To reface or not to reface; that is the question . . .

I am but once again inundated with many enquiries from prospective Zagar buyers who are unsure whether they should be purchasing a refaced second-hand Zagar mouthpiece. My question is why was the particular Zagar mouthpiece refaced? This is the pertinent question (or perhaps the 'poignant' question).

When our Zagar mouthpiece products leave our factory, each and every mouthpiece receives the absolute best facing that matches both the acoustical chamber configuration, as well as matching the Internal Resonance Coefficient (IRC) of the particular mouthpiece material. Another very important parameter in this whole 'acoustic' equation is the Total Body Mass (TBM) of the mouthpiece. TBM has a direct correlation to the (IRC) of the particular mouthpiece - removing material will 'weaken' or reduce the overall response and projection of the affected mouthpiece. It could be said that Zagar mouthpieces are 'non-reverse' engineerable insofar as removal of material will only weaken (or perhaps destroy) a fully functional mouthpiece product.

In a previous News article, I posed a significant question, 'why don't refacers add material?’ It really amazes me that some very good people can make some very bad decisions when it comes down to their valuable mouthpiece purchase/investment. If you are absolutely convinced that a prospective refacer can improve your mouthpiece (and of course you have given the refacer this benefit of the doubt), then ask this same refacer to add material (whether it be treated as a temporary 'build', or a permanent modification), but be sure that this material can also be removed with solvents (in the highly likely event that you have not improved the configuration). Under no circumstances should you remove this 'build' with abrasives since any cutting or polishing of the original 'tamper-evident' surface effectively reduces the response and projection of the mouthpiece (see above).

It is imperative to understand that every Zagar mouthpiece has been individually adjusted to milli-micro meter (nM) tolerances over its entire three dimensional internal/external surface contouring. This monumental process cannot be done by hand alone, and is a by-product of super-precision numerical grinding machines that can grind to extremelly fine tolerances. Each individual mouthpiece is then also checked with a laboratory 'straight edge' to ensure that the table is absolutely flat! (This is without question!)

By all means experiment with your Zagar mouthpiece and if you really feel the need to do so, place a ‘temporary’ build that can be easily removed; however, make sure that you can actually remove this once you have discovered that this did not improve the configuration.

Remember: If you desire an improved and/or different mouthpiece, then you should consider exploring our 'Upgrade' and/or trade-in options.You can 'Upgrade' your existing bronze mouthpiece, or perhaps consider one of our used Upgraded trade-ins? Or you may want to trade-up to one of our latest Vibralloy™ mouthpiece products? 

With all these trade-up/Upgrade options, Zagarsax can send out your new mouthpiece (see: Trial Products) and then you can perform a direct comparison with your older setup. (In which other way can anyone really determine whether there has been any improvement in models, designs, facings etc?).

I hope that the above proves to be interesting reading, and remember: It's best to err on the side of caution: If you are absolutely 'hell-bent' in trying out refacing, add a temporary build - never remove any material. In this way you can experiment and see whether you can actually improve your mouthpiece (just in case you simply don't believe that we have already done the best possible job!).

In the longer term you are protecting your valuable mouthpiece investment, and we pay top dollar for trade-ins that are in original condition!

Happy experimenting, and please Contact Us if you would like further information on this and other assorted technical subjects.  DZ