Meyer Rubber vs. JodyJazz HR*/Morgan Jazz

14971 Views 24 Replies 14 Participants Last post by dave2sax, Apr 1, 2008

saxdude48

Discussion Starter · May 31, 2007 (Edited)

Jody describes his HR* as based off of a meyer, and I’ve also heard the Morgan Jazz as being based off the meyer. What exactly are the difference between a meyer and these 2 mouthpieces? I did a search, but just came up with loads of people saying the JJ and the Morgan were awesome mouthpieces. I love my meyer, but wish it had a little more oomph to it. Would either the JJ HR* or the Morgan Jazz give me that added dimension to my sound? How else do the morgan and the JJ differ from the meyer, as many people say they are almost the same basic constuction. Would it be a waste of money to upgrade my meyer to one of these 2 mouthpieces?
I know the best answer to my question is probably to go and TRY the two mouthpieces myself, but unfortunately I don’t live anywhere near a good music store so any help would greatly be appreciated.
Also some clarifying comments/questions. Would I be correct in saying that both the HR* and the Morgan Jazz have medium-small chambers, medium-low roll over baffles, and medium facing lengths?
Thanks in advance,
-Benji

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Swingin' Cat

· #2 · May 31, 2007

The main differences will be the quality of the rubber (Jody and Ralph import theirs from Germany), and the quality of the hand-finishing of the facing (Jody's will likely be better finished than the Meyer, and Ralph's will likely be the best-finished of all three).

That said, if you're happy with your Meyer, imho you probably wouldn't notice much more "oomph" between them. Nuance, yes; oomph, no.

SAXISMYAXE

· #3 · May 31, 2007

I agree completely with Swingin' Cat's assessment.

Just to clarify Saxdude48:
It's the JJ HR* ALTO that is based on the vintage Meyer only. The JJ HR* TENOR is based on a Vintage Otto Link design. I'm sure you are aware of that, but other readers might not be.

I should mention that Jody stressed to me in a conversation I had with him when the JJ HR* MPs first hit the market that these designs are based on their namesakes, not exact copies. He wanted to produce a mouthpiece that captured many of the vintage mouthpiece's finer points, while combining them with qualities that Jody felt were missing (like Volume and projection).

saxdude48

Discussion Starter · #4 · May 31, 2007

But on Jody's site he says this about the HR*: ". The sound is similar to a Meyer but with a little more projection and brightness".

SAXISMYAXE

· #5 · May 31, 2007

saxdude48 said:
But on Jody's site he says this about the HR*: ". The sound is similar to a Meyer but with a little more projection and brightness".

Isn't that exactly what I just said he said to me in my post?

saxdude48

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jun 1, 2007

Hang on aren't volume and projection the same thing basically?
Yea sorry I heard you saying that the HR* had more projection than the meyer, but in my quote from Jody' site I also included the brightness factor, which I'm more interested in.

Carl H.

· #7 · Jun 1, 2007

saxdude48 said:
Hang on aren't volume and projection the same thing basically?

No.
I view volume as the ability to fill a room with sound, and projection as the ability to cut through a room full of sound. Similar, but not the same.

Lairmon

· #8 · Jun 1, 2007

Jody/Morgan

I have both the Jody Jazz HR (6) and the Morgan 6M for my MKVI alto. When you say the Morgan Jazz model, would that include only the 6L? I did have a Meyer 5 a while back. For me the Meyer was always too quiet, dead and subdued sounding. Tenor is my first horn so this could be a factor in that.

The Jody does seem very similar to the Meyer, but with a bit bigger sound. It plays with less resistance, is more "open" sounding, and has a fairly "dark" sound to it. I like it, but play the Morgan 6M because it has an even more open, powerful sound for me. The Morgan seems a bit brighter than the Jody and more versatile in terms of styles of music. A friend of mine who is a very fine alto player recently switched from his Meyer, which he had been playing for about 30 years, to a Morgan 6M Hard rubber.

Swingin' Cat

· #9 · Jun 1, 2007

Carl H. said:
No.
I view volume as the ability to fill a room with sound, and projection as the ability to cut through a room full of sound. Similar, but not the same.

