Mouthpieces Jody Jazz mpc's

[peedee]

Hi, anyone tried/use JJ HR for tenor? After visiting the George Garzone website he waxes lyrical about the aforementioned mpc. and is seen playing it on their website. I dont know if it is his regular mpc or he is just promoting it for financial reasons, but it does seem to have a good write up, albeit on the JJ website. Like Otto Link, but brighter etc. Before I splash the cash would appreciate any feedback from you more experienced, tried 'em all, been there done that lot. At the moment am using Rico Royal Graftonite, which was improvement on me Yamaha, but it could be just the fact I have wider gap (6), or maybe I should experiment more with reeds first. The stage I'm at, about 18 months playing, at least an hours practice a day is maybe too soon to worry too much. The reeds I have tried: Rico 1-1/2 Rico 2-1/2, Rico Royal 2, Marca Jazz 2, Vandoren 2. Mostly metal lig, also Rovner type lig.
I find best comb for bright jazzy sound is Marca Jazz, and metal lig. but having trouble with low notes, ie below bottom C, and high notes ie above C# a bit weak. Rico royals with Rovner lig good for more sedate sound, best for the swing band I play in. Blimey! what a headache! Any enlightenment gratefully received :S

 

[Chris98]

Hello Pete,

Glad the operation went well and shame you missed SaxPak last week, we were working on the Pink Panther so you?ll have something nice to get your teeth into when you?re fully recovered.

Although not greatly experienced on the tenor, I have a Jody Jazz HR7* which I chose out of a wide selection including some very expensive Vandoren and Jody Jazz DVNY metal pieces, I also tried some ceramic mouthpieces which were interesting. I played an Otto Link hard rubber 7* and I?d personally say the JJ was a fair bit brighter and crisper, I really liked the link however and it came down to the two, the Jody Jazz winning because I felt it was more flexible and closest to the sound I was expecting wanting from my tenor. The only mouthpieces that I didn?t get to try that I?d like to have tried were the Vandoren V16 and Javas.

I play it with a metal lig and Java 2.5 reeds, which seem to be working for me at the moment.

Have a read though FrankB?s mouthpiece hunt, he went for a Jody Jazz.

There is always the PPT to think about as well, I?m interested in hearing when the PPA?s going to be out to tempt me.

All the best,

Chris

 

[daveysaxboy]

I had a JJ HR 8* Tenor piece and it had a great lush warm sound but the Altissimo for me on that mp was hard work.Played a few duo jazz gig's on it but was wanting more range than it could give but i am a Altissimo kind of player but that's my style.It had a very Stan Getz sound.

 

[peedee]

Hi Chris
thanks for digging up that old thread for me, very interesting.
I'll be there on Tuesday, looking forward to Pink Panther.
Are you bringing your tenor, or the alto? I have a Java T75 you're welcome to try. Personally I found the lay, 104, a bit hard going, puffed out after 5 minutes. I'll give it a good clean and bring it along. If I went for a JJ HR it would probably be the 6*. That's 095, closer to the Rico Royal which find about right at the moment.
Yep, all healed up and raring to go, see you Tuesday.
Pete

 

[peedee]

david keighley wrote:
I had a JJ HR 8* Tenor piece and it had a great lush warm sound but the Altissimo for me on that mp was hard work.Played a few duo jazz gig's on it but was wanting more range than it could give but i am a Altissimo kind of player but that's my style.It had a very Stan Getz sound.

Hi Dave, would it be the 8* gap that made altissimo hard?
I'm not into altissimo yet, at my stage, but "Stan Getz sound" could sell it for me. I have a theory though about 'sounds'. Could it be anything with the mouth/jaw shape. I notice that the black guys, seem to mostly have the nice mushy, marshmallow sound, and I'm not in any way being racist here, but they do generally have bigger lips, and a wider mouth than us white guys. Could this be a factor?
Anyway thanks for your feedback.
Pete

 

[daveysaxboy]

I think for me it was lack of baffle in the piece.I use large tip's on tenor,on a 120 Law(9*) and 110 law(8) now but have mostly played 115 (8*) piece's.If you like the Getz sound (we all do) then try it out but i like high baffle mp's on tenor and we all have are own sound concept in are head's.There is hardly any baffle in it so it's best to try before you buy i think.It's a very easy blower and a very 50's warm Otto Link sound but not as much hard work as most Link's can be. 😉

 

[Chris98]

PeeDee wrote:
Hi Chris
thanks for digging up that old thread for me, very interesting.
I'll be there on Tuesday, looking forward to Pink Panther.
Are you bringing your tenor, or the alto? I have a Java T75 you're welcome to try. Personally I found the lay, 104, a bit hard going, puffed out after 5 minutes. I'll give it a good clean and bring it along. If I went for a JJ HR it would probably be the 6*. That's 095, closer to the Rico Royal which find about right at the moment.
Yep, all healed up and raring to go, see you Tuesday.
Pete

Hi Pete,

I was expecting you to be out of action for a bit longer, great to hear you?re all healed up, and back with us tomorrow.

