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You are here: Home / Archives for Reviews / Mouthpiece Reviews / Alto Mouthpiece Reviews / Alto High Baffle Reviews

Alto High Baffle Reviews

Theo Wanne Essentials Contemporary Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

March 15, 2025 by Steve 5 Comments

Today, I will be reviewing the Theo Wanne Essentials Contemporary 7 alto saxophone mouthpiece from the new Theo Wanne Essentials collection of saxophone mouthpieces that was released in the fall of 2024. Theo Wanne Essentials Contemporary 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece The Essentials Collection of saxophone mouthpieces by Theo Wanne are described as offering “exceptional quality […]

Filed Under: Alto High Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews, Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Alto Saxophone, contemporary, Essentials, high baffle, review, sax mouthpiece, Theo Wanne

10mFan Supernova Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

September 30, 2022 by Steve 22 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a new alto saxophone mouthpiece from 10mFan saxophone mouthpieces.  This is the Supernova 7 hard rubber alto saxophone mouthpiece.   I have already reviewed a number of great 10mFan tenor, alto and soprano saxophone mouthpieces in the past that you can find here. Whenever Mark Sepinuck, at 10mFan mouthpieces, comes out with […]

Filed Under: Alto High Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews, Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: 10mFan, alto sax, hard rubber, review, saxophone mouthpiece, Supernova

The SYOS Originals Smoky, Steady and Spark Model Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

March 15, 2022 by Steve 2 Comments

Today, I am reviewing and comparing three new SYOS Originals series alto saxophone mouthpieces.  SYOS mouthpieces has released this new Originals SYOS line of tenor, alto and soprano saxophone mouthpieces to give saxophone players a simpler way to order a quality saxophone mouthpiece at a more affordable price point.  I have already reviewed the SYOS […]

Filed Under: Alto High Baffle Reviews, Alto Medium Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews, Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Alto Saxophone, comparison, model, Originals, review, sax mouthpiece, smoky, spark, steady, SYOS

Drake David Sanborn Master Series 7 & 8 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

June 26, 2021 by Steve 28 Comments

Today, I am reviewing the Drake Master Series David Sanborn 7 (.085 tip opening) and the 8 (.090 tip opening) alto saxophone mouthpieces made by Aaron Drake at Drake mouthpieces.  If you are a David Sanborn fan and play the alto saxophone, you can’t help but be interested in an alto saxophone mouthpiece with David […]

Filed Under: Alto High Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews, Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: aaron drake, alto sax, Alto Saxophone, David Sanborn, master series, mouthpiece, review

Absolute Color Line Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

February 22, 2021 by Steve 2 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a new alto saxophone mouthpiece from Absolute mouthpieces in Italy.  This is neon yellow Absolute Color Line 7 alto saxophone mouthpiece.   These Absolute Color Line saxophone mouthpieces also come in neon blue as well as neon red as you can see in the photo below. Absolute Color Line Neon Yellow, Neon […]

Filed Under: Alto High Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews, Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Absolute, alto sax, Color Line, Italy, jazz saxophone, mouthpiece, neon yellow, review

SYOS Steve Kortyka Signature Model Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

November 2, 2020 by Steve 6 Comments

Today, I am reviewing the SYOS Steve Kortyka Signature Model Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece from SYOS mouthpieces in France.  This is my sixth SYOS  saxophone mouthpiece I will be reviewing today.  If you want to check out the other SYOS saxophone mouthpieces I have reviewed so far you can click here:  SYOS Mouthpiece Reviews This SYOS […]

Filed Under: Alto High Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews, Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Alto Saxophone, mouthpiece, review, Signature Model, Steve Kortyka, SYOS

Westcoast Sax High Roller Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

June 21, 2019 by Steve 9 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a new alto saxophone mouthpiece called the High Roller from Westcoast Sax.  Matt Lee at Westcoast Sax was nice enough to send me a sample High Roller alto sax mouthpiece to try out. This metal alto sax mouthpiece is a high baffle mouthpiece with an 8 tip opening which is a […]

Filed Under: Alto High Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews, Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: alto saxophone mouthpiece, high baffle, High Roller, review, westcoast sax

JX Custom JXRO 8 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

February 16, 2019 by Steve 9 Comments

Today, I am reviewing the JX Custom JXRO 8 alto saxophone mouthpiece.    This is made by Jianxing Li in Guangzhou, China.  A number of months ago, I was contacted and asked if I would consider reviewing the sax mouthpieces in the photo below for Mr. Li.  They look to be quite the arsenal of […]

Filed Under: Alto High Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews, Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Alto Saxophone, jazz sax, JX Custom, JXRO, mouthpiece, review, Sanborn

Westcoast Sax MOAM .081 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

June 5, 2018 by Steve 1 Comment

Today, I am reviewing the Westcoast Sax “MOAM” .081 alto saxophone mouthpiece.  You might remember that I reviewed a non-plated MOAM alto mouthpiece that had a .086 tip opening last fall. Matt Lee at Westcoast Sax is always picking interesting and understated names for his mouthpieces and this is no exception.  The name MOAM stands for […]

Filed Under: Alto High Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews, Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: alto mouthpiece, jazz sax, MOAM, review, saxophone, soundclip, Theo Wanne, westcoast sax

Liu Shizhao Pearls Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

November 10, 2017 by Steve 7 Comments

Last year,  I posted a review of a couple new saxophone mouthpieces from Liu Shizhao out of China.  He sent me a tenor saxophone mouthpiece prototype MB Prototype , an alto prototype and the Pilgrimage tenor sax mouthpiece that I was very impressed with and wrote reviews on.   This review is on another Liu Shizhao mouthpiece for the alto […]

