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Reviews

Lamberson J7 Tenor Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 13 Comments

This is a piece I got from the famous Dr. G on SOTW.  I have to say that this piece has mystical properties to it that I don’t understand.  It is made by Fred Lamberson and it has the least baffle of any piece I have ever owned but has a brightness and power to […]

Filed Under: Tenor Low Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Fred Lamberson, Lamberson J7, tenor mouthpiece

Florida/Early Babbitt HR Link 7* Tenor Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 2 Comments

This is a piece I bought about 4 years ago.  I got caught up in the whole “slant” hard rubber link thing and I emailed a guy who had a slant.   He had just sold it but said he had this piece that was as good or better than any slant he had ever played.  […]

Filed Under: Tenor Medium Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: early babbitt, florida link, Jon Van Wie, tenor mouthpiece

Guardala Gold MB II Tenor Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 8 Comments

I received this from WWBW about 3 weeks ago.  This is not a handmade Guardala tenor mouthpiece but one of the CNC made mouthpieces by WWBW.  Yes, I couldn’t resist.  I’ve tried Guardala mouthpieces before and they were always too bright for me.  This one isn’t.  It has a nice balance to it.  On the […]

Filed Under: Tenor High Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Guardala MB, tenor mouthpiece

“Live” Lamberson 7DD Tenor Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 5 Comments

Here’s a “live” clip of my white acetal Lamberson 7DD tenor mouthpiece. This is the same piece that I play on the “Let’s Get it On” video on my website. I’ve always said that Fred Lamberson makes amazing mouthpieces. This 7DD mouthpiece is no exception. It’s on the brighter side of the spectrum but still […]

Filed Under: Live Recordings, Tenor High Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: 7DD acetal, Fred Lamberson, tenor mouthpiece

“Live” Jon Van Wie Otto Link 8

August 13, 2009 by Steve 6 Comments

My Jon Van Wie refaced Super Tone Master Link is the tenor sax mouthpiece that I have played the most over the last 10 years. Jon Van Wie was an incredible mouthpiece refacer (sad to say that he died a number of years ago).  I had the good fortune to have him work on a […]

Filed Under: Live Recordings, Tenor High Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Jon Van Wie, otto link, reface, tenor mouthpiece

“Live” Lamberson J7 Tenor Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 10 Comments

This is an old clip i just found on my computer.  It’s one of those loud dance sets and the singer is making noise through most of the solo but you can get an idea of how the Lamberson J7 sounds through a mic in this type of setting. The cool thing about this clip […]

Filed Under: Live Recordings, Tenor Low Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Lamberson J7, tenor mouthpiece

Greg Wier GW 7M Alto Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 16 Comments

This is a great alto mouthpiece that I bought from Greg Wier.  I’ve seen all of his mouthpieces on ebay for quite some time now and have wondered how they are. I trialed one of his tenor mouthpieces awhile ago and was very impressed with it.  This alto mouthpiece is terrific also.  It’s got that […]

Filed Under: Alto Medium Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: alto mouthpiece, greg wier

Phil-Tone Aurora .078 Alto Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 4 Comments

I received my Phil-Tone Aurora alto mouthpiece from Philip Engleman.  Phil is known as Sigmund451 on SOTW (that’s Sax on the Web).  I was impressed with the mouthpiece just like I was with his tenor piece.  I just slapped a reed on it and it played great.  It has some nice volume to it and […]

Filed Under: Alto Medium Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: alto mouthpiece, aurora, Phil-tone, Phillip Engleman

Early Babbit Alto Mouthpiece 7

August 13, 2009 by Steve 2 Comments

This is the Freddie Gregory refaced HR link that I recorded on another clip. It played great but to be honest…..it was way to picky with reeds.  It would take me forever to find a good reed.  I sent it to Brian and had him work on it and set the tip at .080 which […]

Filed Under: Alto Low Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: alto mouthpiece, Brian Powell, Early Babbit

