The Guardala MBII is a high-baffle mouthpiece with a medium-small, slightly convex chamber. As such, it is a very versatile mouthpiece that tonally ranges from warm to bright, while always retaining a highly focused character. The craftsmanship is impeccable. The rails are very thin and cut to perfection and the baffle is the smoothest step baffle I have ever seen on any mouthpiece. A beautiful gold-plated finish provides great durability and arguably a touch of warmth to the tone. And to seal the deal, it ships in a stylish leather bag.
A mouthpiece of this caliber must be approached with a confident tone concept in mind, since it is not a particularly forgiving mouthpiece. However the effort pays of again and again. The 114 tip opening is very manageable and feels optimized for the baffle.
General perception is often that this is a very bright type of mouthpiece. Sound-wise, it certainly sits on the brighter end of the spectrum, however with control over the air stream, the mouthpiece can indeed sound very warm; definitely enough so to project a great sound for mainstream jazz albeit with a more contemporary edge. Unlike some other high-baffle mouthpieces, the tone never becomes thin. The tone is strong throughout all registers at all dynamics.
Personally I use this mouthpiece for commercial work where tunes for an evening might range from a quiet cocktail set to loud, uptempo music. The MBII always allows me to coax the desired tone for the situation.
The supplied ligature is very well made. I did find that it can potentially dampen the tone, which could at times be quite useful for a slightly mellower sound. Usually though, I use a Marc Jean ligature with the MBII.
