Company History

  • 1980 Theo developed metalworking skills as apprentice to Joel Jensen of Da Da Bicycles in Bellingham, WA.
  • 1987-1997 Theo stayed at a Buddhist monastery in Thailand, and studied meditation in India. He later studied saxophone at California Institute of the Arts and studied mouthpiece refacing under Master refacer Bob Carpenter.
  • 1997 Theo Graduated from the Naropa Institute with a BA in Musical Improvisation as a Spiritual Path.
  • 1998 Theo Wanne learned saxophone repair in Philadelphia, PA with master repairman, Bret Gustafson of Gustafson Music.
  • 1999 Theo started Saxophone Mouthpiece Heaven selling thousands of vintage saxophones & mouthpieces. He refaced mouthpieces for Joshua Redman, Chris Potter, Eric Alexander, Grover Washington Jr. and more
  • 2001 Theo made Custom Link & Custom Meyer mouthpieces.
  • 2005 Theo's first original production mouthpiece, the AMMA, was made using investment casting.

Company Timeline

  • 2007 Theo registered Wanne, Inc. (DBA Theo Wanne™ Classic Mouthpieces) with his brother Tom Wanne. Theo filed five patents. The first fully machined AMMA mouthpiece was released.
  • 2008 The KALI and PARVATI mouthpieces were released.
  • 2009 The DURGA and GAIA mouthpieces were released. The PARVATI was discontinued. Stable-Wood mouthpieces were released.
  • 2011 The AMBIKA Tenor Mouthpiece was released.
  • 2012 The MANTRA Tenor Saxophone, and BRAHMA, DATTA,  and MANTRA mouthpieces were released.  The AMMA mouthpiece was discontinued.
  • 2013 Theo became sole owner of Wanne Inc. The MANTRA Soprano Saxophone was released.
  • 2014 Theo moved his company to new facilities in, Bellingham WA. KALI, BRAHMA and DATTA mouthpieces were discontinued. The SHIVA tenor mouthpiece was released.
  • 2015 The Mindi Abair alto, GAIA 2 soprano, alto and tenor, NYBros alto, and Slant Sig tenor mouthpieces released.
  • 2016 Company moved to a new location in Bellingham, WA.  The MANTRA Fully Curved and Curved Neck soprano saxophones, AMBIKA 2, DURGA 3, SHIVA 2, and SLANT SIG 2 mouthpieces were released.
  • 2018 The first ELEMENTS Series mouthpiece, the FIRE alto, is released
  • 2019 The GAIA 3 Tenor; ELEMENTS Series EARTH and WATER alto mouthpieces are released. The MANTRA 2 Tenor, Alto & Soprano saxophones are released. The company moved to 1515 Fraser St. in Bellingham, its first purpose-built manufacturing facility.
  • 2020 The GAIA 3 Soprano, Alto; DURGA 4 Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Baritone; AMBIKA 3 Tenor; SHIVA 3 Soprano, Alto & Tenor were all released. The SHIVA Baritone mouthpiece was discontinued. 
  • 2021 The DURGA 5 Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Baritone
  • 2023 The AMBIKA Soprano, AMBIKA 4 Tenor, BRAHMA Tenor, SHIVA 4 Tenor were released.
  • 2024 The BRAHMA Soprano, LAKSHMI, BRAHMA and SHIVA 4 Altos, BRAHMA Baritone were released. 

2005 AMMA – Handmade Version

Theo’s very first production mouthpiece was cast bronze.  It was a completely original design, not a mold of any other mouthpiece.  He did extensive hand work on these mouthpieces.  He did not put any marks on the mouthpiece to keep a clean look.  Only about a thirty of these were ever sold, including one to Jan Garbarek who can be seen below playing it. See the Video Here.

 

This design turned into the 2007 AMMA tenor mouthpiece.

2007 AMMA – Production Version

The AMMA was Theo Wanne’s first true production mouthpiece, and incorporated five patents including a manufacturing process patent to make the large chamber design.

The first year these were made the bodies and baffles were polished. This was due to the CNC technology not being perfected yet to machine the baffles.  So Theo finished the baffles by hand. These have a unique cutout along the table for the ligatures and were offered in gold and silver plate. Click to see the original AMMA Specification Sheet.

In 2009 The AMMA mouthpiece body was reticulated, like all future Theo Wanne™ mouthpieces. The baffle CAD technology developed so no longer had to be hand shaped. The AMMA mouthpiece was made in tenor (gold plated brass and vintified)) and the Alto was made in very high quality Hard Rubber.


