A Look Back at NAMM 2016

The NAMM show is the music industry's biggest and best opportunity to show off new products and meet hundreds of amazing artists, all under one roof! This year, the Theo Wanne™ booth was the most consistently busy booth in our area, as our new products grabbed everyone's attention, and our artists amazed the crowd!

We made a surprise release of the 2016 MANTRA Tenor Sax at this year's show.  
Having listened to feedback from our customers, 2016 sees the MANTRA get improved altissimo, better intonation and a bigger core sound, all through a better setup and a brand-new, solid titanium neck. We created a new taper and bore in the neck, which addresses all of the comments we've received. But, never fear, the  MANTRA tenor retains it's big, full, vintage sound, but with more modern sensibilities!

The new GAIA2 lineup was met with great acclaim. This has been our flagship line for nearly a decade, and with Theo's refresh of the line (soprano, alto, tenor), it is best summed up by Tim Price saying, "The GAIA2 is the best all-around jazz mouthpiece anywhere! This series has a excellent personal range of expression and deep tonal personality, and it's fun to play as well."

The GAIA2 is available for Soprano, Alto and Tenor in 'vintage' hard rubber, as well as 24k gold-plated brass for Tenor. GAIA2 has already begun shipping worldwide.
 

The NY Bros and Slant Sig mouthpieces from our Classic Series were met with great enthusiasm by players from all styles, especially those that have been using, and searching for, vintage Meyers and Otto Links. We were told that they both far surpassed the vintage pieces in both sound and response, and when told the price, most players were in shock and disbelief.

One fan told us - "Gone are the days of paying hundreds of dollars for a vintage piece, and then getting it refaced to play well. Now you can get a new, consistent, high-quality piece, made by the master, Theo Wanne, all for a fraction of the price!!"

Mindi Abair stopped by on the Thursday and spent the day with us, showing her new Mindi Abair Custom Alto Mouthpiece.



This piece is designed to rock, and to purr all at the same time. Many of our artists who play in multiple genres and situations found that the Mindi Abair Custom was the perfect balance between a high-baffle, bright piece, and a full-bodied, rich sound that is almost tenor-like.

We're off to a great start for 2016, and we look forward to working with you throughout the year. As always, please feel free to contact us, or your local dealer if you are interested in trying, or learning more about our mouthpieces or saxophones!