Hard Rubber Models

Step One – Molded at Babbitt
These new hard rubber start their production at Babbitt using their traditional molding technique, original molds and their proprietary hard rubber formulation. This effectively creates a “mouthpiece blank” that is then sent to Theo Wanne.

Step Two – Perfected by Theo Wanne
At Theo’s facility in Washington, the rubber blanks are finished on Theo’s high end CNC machines where all of the fine details of the mouthpiece will be carved to perfection. This includes:

• Tip opening
• Side rails
• Baffle
• Reed window
• Table

Step Three – Finishing at Babbitt
These machine finished blanks then go back to Babbitt where the final buffing and finishing is completed. The Babbitt team working on these mouthpieces has been trained by Theo and his team for a new exacting standard of finishing. This retains the traditional look combined with the perfection of the new manufacturing process.

This combination will give players the sound they want with the reliability and consistency that can only be produced by Theo Wanne! This consistency will allow players to no longer have to test through large selections of mouthpieces to find “the right one” – instead they will ALL be that great mouthpiece right out of the box!

Metal Models

Step One – Machined at Wanne
The metal models all start off as one piece bar stock brass – the same “Bell Metal Brass” that has always been used on Links. Historically, metal Links were made with 2 piece molded halves that were then brazed together. This lead to inconsistencies in the blank that could not be prevented. So by moving to a fully machined mouthpiece out of solid bar stock, these imperfections are eliminated. The mouthpiece is fully machined at Theo’s facility which includes machining the following elements:

• Tip opening
• Side rails
• Baffle
• Reed window
• Chamber
• Table

Step Two – Finishing at Babbitt
These machine mouthpieces then go back to Babbitt where the final buffing and finishing (cleanup of machining elements as well as transitionary areas such as the table floor) is completed. The Babbitt team working on these mouthpieces has been trained by Theo and his team for a new exacting standard of finishing.

All plating is then done by Babbitt. With the gold plated Otto Link models, the mouthpiece first is Rhodium plated before it is Gold Plated. This retains the traditional look combined with the perfection of the new manufacturing process.