This is a tenor mouthpiece by Aaron Drake at Drake Ceramic Mouthpieces. He has been generous enough to send two tenor mouthpieces for me to try. These are called “Double Ring” Jazz and a Contemporary. They are both .110 tips. These mouthpiece are very unique in that they are made of ceramic. I was a bit skeptical when I first heard of these pieces but I have to say that Aaron has done a great job with these mouthpieces. This mouthpiece I am reviewing today is the “Double Ring” model. It is a 8 (.110) tip opening. I actually received a .105 a few months ago and it just felt too small for my tastes. Aaron was good enough to send me a .110 to try and am I glad he did.
This is a great mouthpiece. It has a full, fat sound with an even amount of highs and lows in the tone. I can lay back while playing and get a great jazz sound or when I push it I can get brighter and go towards a more R&B type sound. It has a nice focused sound that really seems to cut through. I really enjoyed this piece. Usually I’ll feel a piece is too dark or too bright but this was right in the middle. A nice balance. When I recorded the track to put on here I played for about 6 minutes and had to cut it down for this clip……….That means I liked it a lot! I had an adult student in for a lesson today and he played it and loved it so much he wanted to buy it on the spot. Now i have to figure out if I want to keep it or sell it to him. Let me know what you think of the clip. Listen………
About Steve
Hi Steve,
I’ve been thinking about replacing my Vandoren T75 hard rubber with this piece. What ligature did you use for the sound clip? I have a gold plated FL on my T75 will it fit?
Thanks,
Kevin
It was too small for my FL lig. I had to use a rovner on it. I’m not sure if your FL lig will fit. If it’s the same one I have it will be too big. Steve
Hi Steve,
In response to the lig question, I am using a Rovner EVO 5 for both the Drake alto & tenor Contemporary models..you also have a couple options how to place the lig, depending on your choice of sound….the same size fits both pieces…..
Alto Sax Hard Rubber E-1RL
Doug
As for an update on the EVO 5 ligs, they are being discontinued by Rovner and are now in the hands of Jupiter Insruments. Doug
Steve,
These sound nice. I may check out one. Need something for the soprano probably,maybe alto/tenor. Hows everything? Talk sometime………..Don
This mouth piece sounds beautiful.
don’t you love the tenorsax, when it sounds like this!!!