I?m strictly an alto man at the SaxPak, last week there were only two altos against three tenors, hopefully we?ll be back up to full strength tomorrow.

I?ll bring the Jody Jazz along for you to have a look at, and I?d be interested to have a look at the Java if that?s okay.

All the best,

Chris

 

[peedee]

On the Jody Jazz website there is a questionaire about your playing habits, and requirements in a mouthpiece to help them decide which is the best mouthpiece for you. Had a reply today, and guess what, they recomend their most expensive piece at $495!! Yeah right! I'm not that keen. Dunno if I still want to buy their cheaper, HR piece now. What's the betting they recommend it to everyone, unless you play classic maybe. Or am I just being cynical? :erm:

 

[Linky Lee]

I've been through that form with many different permutations and am still yet to get anything else than that same piece.

I believe they think their mouthpiece is one size fits all...

 

[peedee]

Linky wrote:
I've been through that form with many different permutations and am still yet to get anything else than that same piece.

I believe they think their mouthpiece is one size fits all...

suspicions confirmed
😡

 

[rmdickaty]

Well i have had a JJ Hr 8 for a few months now and i can honestly say it is a great mouthpiece. I tried a mates out a 7, and what struck me was how easy and fast the articulation was. The initial attack of each note has a real prescence, I was so impressed i ordered one.
The sound is smooth, with a slight hollowness, can be played very straight obtaining an almost classical sound but can also be pushed into rock n roll territory.
I can achieve all, from a Garbarek (like.!) tone to an Ayler wide vibrato wildness with no problems.
There is a real sense of the fundamental of each note being very present, with just the right amount of higher harmonics to sweeten the sound without being overly bright.
One thing though is the width and shallowness of the beak which took me a while to get use to, but after a few days my chops were sorted.
Of course the right reed and lig set up is also important, rvners work well, as do normal screw metal ligs. Soft subtoneing is excellant from bottom of the horn to the top.
All in all a great mouthpiece in the Hard Rubber camp, i certainly do recomend them.
Of course JJ also recomended the DV metal for me as well..Ha ha...
but I do think these Mpces are a well kept secret and at the moment a good price for the quality.
Hope this helps, I would get one on trial you generally have up to 14 days to return if not satisfied from most stockists.

 

[TomMapfumo]

My teacher uses a JJ HR* 7* on his Yammie Tenor for professional gigs and is his favourite out of Links (metal and HR) Lakey, Larsen HR ands several others. I tried one when I first got my tenor - just too wide for me at the time, but I do prefer the Francois Louis Spectruoso over all I have so far tried.

So the JJ HR* is a very safe bet, IMHO.
Kind regards
Tom 8)

 

[koumou]

I've been playing for 13 months. Got started on the tenor 7 months ago with a Tone Edge 7. I also have a Vandoren Java T55 and V16 T8. My latest mouthpiece is the JJHR 7*. The Jody is my favourite of the lot. It plays evenly and with ease throughout the registers and is generally easy to control. I use an EVO-5 lig and a La Voz medium and it's sound is slightly brighter than the link. It is a free blowing piece wich means a harder reed can be used. I cannot handle the medium La Voz on the V16. The V16 is my second favorite.

Koumou

PeeDee wrote:
Hi, anyone tried/use JJ HR for tenor? After visiting the George Garzone website he waxes lyrical about the aforementioned mpc. and is seen playing it on their website. I dont know if it is his regular mpc or he is just promoting it for financial reasons, but it does seem to have a good write up, albeit on the JJ website. Like Otto Link, but brighter etc. Before I splash the cash would appreciate any feedback from you more experienced, tried 'em all, been there done that lot. At the moment am using Rico Royal Graftonite, which was improvement on me Yamaha, but it could be just the fact I have wider gap (6), or maybe I should experiment more with reeds first. The stage I'm at, about 18 months playing, at least an hours practice a day is maybe too soon to worry too much. The reeds I have tried: Rico 1-1/2 Rico 2-1/2, Rico Royal 2, Marca Jazz 2, Vandoren 2. Mostly metal lig, also Rovner type lig.
I find best comb for bright jazzy sound is Marca Jazz, and metal lig. but having trouble with low notes, ie below bottom C, and high notes ie above C# a bit weak. Rico royals with Rovner lig good for more sedate sound, best for the swing band I play in. Blimey! what a headache! Any enlightenment gratefully received :S

 

[peedee]

Thanks guys for all the positive comments on the JJ piece. Well, I guess i'll just have to ignore the blatant commercialism by the company and get meself one of these beauts. The official blurb on the website certainly made it look like a good mpc, but thought it safer to get some inbiased alternative comments from independent sources.
Oh well, time to splash the cash 8)

 

[Rogerb]

PeeDee wrote:
On the Jody Jazz website there is a questionaire about your playing habits, and requirements in a mouthpiece to help them decide which is the best mouthpiece for you. Had a reply today, and guess what, they recomend their most expensive piece at $495!! Yeah right! I'm not that keen. Dunno if I still want to buy their cheaper, HR piece now. What's the betting they recommend it to everyone, unless you play classic maybe. Or am I just being cynical? :erm:

Well the first time I filled it in they recommended the HR at (IIRC) $107 🙂
I've found Jody to be a very straight-up guy...he never seemed to be trying to sell me 'more than I needed'.