2008 KALI

The KALI mouthpiece was Theo Wanne’s first high baffle production mouthpiece.  It was designed with a baffle similar to the Dave Guardala Michael Brecker Model, however, it had much more deeply rounded inner side walls and a large chamber.  It had a much bigger bottom end than the Brecker Model. Click to see the first KALI Specification Sheet.

The first KALI mouthpieces, like the first AMMA mouthpieces, had polished baffles and bodies.

In 2009 Theo’s technology developed to the point where the KALI mouthpieces could have the highly accurate machined baffles his mouthpieces are known for.  These mouthpieces had the reticulated outside finish like his later mouthpieces as well. An alto version of the KALI was released in both metal and hard rubber.

The KALI was discontinued after the DURGA was released and Theo felt they had too many models. The last of the KALI tenor mouthpieces (with a serial number starting with 5 or greater) had a particularly fat sound and have become collectors items.


2008 PARVATI

The PARVATI was designed as a darker version of the AMMA Tenor Mouthpiece.  It has an equally as large chamber and retained the roll-over baffle of the AMMA tenor mouthpiece, but had a much lower baffle.

The PARVATI was made only in tenor, and came in Gold Plated Brass, Vintified Brass and Stable Wood. Click to see the original PARVATI Specification Sheet.

Stable Wood™ was an innovative material developed and trademarked by Theo Wanne which infused hardwood through with resin through the use of heat and pressure with resin. This greatly helped to stabilize the wood. However due to the porous nature of wood, it was discontinued as Theo felt it still absorbed too much moisture and might still cause too much warping to the delicate table.


2009 DURGA

The DURGA was Theo Wanne’s second high baffle mouthpiece, and had a longer step baffle than the KALI. It incorporated a unique Power Ring™ which reduced the large chamber to a small chamber further back in the chamber. All the saxophone on The Simpsons TV Show, including the solos at the start of each episode, were recorded by Terry Harrington on the DURGA baritone mouthpiece since 2009.

Due to the DURGA’s success, the KALI was soon discontinued. The DURGA came in Gold Plate with nickel highlights on the bite pad and shank ring. The nickel highlights stayed on the DURGA until 2017, when they were removed.


2009 GAIA

The PARVATI mouthpiece evolved into the GAIA tenor mouthpiece. At the time this was the most commonly used Theo Wanne™ mouthpiece for straight ahead jazz. However, its versatility allowed it to shine through in Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars (Dwayne Dugger) and the growling saxophone on Problem by Ariana Grande (Leon Silva).


2011 AMBIKA

The first AMBIKA tenor mouthpieces were designed to have a very dark sound.  They had a very low baffle and no roll-over. These were the darkest sounding mouthpieces Theo Wanne ever made.   

Later the AMBIKA was designed to retain a very dark warm sound, but with more modern projection. The AMBIKA 2 would further increase projection, and became a real hit due to having such a dark sound but allowing for great flexibility as well.  The AMBIKA 2 is played by: 

  • Doug Lawrence (Count Basie, Tony Bennett)
  • Doug Moffet (Larry Carlton, Tony Bennett, Garth Brooks, Take Six, Lou Rawls, Faith Hill, Garth Brooks)

 


2012 BRAHMA

The BRAHMA and DATTA were Theo Wanne’s first attempt to make a lower cost mouthpiece, one of Theo’s lifelong dreams. He spent decades refacing mouthpieces for musicians, and lived to see their enthusiasm when playing a mouthpiece that did not limit their self expression. The BRAHMA and DATTA, though high quality metal mouthpieces, did not have some of the very hard to make features of Theo’s other mouthpieces in order to bring the cost down.  The BRAHMA was a Roll-Over baffle mouthpiece. The DATTA was a high Step-Baffle mouthpiece.

Theo discontinued these models in 2014 as he did not feel their sound was as good as his other mouthpieces. Later, in 2017, Theo would release the ELEMENTS series mouthpieces as his lower cost alternative, which Theo felt met his high quality manufacturing and sound specifications.

2012 DATTA

 


2012 MANTRA

The MANTRA mouthpiece was developed to go with the MANTRA tenor saxophone. The very first ones were nickel plated, however, quickly switched to gold plate.

The MANTRA came in tenor, alto and soprano.  The MANTRA alto was a particularly good mouthpiece and still is in high demand.


2014 SHIVA

‘SHIVA the Destroyer’ completed the Theo Wanne professional mouthpiece line of: AMBIKA, GAIA, DURGA, SHIVA. It also replaced the DATTA, which was discontinued.

With the release of this model the Blue Art material was also introduced, which is the first material available which sounds similar, but more lively, than vintage hard rubber.

