mouthpieces: this material allows us to get the highest degree of precision, with an improved resistance and durability. And you can get that in 18 colors to build a perfect style on stage!

The plastic we use to make Syos mouthpieces has been certified non-toxic in laboratory (EN 71 and CE 1907/2006 standards). In fact, the same kind of plastic is used to make toys for children, which can be put in mouth without any risks. At the opposite, with the “ebonite” plastic, some sulfuric acid releases are observed when the mouthpiece is old, which gives it a yellow-green color.

And finally, here is a quote about the manufacturing process and how the minute details affect your tone which I found interesting:

For wind instruments, it’s the internal geometry of the bore that gives all the acoustic properties. We work at 1/100th millimeter to adjust the shape and the length of the baffle, the chamber section and size, the tip opening, the facing length… We study and compute the effect of all these parameters on the sound, to predict the timbre of each combination of them.

SYOS “Take the A”  8* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece

Ok, so let’s get to the “Take the A” tenor saxophone mouthpiece I received. The “Take the A” mouthpiece came in the usual SYOS drawstring bag and was well protected in the package it came in.  SYOS sent a dark blue slide on ligature with the mouthpiece as well although I used a Vandoren Optimum ligature on the mouthpiece for the sound clips just because I like to have the ability to move the ligature around and adjust the tightness of it.

The “Take the A” tenor saxophone mouthpiece felt really light as you would expect a plastic mouthpiece to feel.  The table had a little bit of texture to it that you can see with the eye but the table feels smooth to the touch when I slide my finger over it.  Whatever process they use to make these sax mouthpieces does leave some slight texture marks on the mouthpiece.  You can see fine lines going across the table and fine lines going down the baffle as if the machine that cut the mouthpieces left these lines on the plastic.  This texture does not effect the sealing of the reed to the mouthpiece on all the SYOS mouthpieces I have reviewed so I personally wouldn’t worry about it.

SYOS “Take the A”  8* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece

The SYOS “Take the A” tenor saxophone mouthpiece looks well made.  The table, rails and tip rail look even to the eye.  The curve of the tip rail matches pretty closely with the curve of my tenor saxophone reeds.  The outside corner