Buescher

Model: Buescher (1)

Sax: soprano, alto, tenor, baritone (?)

Material: hard rubber

Chamber: large

Baffle: small

Description: This mouthpiece bears the Buescher logo with a solid oval on the top of the body. A “2” marking on the side of the body next to the table presumably indicates a tip opening. The logo reads “The Buescher Elkhart-Ind. U.S.A There is no marking on the table. Keith “Mojobari” Bradbury refaced and opened this example.

Buescher mouthpieces came in a number of variations over the years. Here are few examples that are thought to date from the 1920s through the 1950s, pictured in what is thought to be the earliest to latest models (1-9), though it is difficult to know this for certain. The “classic” Buescher models share the same basic outer shape, including the distinctive shank ring, large round chamber with scooped sidewalls, and close tip facing. Some had more tapered beaks (in the horizontal plane) than the ones pictured here. Later models, pictured below, include a white plastic version and a medium chamber hard rubber version that differ substantially from the “classic” models.

Model: Buescher (2)

Sax: soprano, alto, tenor, baritone (?)

Material: hard rubber

Chamber: large

Baffle: small

Description: This mouthpiece is very similar to 1). The logo appears with a dotted rather than solid oval, there is no “U.S.A.” in the logo, there is no numeric marking, and it is slightly longer than 1). Similar mouthpieces appeared with an “Eb” (soprano) and “Bb” (tenor) under the logo.

Model: Buescher (3)

Sax: soprano, alto, tenor, baritone (?)

Material: hard rubber

Chamber: large

Baffle: small

Description: This mouthpiece displays a different Buescher logo with no oval and “True-Tone” included. There is also a stamp on the table: “Tru-Lay 55/812 M”. The numbers indicate the tip opening (.055”) and facing length (.812”), and the M summarizes this as a medium lay. According to Paul Lindemeyer writing in the Sax on the Web forum, there were 7 different possible letters denoting different lays: M, SC (short closed), SM (short medium), SO (short open), LC (long closed), LM (long medium), and LO (long open). Letters other than M appear to be quite uncommon, so much so that the numeric tip openings and facing lengths associated with each appear not to be generally known. One interesting physical trait of this mouthpiece is the large amount of material in the floor, much more than 1) or 2).

Model: Buescher (4)

Sax: soprano, alto, tenor, baritone (?)

Material: hard rubber

Chamber: large

Baffle: small

Description: This is similar to 3), with the same “Buescher True-Tone” logo but no marking on the table. The tip rails are much narrower, the window is longer, and the amount of material in the floor is much less than 1) or 2). It is not known if one or more of these differences are due to alterations of the original mouthpiece.

Model: Buescher (5)

Sax: soprano, alto, tenor, baritone (?)

Material: hard rubber

Chamber: large

Baffle: small

Description: This has the “Buescher True-Tone” logo with an “Aristocrat 62/937 LO” stamped on the table. This must have shipped with one of the various Aristocrat model saxophones that Buescher produced starting in 1935. It is not known whether the 62/937 tip/length measurements associated with the LO lettering are the same as appeared with the Tru-Lay LO models. The baffle area on this example shows file marks; it is possible that this originally had a slightly raised baffle to add a little projection to the tone.

Model: Buescher (6)

Sax: soprano, alto, tenor, baritone (?)

Material: hard rubber

Chamber: large

Baffle: small

Description: This model has the “Buescher True-Tone” logo on top of the mouthpiece and “Buescher 400” on the table. This model likely came with the earliest Buescher 400 instruments. The mouthpiece has a slight rollover baffle.

Model: Buescher (7)

Sax: soprano, alto, tenor, baritone (?)

Material: hard rubber

Chamber: large

Baffle: small

Description: This white plastic mouthpiece has the “Buescher True-Tone” logo and no other markings. It is much more common than 6) and is thought to have been sold with later Buescher 400 saxophones and possibly later Aristocrat models as well. The design is completely different from the traditional Buescher mouthpieces, with straight sidewalls and a U-shaped throat. The material is of poorer quality and so is the construction: in this example, the throat has a very large, obvious asymmetry.

Model: Buescher (8)

Sax: soprano, alto, tenor, baritone (?)

Material: hard rubber

Chamber: large

Baffle: small

Description: This mouthpiece includes both Sigurd Rascher and Buescher logos. By the 1950s Buescher had stopped producing the traditional barrel-chambered mouthpieces in favor of 7), and concert saxophonist Rascher approached the company about re-introducing the traditional Buescher model. This mouthpiece was the result. Later on, probably after Selmer acquired Buescher, these “Rascher mouthpieces” began appearing without the Buescher logo and have remained available in this form through the present.

Model: Buescher (9)

Sax: soprano, alto, tenor, baritone (?)

Material: hard rubber

Chamber: large

Baffle: small

Description: This high quality hard rubber mouthpiece has the Buescher logo as its only marking. The chamber is round but somewhat smaller than the traditional model and there is a slight rollover baffle. The same blank was used for mouthpieces such as the Conavey-McCoy Masterlay, Selmer Elkhart New York, and Geo M. Bundy (though there is a different vintage Geo. M. Bundy model with straight sidewalls that is much more common). Babbitt probably made this blank. A very model with a slightly smaller chamber and a silk-screened “Geo. M. Bundy” logo is still available today.

A rare but important model is missing from the above list but should be mentioned. It is the variant of the Buescher mouthpiece actually played by Sigurd Rascher through almost all of his long concert career. Details of this model are not widely known. It reportedly shipped with New Aristocrat saxophones for a short period of that instrument’s production. While the design must be similar to the traditional Buescher mouthpiece, some have said that the blank is much larger in circumference. Others have suggested that this model has only the “Buescher True-Tone” logo and no other markings, such as 4), though 4) has the same circumference as the other models here.

The “classic” model is commonly seen with no markings at all, or with just a numeric marking such as 2 next to the table. Perhaps these were sold with Buescher stencils, which could explain the absence of any Buescher logo.

At least two examples of the traditional style mouthpieces were made of ivory. Buescher made these two for Sigurd Rascher. We are not aware that he actually used them for performances. They are on display at the Rascher Archive at the State University of New York at Fredonia.