We've spent the last few months telling the story of Syos one year at a time, from a Paris research lab in 2016 to national television, world tours, legendary artists and everything in between. This is the last instalment, and the strangest one to write, because it isn't finished yet!
Syos turns 10 this year. Here's what the tenth one has looked like so far.
Lots of travel
JEN, New Orleans
The year opened in New Orleans for the Jazz Education Network conference, 7 to 10 January. There is no better place to start a tenth anniversary year than the city jazz came from, and no better room than one full of the educators who put an instrument in a kid's hands for the first time.
akustika, Nuremberg
From 24 to 26 April we were at Messe Nürnberg for akustika, the German trade fair for music. Germany has been part of the Syos map for a long time, but this was a proper introduction. Three days of instrument makers, players and shops, and a lot of people trying a Syos mouthpiece for the first time.
We can't forget Berlin, and Rome!
New translations
For ten years, a large part of the world has been reading about Syos in their second or third language. This year we fixed that: the site is now available in Spanish, Italian and German alongside English and French.
The Titanium Tenor Mouthpiece: In A SentiMETAL Mood
This year we made the first 3D printed titanium mouthpiece by Syos, using Laser Metal Fusion, an advanced metal 3D printing technology. Perfect consistency, power and ease of play. Each one is laser engraved and finished with a silky matte surface, and it is sold with its ligature and cap.
Only 100 pieces were crafted. We called it In a SentiMETAL Mood as a tribute to one of the most beautiful jazz pieces ever written, In a Sentimental Mood.
New signatures
We added signature mouthpieces for Saxl Rose and Gabi Rose this year.
Saxl Rose – Saxl Rose, or Antonio Hancock, has recorded with Wiz Khalifa, Chris Brown, Paramore, Jojo and Neck Deep, closed a UK arena run at Wembley, played NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly, and gone viral with a cow concert. His signature tenor has a fairly high step baffle and a medium chamber, built for power without sacrificing balance. "This mouthpiece was built for players who need one sound that can do it all," he says. "It delivers a rich, warm low register with clarity and control, paired with a powerful high register that opens up effortlessly when you lean in."
Gabi Rose – From world tours with the Jonas Brothers to a Billboard number one rock single, Gabi Rose has built a sound to be reckoned with. Her signature alto has a step baffle and a small chamber, which makes it the brightest and most powerful alto mouthpiece we have ever made. If you are looking for a screamer, this is the one. "Beautiful resonance, incredible flexibility, and the punch I need on any stage."
Two things we can't tell you about
There are also two research projects running this year that are still a secret… But don't worry, you will know more about at least one of them soon 🙂
What we can say is that both of them come from the same place everything else here does: a lab, a question about sound nobody had properly answered, and a stubborn refusal to accept that "that's just how it is".
And we're not done
Two major launches are coming before the year is out.
At the end of September we move into new offices. Every previous move has marked a step change in what we were able to make, from Le CENTQUATRE-PARIS in 2016 to the new factory in 2021, and this one is no exception.
We're preparing the launch of a completely new product. Not a new model. A new product. That's already too much we've said!
Ten years
Ten years ago Syos was a PhD, a 3D printer and a conviction that players deserved better than choosing from a shelf of shapes someone settled on decades ago.
What's happened since didn't happen because we're clever. It happened because thousands of players were willing to try something that looked nothing like what they'd played their whole lives, and then tell someone else about it. Thank you for your support, your love and your open-mindedness.
Here's to the next ten.
👉 Want the whole story? Start from 2016.
