Metal Gaia from all side |
The feeling of blowing through the mouthpiece is very comfortable. There isn't too much or too little resistance. You can easily push the mouthpiece to its limit without fear of losing control or feeling uncomfortable. There is, however a variation in the resistance. There is something unique about the resistance in the Gaia, the difference being that a more traditional mouthpiece feels like it takes or accepts more air, however you can push the Gaia as hard as you'd like without any problems.
In terms of control the mouthpiece leaves little to be desired. The dynamics, articulation, and register changes all responded smoothly and very quickly as you'd expect from a high quality hand finished mouthpiece.
Here are some clips from my play test session:
Ben Plays Giant Steps on Metal Gaia.mp3
Ben Plays on Metal Gaia.mp3
Conclusion: This is a flexible mouthpiece with a powerful and colorful tone leaning slightly towards the bright side of the spectrum. It feels great and unique to play and has no glaring flaws.
Hard Rubber Gaia
3D right? |
Playing the piece does feel somewhat different however. The hard rubber Gaia feels a little more resistant than I'm used to. That resistance is even throughout all registers of the horn though. I wouldn't say the resistance is too much but it is apparent.
The control of this mouthpiece, like its metal counterpart, is flawless. There are absolutely no road blocks in terms of articulation, changes in dynamics, changes between register, and changing between full tone and subtone.
Here are some clips from my play test session:
Ben Plays Giant Steps on Hard Rubber Gaia.mp3
Ben Plays on Hard Rubber Gaia.mp3
Conclusion: The hard rubber Gaia has flexibility, punch, vibrance, and a nice mix of highs and lows in the tone. The mouthpiece is slightly more resistant compared to its metal counterpart, but it has great control and feels good otherwise.