• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Website of Steve Neff

  • BLOG
  • SHOP
  • MEMBER’S AREA
    • JOIN
    • FAQ
    • MEMBER LOGIN
    • Member Monthly Lessons
    • Member VIP Area
    • Member-Practicing with Neff
    • Member-Brecker Alternate Fingering Lessons
    • Member-Killin’ Altissimo Lick Lessons
    • Member-Monster Lick of the Day
  • RAVES
  • CONTACT
  • SUPPORT
You are here: Home / Reviews / Mouthpiece Reviews / Soprano Mouthpiece Reviews / Absolute “Soprano +” Saxophone Mouthpiece

Absolute “Soprano +” Saxophone Mouthpiece

December 18, 2013 by Steve 6 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a mouthpiece made by the Absolute company.  These are made in Italy and this model is called the “Soprano +”.  (I call it a ST model in the recording but it is the + model)   There is also a Soprano AL, Soprano ST and a Soprano R model on their website. You can also find all these models for Baritone, Alto and Tenor saxophones as well.  The + is made of stainless steel. 

Absolute “Soprano +”  Saxophone ST Line

All of these models are priced pretty reasonably. This model is about 268 US dollars. (the exchange rate is always changing so this price will fluctuate somewhat)

The mouthpiece looks great.  The tip rails look are very even and it has a straight baffle that leads down into a medium chamber.   The transition from the baffle into the chamber has a Berg Larsen type scoop to it. The sidewalls are straight and even until they meet the circular medium chamber.  I am very interested in playing this mouthpiece because I have never played this type of soprano mouthpiece before.  It actually looks similar to a Guardala type baffle design as it would be applied to a soprano mouthpiece.

Absolute “Soprano +”  Saxophone Mouthpiece

The tip opening on this mouthpiece is a 7 which seems to be very comfortable for me. A Vandoren Java 3  reed played perfectly on it for me.  the Absolute + soprano mouthpiece comes with it’s own custom built ligature which is really nice. If you look at the picture below you will see that the ligature has 8 sides to it.  These 8 sides match up perfectly with the 8 sides the mouthpiece has.  It is next to impossible to have trouble with this ligature.  You just slide it on in the position that fits the mouthpiece and then tighten.  As you tighten the crew, the plates descend down onto the reed and clamp it to the table.  It’s a very inventive and unique design in my opinion……….

Absolute “Soprano +” Saxophone Ligature

The Absolute Soprano + has an almost duckbill type design to the beak although it is not as extreme as some duckbill beaked mouthpieces I have played.  The soprano mouthpiece still feels very comfortable to me coming from a Theo Wanne Gaia mouthpiece.

Absolute “Soprano +”  Saxophone Mouthpiece

The tone of the Absolute “Soprano +” is focused and brighter to me.  To tell you the truth, something about it’s sound and tone reminds me a lot of Bill Evan’s tone on soprano.  It has a smooth sound that is very even throughout the range of the horn.   I wouldn’t classify it as a warm tone but it is has more of a focused compact concentrated brighter tone.  It has a hallow quality to the sound that is really cool and can be haunting if used right.  That’s the way it sounds to me anyways.  

There was something about it’s tone and smoothness that made it very enjoyable to play.  I played this mouthpiece for quite a long time after the recording had stopped………….

Absolute “Soprano +”  Saxophone Mouthpiece

If you are interested in the Absolute “Soprano +” soprano saxophone mouthpiece contact Marco at Absolutesax.com. At 268 this is a great price for a nice playing soprano mouthpiece.

Let me know what you think in the comments below………….Thanks, Steve

Absolute “Soprano +”  Saxophone Mouthpiece

https://public.neffmusic.com/AbsoluteSTSoprano.mp3

Absolute “Soprano +”  Saxophone Mouthpiece

 

Filed Under: Soprano Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Absolute, bill evans, mouthpiece review, sax mouthpiece, soprano saxophone

Steve

About Steve

Steve Neff has been playing and teaching saxophone and jazz improvisation around the New England area for over 30 years. He is the author of many best selling jazz improvisation methods as well as founding the popular jazz video lesson site Neffmusic.com.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarWalter says

    December 30, 2013 at 2:25 pm

    Hi Steve,
    thank You for another review! I’m very pleased and amazed concerning the much smoother and rounder sound (I’d think of it as still “balanced” while being a bright mouthpiece) than I’d expect from just looking at the baffle. I always loved Bill Evan’s outstanding soprano playing and sound, and You’re really in that category with this mp – in some “contemporary” electric musical context You’d well fit the bill! I’m thinking of trying one myself… Did You already compare the Soprano+ to the “ST”?

