[daryans]

Hello. I was wondering if any of you can help guide me in the right direction for choosing a new piece. I am a tenor player who has been playing on my Jody Jazz 7* for two years now and I think I am ready for a change. I want to upgrade to something that will better suit my needs. I mainly play straight ahead jazz and currently getting into modal stuff. I should also mention my favorite players are John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, and Micheal Brecker. Those are the guys I try to emulate. I think maybe I need something on the brighter side but can still be dark. Unfortunately I have no way of trying any of these before but here are my options. Let me know what you think is my best option or if you have any other suggestions it would be appreciated. Thanks

Options
Jody Jazz Jet
Jody Jazz GIANT
Ted Klum Florida Model
Mouthpiece Cafe House Blend

 

[sopsax]

Look into 10Mfan's tenor mouthpieces.

 

[MLucky]

Do you know Steve Neff's website? Steve has done dozens and dozens of mouthpiece reviews, most of them with a detailed description of the piece and sound samples. Obviously, it's much better to be able to try them out for yourself, but this is a great resource that could help point you in the right direction: http://www.neffmusic.com/blog/mouthpiece-review-list/

 

[daryans]

Look into 10Mfan's tenor mouthpieces.

Just looked into them. They look pretty good. Which model would you recommend? thanks

 

[HeavyWeather77]

Hey @daryans I think we have very, very similar taste in players and approaches. You basically listed all my favorite tenor players in one swoop. I've been very happy with my Matt Marantz rubber piece, and before that I was using an Eric Falcon-finished Bob Sheppard model (currently on a 7**, formerly on an 8). Both are great. If you can find a Sheppard used, you'll probably like it a lot after getting used to it. You won't be able to get a new one, unfortunately, since Macsax just makes blanks now as far as I know. (I use Rigotti Gold #4 light reeds, for what it's worth.) Here are a couple examples of me on the Sheppards.

https://youtu.be/iyhIJdAGOOQ
https://youtu.be/SI8VxNDZDrY

In general, though, a Link-style piece is going to give you the best slate to start from in order to work toward the sounds you like. There are tons of good ones out there. I've heard great things about the 10M Fan pieces (a student of mine plays on one and sounds great -- just ask Mark which piece is closest to your vibe), and the Mouthpiece Cafe Slant Supremes are supposed to be good. I'm a huge fan of Matt Marantz's work and he'd be able to get you something fantastic in that realm if you have the budget for it. He's an excellent player, too, and his sound concept is similar to your taste.

You'll find that a proper large-chamber Link-style piece will take some getting used to coming from a Jody HR, whose chamber is smaller. It'll take more air and it'll be a couple weeks before it starts to feel comfortable. But when you get used to the bigger chamber, you'll find your sound opening up and becoming more versatile. That was my experience, at least!

 

[Vanadiel]

Hi Daryans

I see we meet again as in reddit, and it's a nice confirmation to reed that I'm not the only one to suggest you a 10mfan mouthpiece ! Contrary to reddit Mark is very active here, so don't hesitate to invite him to jump in here to help you, he is always very open to discussion and gives advices.