 

[peedee]

Rogerb wrote:

PeeDee wrote:
On the Jody Jazz website there is a questionaire about your playing habits, and requirements in a mouthpiece to help them decide which is the best mouthpiece for you. Had a reply today, and guess what, they recomend their most expensive piece at $495!! Yeah right! I'm not that keen. Dunno if I still want to buy their cheaper, HR piece now. What's the betting they recommend it to everyone, unless you play classic maybe. Or am I just being cynical? :erm:

Well the first time I filled it in they recommended the HR at (IIRC) $107 🙂
I've found Jody to be a very straight-up guy...he never seemed to be trying to sell me 'more than I needed'.

They must think everyone in Spain is a pauper, or was that the special pensioners rate?
:laugh:

 

[peedee]

Been and gone and done it now! Ordered a JJ HR 8 mpc from Howarth's, they didn't have a 7* in stock. On approval, so they can order a 7* if the lay too wide, only .005" difference anyway.
Great variation in price:
Howarth's ?92
Crowthers Canterbury ?100
Myall's ?105
Sax.co ?112
I have a Vandoren T95, which has a .116" lay that I can play for almost an hour before puffed out, so might be able to handle a JJ 8.
At the moment I am playing a Rico Royal Graftonite mouthpiece.
The big difference I notice between the Rico Royal with a .095" lay and the Vandoren, I can get the lower notes (D and below) much easier, but squeaking on the higher notes, if I don,t really tighten up the embouchure, that's with a Vandoren 2 reed, so once the mpc is sorted, will have to sort out the reed.
I think now, that as you progress and the embouchure develops, mouthpiece and reed requirements change. When I first got the saxophone a Yamaha 5C and standard Rico reed was adequate, but as my playing got better, that set up didn't match my requirements, so then I got the Graftonite, and spent a little more on reeds, and things were better. Now I feel I need to step up the ladder a bit more, hence the JJ. The Vandoren T95, I obtained just after I acquired the sax, and could only blow it for about 10 mins, but what a lovely play, short lived as it was, so I knew where the future lay. Also the hard rubber or ebonite felt more comfortable in the mouth than the hard cold plastic feel of the Yamaha. Mind you, if on a tight budget, and you don't mind the plastic material, I think they are a fine piece.
So, that's just few of my thoughts and some of my experience on the learning curve, which I hope might be of some value to others.
Ahem, back to bed, I need a lay down after that lot!
:erm:

 

[Chris98]

Hi Pete,

I hope it arrives soon for you, I'm sure you'll find it a worthwhile upgrade. I noticed you didn't go the whole hog and get a new ligature as well, that shows more restraint than I usually display.

All the best,

Chris

 

[peedee]

Chris98 wrote:
Hi Pete,

I hope it arrives soon for you, I'm sure you'll find it a worthwhile upgrade. I noticed you didn't go the whole hog and get a new ligature as well, that shows more restraint than I usually display.

All the best,

Chris

No, I'll just carry on using the metal lig. I already got, or maybe I'll pinch the one off the Vandoren 🙂

 

[peedee]

The JJ HR 8 arrived today. I was a little dismayed to find a patch stuck on it, with teeth marks to boot. I know mpc's can get play tested from time to time, but thought it a bit bad to leave the evidence. They (Howarth's) could have removed the patch, and cleaned it up a bit. The box also looked as if it had been opened before. Anyway, I have it on approval, so if I decide the 8 is too wide, then they will have to order me a 7*, so it should be new in the box.
I gave it a blow for an hour, and I must say it sounds great, very similar to the Vandoren T95, hard work, so I might have to get the 7* instead anyway. The lower end, C, B, Bb better. Bb a bit like a foghorn, which could be the sax, or reed/lig combination, will have to experiment.
First I tried it with a metal lig, and a Vandoren 2 reed, squeaking a bit on the high notes, but better when I tightened my embouchure.
Next I tried it with a Rovner type lig and a Marca Jazz 2 reed, and a slight improvement all round. A nice buzzy sound, but still hard work.
Conclusion: with a little more experimenting with lig/reed combinations, and maybe the 7* instead of the 8, change of embouchure, it will be the mpc for me. A good base to develop on.
So, that's the story so far, will keep those interested posted on future developments.