Refacing Testimonials
"Norbert has worked on my alto (Berg rubber), tenor ( metal Brecker Guardala) and bari (Berg rubber) mouthpieces. His meticulous attention to detail, allowed him to restore my bari and tenor pieces, which had been worn thru use. He was able to copy a Frank Wells alto piece, which I liked, from it's facing and reproduce it on the one I currently use. I also had him make copies of my bari mouthpiece for backup. The work he has done for me is always is of the highest quality. Thank you Norbert."
— Johnnie Bamont, San Francisco, CA
http://www.eastbaysoul.com
saxophones/flute with
Greg Adams/EastBaySoul
Huey Lewis and The News
"My name is Nelson Rangell. I've been really lucky to have been a professional saxophonist and flutist since graduating college almost 30 years ago. I live in Colorado but travel pretty extensively. My playing circumstances are varied and pretty demanding. I really need to feel confident in the gear I use. I've known Norbert Statchel a long time both as a excellent person and as an incredible woodwind player. As a musician he has tremendous and clear insight. One area he especially excels in is lending his talents and immense knowledge to aid other woodwind players in areas of gear, specifically the expert tailoring of mouthpieces to aid in any player's unique sound quest and challenges, and generally towards making any mouthpiece play absolutely up to its greatest potential. Because Norbert is a great player he is uniquely qualified and sensitive to the players needs and how to best help obtain some of those goals. He cares, and I can't say enough about that quality in a person. Over many years I have given Norbert many mouthpieces to re surface and submitting varied requests of him about ways to hopefully improve the capabilities of the different pieces from hard rubber to stainless steel. Those pieces have always returned to me with results that I really delighted in, surpassing my expectations. Older/vintage mouthpieces very often have tremendous qualities and capabilities that with a personalized re facing job by Norbert come to life enormously! I have been very satisfied with all the work Norbert has done for me over many years and recommend him to everyone."
— Nelson Rangell, Colorado
"Norbert Stachel has refaced three alto mouthpieces for me - two short shank Selmers and a slant Link - and he did a great job on each! I selected him for this work due to recommendations that his finished work was ballsy, but mostly because he is a fantastic saxophonist. I listened to cuts on his web site to make sure we were in the same stylist zone and I really liked his alto playing. I've stayed with one of the Soloists, a D opened up just a little. Brief forays to a RAC NY USA Meyer, but usually right back to the Selmer! He was good to work with, patient and made some helpful suggestions. His turnaround time was excellent. He also uses many more measurement points on the facing curve than is customary, so his work is very precise. All this...plus he played in Tower of Power and impressively, bass sax in Freddie Hubbard's last group - not too shabby! Recommend to all."
— Will Zwink, Upstate NY
"I have had many clarinet and saxophone mouthpieces worked on by Norbert which mainly entailed balancing facings and baffle work. The materials range from hard rubber to metal to composite materials. He has always consulted with me as to the possibilities for each piece. I have been very happy with the results which are always completed in a timely manner and are fairly priced. I look forward to working with him in the future. Thanks Norbert."
— Frank Doblekar, Kingston, NY
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"Norbert took the time to sit down and work with me until we came up with the best facing that suited my playing characteristics. His craftmanship and knowledge of refacing made it easy for me to find what I wanted in a personal saxophone sound."
— Carl Cox
"I really can't play a stock mouthpiece anymore. Norbert's work is fantastic. He made me a piece from scratch. I love it it is big sounding and easy to play. It's bright yet the low register resonates beautifully. He has also refaced other pieces i have. Love them all. Have no desire to play a factory piece anymore."
— Joe Ramagano, Landenberg, PA
"Brought some Meyer mpc's to Norbert One mpc I had been playing on for quite some time and a similar Meyer that had been started on by John Van Wee? before he passed and never finished the idea was to duplicated the Mpc I was using and correct some warping that had occurred on the older mpc and with the newer mpc have a corrected duplicate. That Norbert did and then some....he was so successful that he surpassed not only my expectations but also produced a mpc that was far more responsive and vibrant then the original in it's best day. By the way the original was worked on by a well know Mouthpiece maker.............In passing I mentioned to Norbert that I had a mid-sixties NY Meyer baritone that another well known mpc maker had worked on to no avail. Norbert encouraged me to bring it around not only did he get it to work but he surpased anything he did for me previously.........I now use that mpc exclusively. What i like about it is that in a section the mpc blends very easily with the other saxophones and horns...........yet when I need to step up and blow a chorus the mpc cuts and has a presence and edge that you might not think it would have based on how well it sounds in the section I guess you could say it has a bite when you need it and also a round ness when that's necessary also. To me to know how to get that out of a mpc is a kind of genius that not everyone who works on mpc has I can't say enough about Norbert. Thanks again Norbert."
— Lou Caputo, NYC
LouCaputo.com
"Norbert Stachel refaced 4 Florida Tenor brass Links for me around 10 years ago. Norberts work is incredibly good, because of his ability as a player he was able to figure out what I needed in a mouthpiece and reface 4 pieces for me that all played extremely well. Specifically Norbert refaced my Link's to a 4* facing. Norbert later refaced a N.Y ToneMaster (circa 1940s) to the same facing as my other pieces. The detail of Norberts work is superb, all of the pieces play and sound great."
— Louis Aissen, Port Townsend, WA
"Norbert adjusted an old Florida Link I had and made it come to life! It was unplayable before he got it and it's now the metal Otto Link I always go to! He is in a league of his own when it comes to the playing and refacing mouthpieces. Why? Because unlike many mouthpiece refacers he can play the horn in a variety of styles at a world class level and knows what each mouthpiece can do with the correct air stream."
— Xavier Perez, New York, NY
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