Ryo Magoewaki is a saxophonist, teacher, and YouTuber based in Tokyo, with over 40,000 subscribers. In his most recent video, he sits down with four Syos mouthpieces and tells us exactly what he thinks of each one. The video is automatically dubbed in English, easy to follow, and fun to watch even if you've never picked up a horn in your life.
Before we get to the playing, we have to talk about the look. Ryo pairs his red Syos mouthpieces with a green ligature, and the whole thing comes together with full Christmas aesthetic (we’re not mad about it!). Later in the video, he swaps to his orange Scott Paddock signature mouthpiece with a white ligature. The combination reminds us, immediately and unavoidably, of an orange creamsicle. Delicious. We'd consider running it as a flavor. He works through tone, response, and feel across all four mouthpieces, personalities on full display.
We won't spoil the whole video, since it's worth watching from start to finish, but (spoiler art) here's the gist: Easy to play, interesting and absolutely worth trying for yourself.
Actually, we’ll spoil a little more. In the video, Ryo runs through the Alto Steady with a 5 tip opening, an Alto Spark 6, Tenor Spark 8 and the Scott Paddock Signature Tenor 8. He finds them all incredibly easy to play, and digs into the tonal features that make each piece distinct. For instance, Ryo is excited about how “extremely bright” the Tenor Spark 8 is, and equally enthusiastic about how the low notes don’t get thin. The Scott Paddock Signature shares a lot with the Tenor Spark, including the brighter aim, but Ryo finds it "a little darker" and more "subdued" by comparison. The Steady Alto 5 is “balanced”, and the subtones are lauded. The Spark Alto 6 possesses “a certain thickness”. Some traits overlap, but others stand apart and Ryo catches them all thoughtfully and delightfully.
Toward the end, Ryo notes that Syos is run by "French scientists," and it's true. Our team started in an acoustics lab, and we conducted real research to design mouthpieces with acoustic precision, and still approach mouthpiece design like a research problem to this day.
If Ryo's review has you curious about how a Syos mouthpiece might sound in your own hands, there's a whole catalog waiting.
👉 Explore the full Syos catalog