Vandoren V16 A5M Alto Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 18 Comments

This is a Vandoren V16 A5M that I bought from Dave Valdez in Portland. Dave had Brian Powell reface the mouthpiece to a .080 and put a very long facing curve on it (23mm) that matched a Slant Link that has been Dave’s main piece forever.  The reason I bought this piece was because I […]

Filed Under: Alto Low Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: alto mouthiece, dave valdez, vandoren V16

Hard Rubber Berg Larsen Alto Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 4 Comments

This is a Berg Larsen hard rubber mouthpiece that I won on ebay.  It was advertised as being worked on by Freddie Gregory.  I was not happy with it when I got it at all. I would be very surprised if Freddie Gregory had worked on this. It didn’t seem to play like most of […]

Filed Under: Alto High Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: alto mouthpiece, berg larsen, Brian Powell, freddie gregory

Florida Hard Rubber Otto Link Alto Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 4 Comments

This is a hard rubber otto link I bought on ebay.  It was advertised as being worked on by John Reilly and had a  5* facing on it.  It played well but was a little too closed for me.  I sent it to Brian Powell and had him reface it to a  .080 which is […]

Filed Under: Alto Low Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Brian Powell, florida, john reilly, otto link

Meyer G Alto Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 11 Comments

This was a Meyer G with a 5 opening. It was way to small for my tastes. I sent it to Brian Powell to reface it and open it to a .076. It played nice before and had a lot of volume but it felt to closed for me.  This was the first piece I […]

Filed Under: Alto Medium Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: alto mouthpiece, Brian Powell, Meyer

Freddie Gregory Refaced Metal Otto Link 7 Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece

August 13, 2009 by Steve 5 Comments

I just received this mouthpiece in the mail today.  It is a metal Otto Link alto saxophone that was refaced by Freddie Gregory. Like I mentioned on some other posts, you can’t go wrong with anything Freddie Gregory worked on.  I won it on Ebay and the seller said it plays great with a huge […]

Filed Under: Alto Medium Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Alto Saxophone, freddie gregory, metal, otto link, refaced, review, sax mouthpiece

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Testimonials

Never really had lessons before just kinda worked things out on my own. Was in a rut but your lessons are really helpful in opening melodic possibilities. Ur an awesome resource to the saxophone community. Thanks for sharing. 

Anthony
I’ve been a member of Steve’s site for about six months now and the difference it has made to my playing is immeasurable. The (many) benefits of this membership are that you can have lessons at time convenient to you, they work out A LOT cheaper than face-to-face lessons with a teacher of the same calibre and you can replay them ad infinitum. I don’t know how many times have I had lessons in the past where I’ve ended up covering the same concepts when really a ‘replay’ of the last lesson would h… Read more
Nick

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
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 am a music book junkie and I have to say that your books are the most clear, user friendly, and helpful books I own.  They are my absolute favorites and I only wish I had them years ago.  I wouldn’t change a thing about the experience I had in acquiring my degree at Berklee, but my playing has perhaps grown more in the time I’ve spent buried in your books and lessons.  Keep up the great work!!! Thanks, John
John
Steve really changed my way of practicing: I got a whole lot of new ideas for my playing the tenor.  His lessons are really helpful, give a lot stuff to practice and give clear answers to complicated stuff.  Steve has a lot of humor and I wish I had laughed so much in my former days with the horn.  All topics, from Blues to Approach note are dealt with clearness that wet ones appetite to play and practice that great ideas.
Uwe

After reading your story I will never feel quite right about complaining about any of my MINOR health issues!!    God bless Steve and I really hope that your health doesn’t stop you from fulfilling your calling.    These books have been such a help to open up my jazz vocabulary…   Thanks so much for sharing your story and for providing these great teaching tools…   John Leclerc   Saxophonist / composer/ EWI player and professional working musician of 35 years….

