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I just received two pieces from popular mouthpiece guys on here: Mojobari and Gwindplayer. They both used a vintage blank and hand-finished them, both have a medium chamber with a roll-over baffle, so I figured I'd pit them up against each other. One is a Mojo Bundy blank and the other is a Gwindplayer Custom blank, each around a 6 tip opening
Initial Reactions:
Mojo Bundy: I knew this piece would play well...Mojo has become rather well known for consistent, quality work. I knew the blank was of good quality, nice rubber smell, no noticeable issues. Excited to play it.
Gwindplayer New York Meyer Copy 6 I had my reservations on this one...I've had several NYMC here by Gwindplayer and none of them played very well. However, Greg reassured me this piece "Would satisfy even the most discriminating player." So I pushed aside all past experiences, and prepared to give this one as good a trial as any mouthpiece.
Winner: Mojo Bundy 6
Appearance:
Mojo Bundy 6 No surprise here...top quality hand craftsmanship. Mojo is the real deal. Tip and rails are phenomenal, the piece could almost pass for original. No uneven-ness, no deep scratches or anything. The piece was smooth and the blank even looked cool.
Gwindplayer NYMC 6 Definitely not what I was hoping for. This looked even worse than the NYMC 5 I reviewed here not too long ago. Rails were wavy, and uneven. The tip rail was horrendous...not symmetrical at all. It was also thicker on one side than the other. You know when you get a mouthpiece refaced it can have that thin tip rail for decent response...well this was slightly thin on the left side..then got thicker as you moved to the right, then slightly thinner again. Definitely not even nor good looking. The baffle work was alright, but still nothing to write home about. Overall, I was very disappointed.
Winner: Mojo Bundy 6
Response: I consider "response" to mean how quickly a mouthpiece responds to your air stream; how easily the extreme ranges of the horn speak; and how fast the articulation can be on that particular mouthpiece.
Mojo Bundy 6: This mouthpiece speaks easy, quite free blowing but with a teeny bit of something to push up against. I really enjoyed it, it blew free throughout all the registers. Lower register was just a TEENY bit more resistant...but almost not noticeable when you're just blowing through the horn. The one reservation I had was the altissimo register...not very easy for you up there. My normal breath control and throat positions didn't seem to work...I tried altering them slightly but I still couldn't really get the range to speak.
Gwindplayer NYMC 6 : Thank god...the piece plays. I wasn't sure with how it looked, but the response wasn't terrible at all. In the middle registers it felt really good, the piece blew fairly open with not alot of resistance. The trouble came when you moved throughout the horn. The lower register was alright but didn't speak as well as the mid-range...and the upper register suffered terribly. The palm keys were quiet and stuffy sounding, and altissimo was non-existent. Middle register, good. Lower register, ok. Upper register, bad.
Winner: Mojo Bundy 6
Tone: I consider "tone" to be descriptive of the sound the mouthpiece gives to the player. Terms such as: bright, dark, full, thin, big, small, etc etc can be used to describe tone. Since it is such a controversial and individual topic, I will focus on things that other players will most likely encounter when comparing these pieces.
Mojo Bundy 6: You ever just love when you can put on a piece, and just immediately start jamming without having to worry about anything? When the mouthpiece will just give you a good sound and the tone will vary with whatever you put into it? That's what this mouthpiece did. I couldn't really find a single way to describe the tone...because it was giving me whatever I wanted. If I wanted a brighter, funkier sound...it was there. A darker, traditional jazz approach...done. A floating west coast voice...no problem. VERY impressed with the range of voices I could get on this piece. With just my regular sound going on, the piece had a big, full sound. There was some warmth in there and plenty of edge if I needed it. I vary with the "edge" I use...I pick my battles, so to speak. And this piece was right with me. An absolute joy to play.
Gwindplayer NYMC 6: Surprisingly very good! When it was responding well (i.e. middle register) the piece had a pretty good sound. It had a presence to it, not necessarily a big sound...but broad. It had depth too, there was color and warmth. Unfortunately, the response problems limited the mouthpieces capabilities. I couldn't REALLY put air into this mouthpiece...even at the middle register, but thats ok, some people don't want to do that. It was a shame it didn't have a solid response...