Filed Under: Alto High Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews, Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Alto Saxophone, jazz sax, Liu Shizhao, metal mouthpiece, Pearls, review

Did someone say Sanborn?…….D&S A2 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

November 8, 2017 by Steve 9 Comments

The other day I reviewed three tenor saxophone mouthpieces made by Donghee Cho in Seoul, South Korea.  They were the Model 1, the Brecker II and the Brecker III tenor sax mouthpiece models.  You can read how I was contacted by Donghee and asked to review his sax mouthpieces on any one of those reviews. Today, […]

Filed Under: Alto High Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews, Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Alto Saxophone, D&S mouthpieces, Donghee Cho, jazz sax, Sanborn, saxophone

Westcoast Sax MOAM .085 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

October 11, 2017 by Steve 3 Comments

Today, I am reviewing the Westcoast Sax “MOAM” alto saxophone mouthpiece.  You might remember that I reviewed the Westcoast Sax “MOFO” tenor mouthpiece last year. Matt Lee at Westcoast Sax is always picking interesting and understated names for his mouthpieces and this is no exception.  The name MOAM stands for the “Mother of all Mouthpieces”.  […]

Filed Under: Alto High Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: alto sax, jazz saxophone, Matt Lee, MOAM mouthpiece, Theo Wanne, westcoast sax

Liu Shizhao Studio Prototype Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

December 4, 2015 by Steve 6 Comments

About a month ago, I was on Facebook just browsing through peoples posts when I came upon some beautiful pictures of some mouthpieces I had never seen before.  These were posted by Liu Shizhao who lives in Beijing, China and who makes mouthpieces.   Judging from the pictures I saw, these were masterfully made mouthpieces! […]

Filed Under: Alto High Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Alto Saxophone, China, Liu Shizhao, mouthpiece review, Studio Prototype

Ken Okutsu High Baffle Mouthpiece Alto Saxophone Review

August 11, 2015 by Steve 1 Comment

Today, I am reviewing my fourth hard rubber alto saxophone mouthpiece from Ken Okutsu in Japan. It is the High Baffle model and has a 7 tip opening which is .079.   I already reviewed four Okutsu tenor mouthpieces which were all excellent so I have been very curious to review these alto mouthpieces as well. Four New Ken Okutsu Alto Saxophone […]

Filed Under: Alto High Baffle Reviews Tagged With: Alto Saxophone, high baffle, Ken Okutsu, review, sax mouthpiece

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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.
I can see from your instructional videos that you are a fantastic teacher – one that can truly relate to all ages – humble yet very positive in approach – never coming across as superior and yet so totally capable of demonstrating the principles and techniques that you seek to impart to the students. I have gained so much confidence in my playing from “pouring over” time and again these invaluable lessons. Invaluable not only in musical content, but also in human interaction content. I am absolu… Read more
Ron

I want to thank you again, because, not only are you an inspiration to listen to, you are a fine teacher!

I have been teaching sax and other winds for over 20 years, and you give me that “push” to give my students more!

Mark Peotter

Mark Peotter
By the way, BIG COMPLIMENTS to you, Steve! Not only are you a great player, you are also a great teacher! I, too, am a woodwinds player/teacher. I have new inspiration to play and teach because of you. The concepts and “thinking” is similar to what I already learned in College, but hearing you explain and PLAY the concepts REALLY MAKES THE DIFFERENCE! Also, your written patterns are more interesting than other books I have seen! Keep up the good work. I will be recommending your sit… Read more
I will be recommending your site to others!
It is so refreshing to have a great player, who can provide lessons and examples in a manner which is understandable to most any enthusiastic saxophonist who is ready to improve. not just the, do this, do that, memorize this, memorize that… while all that is absolutely necessary, you go on to give reasons and examples to explain and validate why you have to do all of these things, the benefits, if you will… that is the key for me, you tell, explain, demonstrate, explain some more, you give perso… Read more
Cedric
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
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Roger
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Thanks again,
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I have been a member of Neffmusic for more than a year now and have enjoyed every minute of it! I have not only been going thru the Dominant Bebop Scale lessons and book (OUTSTANDING!) but the mouthpiece reviews, solo clips and transcriptions are very interesting. Steve approach to beginning and intermediate improv have given me many new pathways to teach my high school jazz ensemble students. Congratulations Steve, great product!
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Jerry
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Paul
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Wolfgang from Berlin

Wolfgang from Berlin

Steve, just a note to say thanks.

I’ve been playing a long time, but your material, laid out in such a thoughtful way, helps me to understand concepts in a new and deeper way.

You are a true gift to the jazz community.

60 lessons and going strong,

Kevin Ledbetter

Kevin Ledbetter
Your lessons on playing the blues is so clear . I have been through many books on blues playing and not one of them explains as clear as your lessons . Most of them say “Play the same blues scale over all three chords of a 12 bar blues ” Its very misleading .     Thanks
Martin

Your material is great! I got your New Altissimo Lesson 6 months ago and I have learned more from that than in all my 44 years of playing! I appreciate your down to earth teaching method and I really appreciate the heart that you teach with. I have been a subscriber to your lessons for the past 6 months and I have learned a great deal. Over that period of time I have had some questions and you have never failed to respond. Thanks! I have already recommended your lessons to a number of players in… Read more

Michael Byington
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
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I just started looking at my lessons and I have to say, dude you are awesome.  I ABSOLUTELY will learn from you!  I started the tenor about 1 ½ yrs ago and have since picked up an alto, and more recently a soprano.  I spend most of the time on the tenor, followed by soprano, and have only gotten to the alto a few times.  I think I’ll be sticking with tenor.  I’m having a great time and hope one day to play well enough to get regular gigs.  I’ve been playing keys for about 35 years (… Read more
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