    Reply
    • SteveSteve says

      January 5, 2014 at 5:25 pm

      Hi Walter, I had a ST but the inner ring inside the shank was too small for my soprano cork. Marco fixed the ring issue on this one and it fit perfectly. Maybe he will send me an ST in the future to review. I’m looking forward to trying the tenor pieces also………..

      Reply
  2. AvatarWalter says

    January 6, 2014 at 1:40 pm

    Hi Steve,

    ok thanxs I’ll have to check it out myself… There is a great sounding Clip with the Tenor ST on Marco’s website, so this should be really interesting.

    Reply
  3. AvatarWalter says

    January 28, 2014 at 12:02 pm

    Hi Steve,

    got the Soprano ST 7 today – it’s outstanding! Very balanced, smooth with nice focus, even throughout the entire horn, and with spot-on intonation. At the moment like it clearly more than my (very good) TW Gaia.

    Walter

    Reply
  4. AvatarALEX DEAN says

    June 6, 2020 at 4:57 pm

    Have you had the opportunity to test the brancher goldplated soprano (j17 0r j21) mouthpiece…if so what are your thoughts?

    Reply
    • SteveSteve says

      June 6, 2020 at 8:46 pm

      Alex, No, I haven’t tried that mouthpiece yet. Steve

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Cart

BRAND NEW BOOK!

Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues
Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues

Subscribe to the Neffmusic Newsletter for the latest reviews and best deals delivered straight to your inbox every month. Join now and you will also receive my 40 Ultimate Michael Brecker Licks free!

Select list(s) to subscribe to


Thanks for joining!


NEFFMUSIC PRINTED BOOKS

Testimonials

Hi Steve, I have been shedding your materials for quite a while now and I love them! They are extremely well organized and presented and there are tons of ’em! I really appreciate your methodical approach and find myself referring students to your resources often.  Thanks so much!  
Kenyon Carter
I have NEVER seen material like yours.  Amazing!!
Jerry

Steve,  Just want to say thanks for all you are doing for all of us. I’ve learned more from you than anyone else in my 40 years of playing.

If you can give some tips on One Note Samba, Ceora, and Wave… that would be cool.  I really like learning how you apply your concepts to actual songs!

Have a great year,

Kevin Ledbetter

I've learned more from you than anyone else in my 40 years of playing.
Steve’s monthly lessons are entirely valuable. Without brow beating, he tells you all the stuff you deep down know you really should be working on, instead of just relying on the same old patterns. In spite of the fact that you’re taking a video lesson, Steve’s presentation is comfortable and “real”. In a little more than a year, he’s developed a library of lessons that seem to offer any player a lifetime’s worth of practice material. I’m just glad I stumbled upon it.… Read more
Grant

Hello Steve,

I just want to say thank you so much for your unbelievable work, it is just mind opening, thanks for sharing it.

Wolfgang from Berlin

Wolfgang from Berlin
I want to say something about Steve Neff’s series of lessons, Beginner Jazz Improvisation. For a couple of years I tried many beginner lessons and my problem was that there was a gap between lessons that were fairly simple and ones that I was not quite ready for and my progress stalled out. That problem was solved with the series Beginner Jazz Improvisation. He guides you step by step along the way and builds a foundation for learning jazz and blues. He leaves no question about what to practice … Read more
Pete
I want to let you know that your instructional material is transforming my playing.  It is an immense pleasure to learn and play now, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am. The instructional material I got from you is by far the best of any I own (and I have over 100 books, DVDs, and what not). I literally can’t thank you enough! Deric
Deric
Your major diatonic patterns book is great. I”m studying the first twenty patterns (first twenty pages) each day with different articulation each day and slowly increasing the tempo each week or so.  There is a noticeable improvement in finger coordination across all keys and its amazing how much more secure I feel on the difficult keys when attempting to play pieces with 5+ flats/sharps. I’m able to sort out the fingerings for these pieces now much more quickly than before, often in one or two … Read more
Geoff
Just wanted to send you a quick note to say thank you for being you, your playing, your website and your desire to help others. I’m a professional musician in the US Army and I’ve visited your website almost every day since discovering it a couple of months ago. Your lessons are profound and easy to use. I’ve purchased most of your PDF books and now am starting to delve more into the video and audio lessons.  Thank you for being a great resource!
James
I’ve been having ‘ online’  lessons with Steve for a few months now. Being a teacher myself I had had some reservations with the idea at first and the practicalities of it .  Let me just say that my playing has taken a huge leaps forward while studying with Steve and continues to do so.Steve studied with some renowned player/teachers such as Bergonzi and Garzone– this in itself is invaluable but Steve teaches from his own books, which cover a a vast amount of  jazz language. Steve h… Read more
David

