Mark Sepinuck

Ray Gelato RIPPING IT on his Robusto -“Handclappin'”

April 29, 2018 By Mark Sepinuck

Class, energy, rhythm, soul, and oh….. THAT SOUND!!!!!

One of the classiest gentlemen on the planet. Kind hearted and a powerhouse player who can also melt you with his gentle ballad work. Great singer, songwriter, bandleader, soloist…man, the list goes on and on! Give him a robusto cigar and his Robusto saxophone mouthpiece, and just sit back and enjoy. One of the giants carrying on that killer tone and style from yesteryear when sound, content, and energy meant more than anything. No one swings their *** off like Mr G! Louis and Sammy are smiling down on Ray for sure.

So honored that my brother Ray is enjoying my 10MFAN saxophone mouthpieces so much.

The Robusto and 1930’s Conn 10M – Dave O’Higgins

April 18, 2018 By Mark Sepinuck

I have played my Robusto on every type of saxophone I can find, and it always sounds wonderful, no matter the set up. Being a Conn 10m fan, I absolutely love the combination of those horns with my tenor saxophone mouthpieces . I love a lot of the vintage saxophones and the Conns are my favorites. Love the 10m’s, the Chu’s, and the 30m’s. I also have some great vintage Selmer’s here too, that I enjoy immensely.

Dave O’Higgins is one of my absolute favorite players. He is over in the U.K., and is well-loved everywhere he travels. I am forever humbled that he put out a CD on his Robusto. His sound, ideas, and playing always make me smile.

Here’s are 3 wonderful clips of Dave in his studio on his Conn 10M and hard rubber Robusto saxophone mouthpiece. Fantastic player and person. Look him up and enjoy his music.

Thank you Dave, for all your great support.

Enjoy the clips below.

Here is Dave playing the classic “Aquarela do Brasil”. (“Brazil”, as many of us refer to it).

Here is Dave and the band swinging on the old standard, “Close your eyes”

Dave is playing that classic ballad that Dexter made famous on his Conn 10m: “I guess I’ll hang my tears out to dry”.

Some Mobley on the Merlot tenor mouthpiece

April 15, 2018 By Mark Sepinuck

Here is my friend Ian Tordella showing how wonderful he sounds on the Merlot hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpiece. He is playing the Mobley penned gem, “Soul Station”. That album to me is glorious on so many accounts. If you haven’t checked it out yet, treat yourself to some jazz magic! The Merlot mouthpiece model has a big, warm, and open sound top to bottom. It also has a nice spread so you can hear it ear to ear when playing. It has loads of volume available when you need it, and excellent altissimo for a low baffle mouthpiece design. These attributes were important for me when designing this model. In fact, with all of my models, I wrote out a list of descriptions first, and then prototyped for a long time to make mouthpieces that matched what I had envisioned and wrote down on paper. Ian is playing in a beautiful duo setting here—–Enjoy!!!

The Robusto and Selmer Mark VI combo as displayed by David Mann and Roger Manins—heavenly.

April 15, 2018 By Mark Sepinuck

Two of the nicest guys and finest players out there…. David Mann and Roger Manins. Kind, considerate, and humble players and people. Will you sound just like them if you play my Robusto tenor saxophone mouthpiece?….No, of course not—but you will sound like you, and that’s more important!

My 10MFAN saxophone mouthpieces allow players to get their own individual vibe and don’t push you into a sound corner so you sound like others playing on the same pieces. Individuality is essential. I feel it’s important to get the right gear for yourself to help you dial in what you want as a player, but nothing replaces practicing. I can help you sound better instantly, but my mouthpieces won’t get you to be able to play Giant Steps at 300 bpm in all 12 keys! That stuff comes from serious practicing, listening, transcribing, etc…. You can buy a better sound, but you can’t buy “chops in a box”.

Speaking of gear, many players out there love a great playing vintage Selmer saxophone I personally love the Conns and Selmers the best of any of the vintage horns. Here are a couple of beautiful examples of the Robusto hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpiece on vintage Selmer Mark VI tenor saxophones. Hard to argue with these sounds ?

Listen to these 2 masters, and borrow some of these great ideas from them.

Enjoy!!!!

David Mann playing chorus after chorus of the blues. Great organ blues sound:

Roger Manins playing live in a quartet setting. He is showing the sizzle that the Robusto hard rubber mouthpiece can get playing the beautiful theme from M*A*S*H

Eric Spaulding and Greg Hawkins enjoying their Black Widow’s

April 11, 2018 By Mark Sepinuck

Eric Spaulding and Greg Hawkins giving you a taste of what their 10MFAN Black Widow tenor saxophone mouthpieces can do.

This is my “cross-over’ mouthpiece that bridges the gap between a killer hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpiece that can be used for jazz settings, and one needed for more authentic sounding funk, blues, pop, smooth jazz, R&B, etc. A mouthpiece that can truly be used for any setting and sound right in all of those settings. This is a medium height long baffle that was designed to do so much more than the high baffle pieces do in a gentle setting, and all the stuff they can do in a louder setting. Typically higher baffle pieces get thin and too buzzy for most guys when they want to use them in more jazz surroundings. They work great for the loud stuff, but not so great when played gentler. This medium height longer baffle takes care of all of this so you have the best of both worlds. A piece that can be lush and full for the jazz stuff, and a powerhouse player for the louder stuff when you need to let loose. You can hear that in these recordings…. Enjoy!!!!

Eric Spaulding showing the immense flexibility and versatility from soft jazz to Lenny Pickett:

Greg Hawkins showing the BW’s more Smooth jazz/Gospel gentler side, playing the gorgeous song, Hallelujah:

Greg Hawkins this time showing the BW’s more powerhouse side right out of the gate, on this Doobie Brothers classic!