And I don’t believe that’s a fair representation of this saxophone. My primary reason for putting this review: the number one search result for “Dave Guardala Earth Tone Tenor” is a review that trashes the horn. At any rate, he’s a strange and interesting fellow.
It’s tough to tell what’s true and what isn’t most of what you can find online seems to be hearsay. I’ve read rumors that he defrauded people out of over $2 million. In September of 2009, Guardala was sentenced to 48 months.* I’ve heard from a trusted repair tech that he never traveled without a large mafioso-type entourage. He evaded the law for a while, but was eventually apprehended with the help of some embittered musicians. He set up relationships with vendors, distributors, and several producers, demanding large cash advances for contracts with him. A few years later, he returned, telling everyone that he was going back into business. After that, he was officially out of business, including both saxophone and mouthpiece production. That production ran for a few years, but Guardala ended up abandoning that, claiming B&S wanted to steal his proprietary technology. Near the turn of the 21st century, Guardala started making his own saxophones. Guardala remained the most sought-after maker of jazz mouthpieces through the 80’s and 90’s. They cost $400+ back in a day when the average cost would’ve been $50 (or $100 max). They were the best mouthpieces on the market, and also expensive. He got big/famous in the 70’s designing mouthpieces for Michael Brecker, Tom Scott and other big names. He’s the original custom mouthpiece maker.
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