Featured Video Lessons

  • Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $19.99 $14.99
  • The Secret to Modern Outside Jazz Lines Lesson-Minor $9.99
  • Creating Modern II-V-I Lines with Simple Pentatonics Lesson
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • The Best Embouchure for Tone, Intonation and Endurance Lesson
    Rated 4.90 out of 5
    $9.99
  • The Secret to Altissimo (no one has ever told you about before) Lesson
    Rated 4.75 out of 5
    $9.99

Now over 600 video and audio lessons to choose from!
BECOME A MEMBER TODAY AND SAVE BIG ON EACH LESSON!

Devastating Minor Lines for Jazz & Funk
Devastating Minor Lines for Jazz & Funk-Thirty 5 Star Reviews!!!

Free Lessons

  • Free Lesson on The New Ultimate II-V-I Primer-Major Keys
  • Free Video Lesson on Mastering Altered Pentatonics
  • Free Video Lesson on Mastering the Blues Scale Volume 1 & 2
  • Free Video Lesson on Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale and Language Book 1 & 2
  • Free Video Lesson on Approach Note Velocity Book

Recent reviews

  • Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Lloyd Whitty
  • Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Murray Middleman
  • Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Paul
  • Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Az Samad
  • Bebop Scale-Altered Scale II-V-I Practice Lesson
    Rated 5 out of 5
    by Ryan

Jazz Improvisation Books

Mastering Altered Pentatonics
Mastering Altered Pentatonics
Devastating Dominant Lines for Jazz & Funk
Devastating Dominant Lines for Jazz & Funk
Mastering the Minor ii-7b5 V7b9 Bebop Scale
Mastering the Minor ii-7b5 V7b9 Bebop Scale
Dominant Bebop Scale Book
Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale
Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale-Book 2
Mastering the Dominant Bebop Scale-Book 2
The New Ultimate II-V-I Primer (Major)
The New Ultimate II-V-I Primer (Major)
Mastering Major Diatonic Patterns
Mastering Major Diatonic Patterns
Devastating Minor Lines for Jazz & Funk
Devastating Minor Lines for Jazz & Funk-Thirty 5 Star Reviews!!!
Mastering the Blues Scale Vol. 2-Dominant Chords
Mastering the Blues Scale Vol. 2-Dominant Chords
Best II-V-I Patterns Book
Best II-V-I Patterns
Approach Note Velocity Book
Approach Note Velocity
Mastering the Blues Scale Vol. 1-Minor Chords
Mastering the Blues Scale Vol. 1-Minor Chords
Major Bebop Scale Book
Mastering the Major Bebop Scale & Sound

Footer

Recent Comments

  • Paul on Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book)
  • Murray Middleman on Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book)
  • Lloyd Whitty on Mastering the Dominant Pentatonic Sound over a Blues (Digital PDF Book)
  • Brent G. on Alexander Superial I Jazz 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review
  • Jason Mingledorff on 100 Must Know Jazz Tunes Consensus List

Top rated products

  • The Style of Michael Brecker-Lesson 2
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • Developing Relative Pitch-Lesson 3
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • Mastering Major Diatonic Patterns (Digital PDF Book)
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $14.99
  • Mastering The Dominant Bebop Scale Lesson 1
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99
  • In A Mellow Tone Dominant Bebop Solo Lesson
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $9.99

Product tags

alto sax alto saxophone approach notes audio lesson bebop scale beginner beginner saxophone blues blues licks blues patterns blues scale blues scales diminished scale dominant chords ear training fundamentals II-V-I improvisation jazz improvisation jazz lines jazz patterns jazz sax jazz saxophone jazz standard jazz standards licks Mastering the Blues Scale Michael Brecker modern improv modern improvisation online lesson patterns playing outside practice habits reading music sax basics sax lessons saxophone scales smooth jazz steve neff tenor sax tenor saxophone video lesson video lessons
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • SUPPORT

Neffmusic © 2023