Geoff Lawton: Mouthpiece Maker

Geoffrey (Geoff) Roy Lawton was born in the South of Manchester on 4th September 1928. He trained to be an engineering toolmaker and started playing the saxophone at the age of 15. He played saxophone semi-professionally in the Macclesfield area from about 1950. In his own words, Geoff used his tool room skills and “because the mouthpiece I was playing at the time wasn’t very good, I sort of made one and it worked well. Then friends wanted them and then bands in the Manchester area and the London area and it sort of developed like that.”

Geoff worked as a development engineer for the Friedland Bell Company in Stockport, experimented with existing mouthpieces and in the early 1960s started making “Lawton-Barton” metal mouthpieces in collaboration with Dennis Barton. The mouthpieces were made in Geoff’s garden shed at 11, Palmerston Road, Macclesfield, Cheshire.

Following the death of Dennis Barton, the brand changed from Lawton-Barton to Lawton in 1965 and the mouthpiece design was updated. Geoff continued to work part-time for Friedlands on a consultative basis, whilst devoting the rest of his time to the mouthpiece business. Baritone was the first size to be offered by Lawton in October 1965, with the tenor following in April 1966, alto in July 1967 and finally soprano in September 1978.

Geoff spent a lot of time trying new ideas for mouthpieces, using different materials, experimenting with different shapes of chamber and throat, various baffle designs and a range of facing curves and tip sizes. Many of these experimental prototypes were never sold publicly.

As demand for Lawton mouthpieces increased, the business developed into a full-time occupation. This led to a move in 1977 to a custom-designed house (44 Birtles Road, Macclesfield) that incorporated the workshop Geoff used for the rest of his life.

Geoff subcontracted the manufacture of his reed guards to a fellow musician and former Friedlands colleague and also employed his son Jason for initial machining, polishing and plating, whilst he himself was responsible for the final finishing and all of the marketing. Until the early 1980s Lawton mouthpieces were sold directly to customers and later also through retailers in the UK and beyond. Advertised retail prices for Lawton mouthpieces over the years are recorded here.

Geoff Lawton died on 28th October 2003. Since that time his son Jason has continued making and selling Lawton mouthpieces of his father’s design, concentrating on the main models and materials.