The SHIVA was the first mouthpiece to Theo Wanne’s new Boundary Layer technology in the chamber, called a Shark Gill Chamber™.

The SHIVA is the brightest Theo Wanne tenor mouthpiece having a step baffle like the DURGA, but adding more roll-over to the baffle and a smaller chamber.

The SHIVA and the SHIVA 2 has become widely used in the Rock & Roll and Smooth Jazz world’s. Musicians that used the original SHIVA include:

  • Gerald Albright (3 Grammy Nominations)
  • Najee (2 time Grammy Nominee, Prince, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock)
  • Warren Hamm (Ringo Starr, Olivia Newton John)
  • Mark Douthit (Elton John, Billy Joel)
  • Nelson Rangell (17 Internationally acclaimed CDs)
  • Dwayne Dugger (Bruno Mars Hooligans)

2015 Mindi Abair Signature alto

Designed as a collaboration between Theo Wanne and Mindi Abair over the course of three years, to be the biggest sounding and most powerful mouthpiece on the market. Brighter than the DURGA. More information here: Mindi Abair Alto

Mindi Abair is two time Grammy Award nominated saxophonist, has produced ten #1 radio singles, two #1 Billboard Jazz CDs, and four more solo CDs that have landed #5 and above on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Charts. She was the featured saxophonist for the 2011 and 2012 seasons of American Idol, and has performed with the rock band Aerosmith.

She has recorded exclusively with this mouthpiece since 2015 including Live in Seattle and the East West Sessions.  


2015 New York Bros alto

Due to customer demand Theo designed the NYBROS alto mouthpiece using the best features of all vintage Meyer New York mouthpiece models, including the Meyer Bros and New York USA models, creating the ultimate Meyer mouthpiece design. Designing this mouthpiece and the Slant Sig tenor was based on decades of work refacing these mouthpieces by Theo Wanne. More information here: NYBROS Alto


2015 Slant Sig tenor

Due to customer demand Theo designed the Slant Sig mouthpiece using the best features of all vintage Otto Link Slant Signature mouthpieces creating the ultimate Slant Sig model. More information here: Slant Sig 2 Tenor


2015 GAIA 2 soprano, alto and tenor

The GAIA mouthpieces were all updated to increase core sound and projection.  They maintained the warm vintage sound of the GAIA 1. Theo updated the designs with new technology and features in the designs based on customer and endorser feedback, as well as from increased knowledge of mouthpiece design.  


2016 AMBIKA 2 Tenor 

The AMBIKA was updated to increase core sound and projection while maintaining its fundamental warmth and beauty  These updates came from customer and endorser feedback, as well as from Theo’s increased knowledge of mouthpiece design. The AMBIKA 2 received a new logo. 

2016 DURGA 3 Tenor, Alto & Soprano

The DURGA mouthpieces were all updated to further increase big full core sound the DURGA mouthpieces became famous for.

The DURGA was updated to the DURGA 3 in alto and tenor, and a new DURGA 3 soprano mouthpiece was introduced. The DURGA 3 also received a new logo. 


2016 SHIVA 2, and SLANT SIG 2

The SHIVA and SLANT SIG mouthpieces were updated to increase core sound and projection while maintaining their fundamental sounds. These updates came from customer and endorser feedback, as well as from Theo’s increased knowledge of mouthpiece design. Both were fairly substantial improvements having all of the Theo Wanne™ endorsers such as Gerald Albright and Dwayne Dugger (Bruno Mars) updating to the new design.

 


2018 FIRE alto

The FIRE alto mouthpiece is the first mouthpiece released in the ELEMENTS series. The FIRE is bright and fiery, with a high step baffle and small chamber.  The element series is about half the price of other Theo Wanne™ mouthpieces.  It will be released at the 2018 NAMM Show in Los Angeles, California.


2019 GAIA 3 Tenor, EARTH Alto, WATER Alto, MANTRA 2 Alto, Tenor & Soprano Saxophones

The GAIA 3 Tenor mouthpiece, and second and third ELEMENTS Series mouthpieces, the EARTH alto and WATER alto, are released.  The WATER is the first classical mouthpiece by Theo Wanne.  The MANTRA 2 Tenor, Alto & Soprano saxophones are released.


2020 GAIA 3, DURGA 4, AMBIKA 3, SHIVA 3

New releases: GAIA 3 Soprano & Alto; DURGA 4 Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Baritone; AMBIKA 3 Tenor; SHIVA 3 Soprano, Alto & Tenor all released at NAMM 2020.  SHIVA Baritone mouthpiece discontinued.