This is one of those types of work that not many people know we do for saxophone mouthpieces.

This is actually a Guadala mouthpiece from Noel’s own collection. The bite plate on the mouthpiece is not in very good shape, and the whole piece is looking a bit shabby.

The first thing to do is to remove the bite-plate and clean up the mouthpiece for plating. Notice the engraving under the bite-plate. Replating the mouthpiece was on the cards, but could actually devalue the mouthpiece as it would no longer be in its original state. Also, the added thickness of the plating could impair or alter the playability of the piece.

The alternative is to patch-plate the areas where plating has worn through. This would keep the original dimensions of the mouthpiece intact, and give the visual appeal of the mouthpiece a new lease on life.

In the end, Noel decided to forego plating altogether, for now. It’s always an option that can be taken up later on.

…and the end result! Noel has manufactured a new bite-plate and polished the mouthpiece to bring it up as good as new.