Well said.

SAXISMYAXE

· #10 · Jun 1, 2007

Lairmon,

I agree with your description of the JJ and Morgan. The JJ HR* is more free blowing to be sure, and the Morgan Jazz is indeed quite a bit brighter overall, although it is a flexible piece in this regard.

saxdude48

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jun 2, 2007

So with brightness the order goes from least to greatest: Meyer, JodyJazz HR*, then Morgan Jazz?

SAXISMYAXE

· #12 · Jun 2, 2007

I would say that about nails it.

saxdude48

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jun 2, 2007

Ok thanks for the help...sorry if I was a bit thick at times.

I can play the sax, but I'm not super up to date with all the techy stuff.
Just one more question though. How much brighter is the Excalibur than the Jazz? Can it still be used to play in regular jazz bands without sticking out too much and such, or is it more of a rock only piece? I've heard people say it compares to the Jumbo Java, is this true?

Lairmon

· #14 · Jun 4, 2007 (Edited)

6E Excalibur

I have a 6E for alto and used it for a few years before switching to the 6M. It is the brightest Morgan. I think it is still flexible and could be used with a jazz/big band setting. I did find it was too bright for me though and discovered I liked the richer, darker sound of the 6M. My brightest setup on alto would have been my Custom Z Silver Plate with that Morgan 6E. I now play a MKVI alto with the Morgan 6M. Definitely richer and darker than the previous setup.
I haven't tried the Vandoren Java on alto so can't comment on that one.

YAY SAXOPHONE

· #15 · Jun 9, 2007

If you want a meyer but with more 'oomph', try a vandoren V16. I used a meyer 6M, noticed the same thing. Switched to a V16 6M and fell in love with it. It has the extra 'oomph' you're looking for. If you do go for one, make sure you try a few different chamber and tip sizes. Vandorens can be somewhat inconsistent.

rini

· #16 · Jun 10, 2007 (Edited)

re: Vandorens and quality, see

www.saxontheweb.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=527571#post527571

coolsax2k7

· #17 · Jun 10, 2007

I have both a Meyer 7M and Morgan Jazz 7M for my Martin alto. The Meyer worked but when I got the Morgan I realized how much worse it really was. Especially in terms of playability. The Morgan responds effortlessly, (but I am still looking for the right reed.)

Upon inspection of the inner cavities of the mouthpieces I noticed the Meyer had more baffle and a smaller chamber, also more outer material on the beak and body in general. They both play pretty well in tune for me, but the Meyer has now been relegated 'backup junk.'

Lairmon said:
I have both the Jody Jazz HR (6) and the Morgan 6M for my MKVI alto. When you say the Morgan Jazz model, would that include only the 6L? I did have a Meyer 5 a while back. For me the Meyer was always too quiet, dead and subdued sounding. Tenor is my first horn so this could be a factor in that.

The Jody does seem very similar to the Meyer, but with a bit bigger sound. It plays with less resistance, is more "open" sounding, and has a fairly "dark" sound to it. I like it, but play the Morgan 6M because it has an even more open, powerful sound for me. The Morgan seems a bit brighter than the Jody and more versatile in terms of styles of music. A friend of mine who is a very fine alto player recently switched from his Meyer, which he had been playing for about 30 years, to a Morgan 6M Hard rubber.

jacobeid

· #18 · Jun 10, 2007

coolsax2k7 said:
The Morgan responds effortlessly, (but I am still looking for the right reed.)

Try Rico Jazz Selects or Vandoren Javas. My morgan works wonderfully with these.

saxxsymbol

· #19 · Jun 10, 2007

the jody jazz classic has more oomph than the hr. it will cut but still has that sweet tonal core. you can add a spoiler for even more cut and edge if that is what you want. i play the jj classic on lead alto. i like it so much i bought one for my tenor and bari too. and less than $ 150.00 and more durable than hard rubber.

CountSpatula

· #20 · Jun 10, 2007

jacobeid have short term memory loss there?

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