Winner: Mojo Bundy 6
Dynamics/Projection: Not the same thing, I know, but included in the same review. Projection, in my mind, is the ability to fill up a room with your sound; the ability to make your sound carry to the far corners of the room, no matter what volume. To me, volume is simply how loud you can play...a higher amount of decibels.
Mojo Bundy 6 Again, "a la carte" was the phrase that came to mind. If I wanted to scream and sizzle, this piece kept right up. Not as super edgy as needed for unmic'd rock music perhaps, but very nice. Projection wasn't a major issue. Definitely not the loudest piece I've played, or the biggest sounding, but no issues. Playing quietly required a little more air control than I'm used to...but a few quick adjustments in the throat were all that was required.
Gwindplayer NYMC 6 Not this pieces strong suit...if I had to put mouthpiece volume on a scale of 1-10, this piece would probably be stuck at a 4 or 5 throughout the ranges. The upper registers were more quiet because of their poor response and stuffy sound...the lower register could get a nice big sound if you blasted the air through it. The middle register could project a little bit, not suitable for an outdoor gig, but general playing the middle register was fine. Unfortunately, us saxophone players typically have to use the entire range of the horn...
Winner: Mojo Bundy 6
Intangibles:
Mojo Bundy 6 Just having a piece done by Mojo gives you confidence the mouthpiece will play correctly. His work is reasonably priced, as is his turn-around time and communication. That, with the quality rubber blank, make for an excellent combination. I'm surprised more people don't go this route...getting vintage blanks refaced by the greats out there today.
Gwindplayer NYMC 6 Well...conflicting reports abound. Some guys praise the pieces as incredible players...while others seem to report what I've said in this and past reviews. I think its quite admirable that Greg is working towards better quality and good customer service. He had mentioned that quality control is improving and he's making less mouthpieces...meaning he's spending more time per piece. I think this will be the key. I can say with confidence if he spent a good deal more time on this mouthpiece in this review, it'd be a much better player. Maybe he'll take me up on that deal...
Winner: Mojo Bundy 6
Overall winner: Mojo Bundy 6
Please note: this is a purely informative review, performed by myself and a small handful of other professional players. It was done using a variety of reeds and horns. My reviews are not aimed at any particular individual(s), nor are they done with any other objective other than informing the saxophone playing community. If you have any negative comments, flames, personal attacks, etc. please send them to my Private Messages and I will promptly write you back. Thanks and I hope you enjoyed the review!
Saxaholic
Initial Reactions:
Mojo Bundy: I knew this piece would play well...Mojo has become rather well known for consistent, quality work. I knew the blank was of good quality, nice rubber smell, no noticeable issues. Excited to play it.
Gwindplayer New York Meyer Copy 6 I had my reservations on this one...I've had several NYMC here by Gwindplayer and none of them played very well. However, Greg reassured me this piece "Would satisfy even the most discriminating player." So I pushed aside all past experiences, and prepared to give this one as good a trial as any mouthpiece.
Winner: Mojo Bundy 6
Appearance:
Mojo Bundy 6 No surprise here...top quality hand craftsmanship. Mojo is the real deal. Tip and rails are phenomenal, the piece could almost pass for original. No uneven-ness, no deep scratches or anything. The piece was smooth and the blank even looked cool.
Gwindplayer NYMC 6 Definitely not what I was hoping for. This looked even worse than the NYMC 5 I reviewed here not too long ago. Rails were wavy, and uneven. The tip rail was horrendous...not symmetrical at all. It was also thicker on one side than the other. You know when you get a mouthpiece refaced it can have that thin tip rail for decent response...well this was slightly thin on the left side..then got thicker as you moved to the right, then slightly thinner again. Definitely not even nor good looking. The baffle work was alright, but still nothing to write home about. Overall, I was very disappointed.
Winner: Mojo Bundy 6
Response: I consider "response" to mean how quickly a mouthpiece responds to your air stream; how easily the extreme ranges of the horn speak; and how fast the articulation can be on that particular mouthpiece.
Mojo Bundy 6: This mouthpiece speaks easy, quite free blowing but with a teeny bit of something to push up against. I really enjoyed it, it blew free throughout all the registers. Lower register was just a TEENY bit more resistant...but almost not noticeable when you're just blowing through the horn. The one reservation I had was the altissimo register...not very easy for you up there. My normal breath control and throat positions didn't seem to work...I tried altering them slightly but I still couldn't really get the range to speak.
