Theo’s makes his mouthpieces EXACTLY to his design specifications, not just ‘close’. As an expert in mouthpiece design, Theo needs his mouthpieces manufactured EXACTLY like his designs! This is why Theo has invested so heavily in manufacturing technology. His office is in the Pacific Northwest of the USA, where Boeing and the other leading Aerospace manufacturing companies work too.
Machined vs Handwork
Theo is a master with mouthpiece handwork. However, he uses the worlds most advanced machining technologies to finish the most important areas like the baffle. Other manufacturers do a lot of handwork simply because they do not know how to manufacture like Theo does, nor do they understand the design criteria necessary to do so. Handwork in critical areas like the baffle will result in inconsistent and inferior results. Every mouthpiece will not play as well as the original design.
Theo’s mouthpiece designs are complex, making his mouthpieces are some of the most difficult to make parts on the planet, in any industry. The reason is that tooling must sculpt the complex interior geometries in very hard to reach places such as the chamber and inner sidewalls.
Other Manufacturing Techniques
Other manufacturers get away with simpler designs, or inaccurate manufacturing techniques to get around these issues. For example, other machining manufacturers must make the window longer or put holes in the table to try and get a True-Large Chamber™ sound. Other manufacturers mold or cast their mouthpieces to get features like rounded-inner-sidewalls. However, molding and casting techniques experience shrinkage in both the molds and mouthpieces during the cooling processes, and therefore the final mouthpiece will never be accurate, or as good as the original design.
No Compromises
Due to our knowledge and technology we do not need to make any compromises. We manufacture the exact designs Theo intends, all in the name of making history’s best quality saxophone mouthpieces. Just look inside and you will see the difference!