Drake Ceramic "Double Ring" Jazz Alto Mouthpiece Reviews 2009

So, Aaron's been kind enough to let me play around with his ceramic "double-ring" alto piece for the last week or so. This is a bit of a novel experience for me, since my search for an alto piece ended several years ago when I bought a Ted Klum Meyer replica at .072" that I love. Aaron's piece proved to be a bit more open, but it was still very responsive and played great with a slightly softer reed.

I found the Drake piece to play like a somewhat bright Meyer. It's not as bombastically strident as a Dukoff or Lakey, but it's certainly not in the running for laid-back mouthpiece of the year. It does nicely for soft playing, but I think it's at its best letting it all hang out, either as a lead alto piece, or for rock/pop/fusion/smooth-jazz type playing. I'd say it may lack the versatility of my regular piece, except that I'd also assume that has more to do with my 7 years' experience on my regular piece, versus a couple of days on this Drake piece.

It's a fine looking and sounding piece, and I've recorded a couple tracks for this review: one on my regular piece, one on the Drake. Forgive the sloppiness of letting the click track bleed into the mic: I didn't have a lot of time, so I just let it play through the speakers.

This is the Aaron Drake mouthpiece.
This is the Ted Klum.

The Drake was easier to play, though I'm more comfortable on the TK. The reason is that I've been using Marca 2.5 reeds for the last couple of months since I've been unable to get my hands on my usual Marca 3 reeds. I just got 7 boxes of 3s, and I was playing them for 2 days when I recorded that track. man, those things feel like wooden planks when you're used to the 2.5s! 2.5s don't have the same thickness, though... Anyway, even today, I sound better than I did there. I can't even get the Drake to play really at all on a 3, so I used the 2.5 for that one, which, BTW I recorded minutes before posting it.

The TK has more thickness now than it did. You can check my myspace page for other recordings when I had my setup working properly. I wanted to make sure I put the Drake in the best light that I could because it's the only time anyone will hear me play it!

Edit: Now that I've checked again, by the middle of the Klum clip (say that 5 times fast), I've settled in a bit, and I think it sounds subtly different from, but every bit as bright as the Drake. Weird. Try cuing up the Ted Klum clip to 2:45 and letting it play for 10 or 15 seconds, then switching between the tracks. See what I mean?

Review: Drake "Double Ring" Jazz Alto Mouthpiece

I play Meyers these days. I have played/owned NY Cafe 6, Stock Meyers, RPC 90R, Limited Edition Meyer, Tenney Meyer 6 to name a few. I currently play a Phil-Tone Meyer 7 (.080) and haven't found anything that beats it for about 2 years. I reviewed the Drake with La Voz M and Java 2.5 with a selmer 2 screw lig on my 1956 The Martin Alto.

Aaron Drake sent a 5 and 6. The 5 was too small for me so I will be talking about the 6 here. The piece sounds like a Meyer without as much cut in the low end. (That may be my Martin though) I really like it. Intonation, eveness of timbre throughout the range, resistance are all exceptional. At $160 this piece is almost impossible to beat. (Although my Phil-Tone Meyer is similarly priced) It also has that feel that if I "lived" with it, it could be something special. Some pieces have that organic quality that I can't quantify....they sound more "vocal"/flexible in quality where you can add/subtract bright/dark timbre(s) as the performer sees fit. The Drake has this quality. A "blank slate" type of piece (with Meyer tendencies) if you will....I think that with the right reeds this is a very versatile piece.

The work itself, attention to detail, response, and playability are outstanding. I will be ordering one soon. Maybe a 7, but I need to speak with Aaron first. I was skeptical about the ceramic idea, but this thing plays. I think that once people play it they will be surprised....I was.

Love The Drake ....Seinfeld, couldn't help it!

Hey Everyone,
I had been thinking about getting a new mouthpiece to replace the standard piece which came with my sax. Was leaning towards JodyJazz HR until hearing the clips and reading the reviews posted here. Many thanks.

Ordered a #5 and #6 to test over the weekend. Like everyone has said, WOW. Intonation is spot on. Between the two one played instantly for me with no learning curve where as the other required a lot more work. I kept the easy playing piece as moving from a Yamaha 4c was enough of a jump in tip opening for years to come.

I am using a Rovner Star Series lig and Vandoren Traditional 2 1/2 reed. Now the low notes E1 and below are very easy to hit and playing up to E3 is not a problem. Both were difficult with the 4c.

I noticed after playing the mouthpiece gets warm which got me to thinking how thermal dynamics of a mouthpiece effect intonation. My standard piece was all over the place which I now think may have to do with minuet temperature changes causing the ebonite to expand/contract. I'm guessing metal would also have this effect. Ceramic has a definite advantage here.

Thanks Aaron for a truly amazing mouthpiece!