Well, no-one saw this coming, even those of us tight with Backun Musical Services and the family. A closely held secret of two years of development with a saxophone icon, Timothy McAllister. The same legendary craftsmanship and acoustic research has gone into this as everything BMS has ever done, and there is a new star in the saxophone mouthpiece firmament. I received a TM1 and TM2 last night from Jeremy Backun and spent this morning with them.

I put them up against five favourites from my collection of over four dozen excellent mouthpieces and they held their own beautifully. The TM1 is great, but not in my sweet spot for tip openings. The TM2 made one of my previous top favourites sound absolutely dull, and it competed solidly with the remainder. At that point, it becomes a matter of personal choice for all of us, right?

It is right in the ballpark…luminous, rich, centred, warm, with a hint of grain. The intonation, response and articulation are just fantastic, as are the projection and clarity. It is priced competitively…a great value for a top contender. No saxophonist should be without one. Period. I await the Soprano, Tenor and Baritone siblings eagerly!