Gwindplayer NYMC 6 : Thank god...the piece plays. I wasn't sure with how it looked, but the response wasn't terrible at all. In the middle registers it felt really good, the piece blew fairly open with not alot of resistance. The trouble came when you moved throughout the horn. The lower register was alright but didn't speak as well as the mid-range...and the upper register suffered terribly. The palm keys were quiet and stuffy sounding, and altissimo was non-existent. Middle register, good. Lower register, ok. Upper register, bad.
Winner: Mojo Bundy 6
Tone: I consider "tone" to be descriptive of the sound the mouthpiece gives to the player. Terms such as: bright, dark, full, thin, big, small, etc etc can be used to describe tone. Since it is such a controversial and individual topic, I will focus on things that other players will most likely encounter when comparing these pieces.
Mojo Bundy 6: You ever just love when you can put on a piece, and just immediately start jamming without having to worry about anything? When the mouthpiece will just give you a good sound and the tone will vary with whatever you put into it? That's what this mouthpiece did. I couldn't really find a single way to describe the tone...because it was giving me whatever I wanted. If I wanted a brighter, funkier sound...it was there. A darker, traditional jazz approach...done. A floating west coast voice...no problem. VERY impressed with the range of voices I could get on this piece. With just my regular sound going on, the piece had a big, full sound. There was some warmth in there and plenty of edge if I needed it. I vary with the "edge" I use...I pick my battles, so to speak. And this piece was right with me. An absolute joy to play.
Gwindplayer NYMC 6: Surprisingly very good! When it was responding well (i.e. middle register) the piece had a pretty good sound. It had a presence to it, not necessarily a big sound...but broad. It had depth too, there was color and warmth. Unfortunately, the response problems limited the mouthpieces capabilities. I couldn't REALLY put air into this mouthpiece...even at the middle register, but thats ok, some people don't want to do that. It was a shame it didn't have a solid response...
Winner: Mojo Bundy 6
Dynamics/Projection: Not the same thing, I know, but included in the same review. Projection, in my mind, is the ability to fill up a room with your sound; the ability to make your sound carry to the far corners of the room, no matter what volume. To me, volume is simply how loud you can play...a higher amount of decibels.
Mojo Bundy 6 Again, "a la carte" was the phrase that came to mind. If I wanted to scream and sizzle, this piece kept right up. Not as super edgy as needed for unmic'd rock music perhaps, but very nice. Projection wasn't a major issue. Definitely not the loudest piece I've played, or the biggest sounding, but no issues. Playing quietly required a little more air control than I'm used to...but a few quick adjustments in the throat were all that was required.
Gwindplayer NYMC 6 Not this pieces strong suit...if I had to put mouthpiece volume on a scale of 1-10, this piece would probably be stuck at a 4 or 5 throughout the ranges. The upper registers were more quiet because of their poor response and stuffy sound...the lower register could get a nice big sound if you blasted the air through it. The middle register could project a little bit, not suitable for an outdoor gig, but general playing the middle register was fine. Unfortunately, us saxophone players typically have to use the entire range of the horn...
Winner: Mojo Bundy 6
Intangibles:
Mojo Bundy 6 Just having a piece done by Mojo gives you confidence the mouthpiece will play correctly. His work is reasonably priced, as is his turn-around time and communication. That, with the quality rubber blank, make for an excellent combination. I'm surprised more people don't go this route...getting vintage blanks refaced by the greats out there today.
Gwindplayer NYMC 6 Well...conflicting reports abound. Some guys praise the pieces as incredible players...while others seem to report what I've said in this and past reviews. I think its quite admirable that Greg is working towards better quality and good customer service. He had mentioned that quality control is improving and he's making less mouthpieces...meaning he's spending more time per piece. I think this will be the key. I can say with confidence if he spent a good deal more time on this mouthpiece in this review, it'd be a much better player. Maybe he'll take me up on that deal...
Winner: Mojo Bundy 6
Overall winner: Mojo Bundy 6
Please note: this is a purely informative review, performed by myself and a small handful of other professional players. It was done using a variety of reeds and horns. My reviews are not aimed at any particular individual(s), nor are they done with any other objective other than informing the saxophone playing community. If you have any negative comments, flames, personal attacks, etc. please send them to my Private Messages and I will promptly write you back. Thanks and I hope you enjoyed the review!
Saxaholic