John Leclerc
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
Wil
I’m an experienced player in the pop/soul/funk areas of music and, previously, classical.  Over the decades I’ve been playing, I’ve always felt that I could do what I needed in those styles of music.  However, recently I began to feel limited by my use of the same old licks. When I discovered Steve Neff’s website, and heard the audio examples based on the exercises in his books, I realized they were what I needed.  I purchased all of them and have been working on them since.  It’s very hard work… Read more
Paul
Thank you for all the educational information you provide.  I am a classically trained musician.  Professionally, I am a 4th and 5th grade band teacher.  I have played piano and sax for many years, but now I am starting to gig out more. I have always improvised by ear in the past. I have gotten by with my strong sense of pitch, rhythm and melodic contour. However, I want to go deeper. I want to play with a greater variety of melodic and rhythmic ideas to pull from.  I have studied to gain a … Read more
Ray
First, I’m really excited about your materials! This site is a vast resource for any aspiring (and maybe already inspired) jazz musicians. I’m not a sax player, I play mandolin and fiddle, but have been learning jazz and playing weekly with a quintet for the past 6 months and have been struggling with all of the issues you get into in your lessons. I bought several books and lessons and plan to continue with some others as soon as I organize my practice routine. Thanks again for a great site … Read more
Tony Galfano
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

Hello Steve,

I have not received my alto yet but have already gone through 14 lessons. I love your approach, style, knowledge and competence. I now regret so much to have stayed away from playing the sax for the past 45-50 years…(I am 65).  But It is never too late to get back to your first love. After 23 years in compuer sciences and 22 years in finances…I am now back to music for the rest of my life.

Doing some research on the net, I found this:

http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?1… Read more

Claude
Just to say thanks for your advice and lessons.  I’ve just read your amazing story.  I really appreciate what you do in regards to teaching.  I have bought a couple of your lessons and frankly they’re undersold.   I’ve learned much more with these two lessons than with 2 years of sax teachers.   Thanks so much………..
Mike

Thank You Steve. I think that I will be busy for years. Thank You for your great contribution to jazz music. Your books, more than teaching “how to play jazz”, actually teach “how to speak jazz”. I wish I found your methods years ago.  

Jean-Eric
Thank you for the wealth of helpful lessons you’ve provided over the years.  I truly feel as though it has improved my playing more than the 4 years I spent at Berklee… and that’s not a slight on the school as I loved my experience there.
John
John
I am enjoying your style of teaching, and you’ve done a great job with the videos….good sound quality and well constructed lessons.  Balances the more guitaristic material found on the majority of guitar based programs.  Jazz vocab is what I’m all about at this point in the journey.   I especially dig the fact that you’ve studied with Bergonzi…helps me see his voluminous output in a more  bite sized way.
Milton
I can’t say enough about my membership at Neff Music. Steve has taken the mystery out of playing the saxophone well and improvising both jazz and rock music. Like most struggling players I have a load of all sorts of books on my shelf just gathering dust. Books that I didn’t understand or know how to put to use…or just have the time to go threw them. Steve’s lessons really simplify things and he puts it in a way that I can understand. They inspire me to keep pushing and having him as my guide or… Read more
Ken

Hi Steve,

First, I want to thank you for all of your great lessons. They are like a “For Dummies” version of all the books on my shelf. The lessons break things down into manageable pieces, and give me the confidence that I’m practicing the right pieces. I’m starting to make progress.   Thank You,   Kim

Kim

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 have NEVER seen material like yours.  Amazing!!
Jerry
Just a brief note to compliment you on your teaching skills and in particular for the honesty of your lessons.  I am a returning alto sax player in my 50’s and I was looking for a no nonsense, straight to the point kind of guidance. I had intended to email you with a few questions regarding the use of the bis key but then I noticed that there was a lesson on that specific topic and after viewing it,  all my questions were answered. I once took a group lesson with a well known professional sax … Read more
Patrick
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
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

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