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Reviews

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

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

March 11, 2022 by Steve 9 Comments

Today, I am reviewing and comparing three new SYOS Originals series tenor 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: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor High Baffle Reviews, Tenor Low Baffle Reviews, Tenor Medium Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: comparison, model, Originals, review, sax mouthpiece, smoky, spark, steady, SYOS, tenor saxophone

Ken Okutsu Traditional Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

March 3, 2022 by Steve 7 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a great soprano saxophone mouthpiece made by Ken Okutsu at Okutsu mouthpieces in Japan.    This is a hard rubber Okutsu Traditional model soprano saxophone mouthpiece with an 8 tip opening. Ken Okutsu Traditional Soprano Saxophone Mouthpiece Here is some information from the Okutsu website about the Okutsu Traditional soprano saxophone […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Soprano Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: hard rubber, Ken Okutsu, mouthpiece, review, sax mouthpiece, soprano saxophone, Traditional

Johannes Gerber Vintage Slant 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece 2022 Review

February 26, 2022 by Steve 15 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a Johannes Gerber Vintage Slant 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece made by Johannes Gerber mouthpieces.  I first reviewed a Johannes Gerber Vintage Slant tenor mouthpiece here over 12 years ago.  I was incredibly impressed with Johannes Gerber’s craftsmanship 12 years ago when I first played the Gerber Vintage Slant tenor saxophone mouthpiece […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor Low Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Johannes Gerber, otto link, review, sax mouthpiece, slant signature, tenor saxophone, Vintage slant

Theo Wanne Durga 5 Gold Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

February 25, 2022 by Steve 23 Comments

Today, I am reviewing the Durga 5 gold tenor saxophone mouthpiece made by Theo Wanne.  Last year, I reviewed Theo Wanne’s darkest tenor saxophone mouthpiece which is the Ambika 3 (Ambika 3 Review), as well as Theo Wanne’s brightest tenor saxophone mouthpiece called the Shiva 3 (Shiva 3 Review). The Durga 5 is ranked second […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor High Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Durga 5, gold, review, sax mouthpiece, tenor saxophone, Theo Wanne

Do Mouthpiece Patches and Beak Height Make a Difference to the Sound of a Saxophone?

February 23, 2022 by Steve 28 Comments

Today, I am posting a personal experiment of mine to answer some questions I have about the discernible differences a mouthpiece patch and the mouthpiece beak height make to the sound of the saxophone.  I know many of you out there will perhaps think this is foolish but I am doing this to satisfy my […]

Filed Under: Saxophone Stuff Tagged With: beak, cushions, patch, saxophone, sound, tenor mouthpiece

Alexander Superial I Jazz 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

February 18, 2022 by Steve 13 Comments

Today, I am reviewing an Alexander Superial I Jazz 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece made by Tom Alexander at Alexander Reeds Intl..  Tom Alexander reached out to me on January 24th of 2020 asking if I would be interested in reviewing his new Superial I Jazz tenor saxophone mouthpiece.  He was very excited about the Superial […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor Medium Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Alexander, jazz, marble, review, saxophone, Superial, tenor mouthpiece

Sax Clinic SCV Tonus Mundi and Sonus Divinus Saxophone Ligature Review

February 16, 2022 by Steve 20 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a couple of great new quality saxophone ligatures that I received from the Sax Clinic in North Macedonia. The Sax Clinic sent me a Sonus Divinus and Tonus Mundi model ligature for hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpieces and a Sonus Divinus model ligature for Guardala sized metal tenor saxophone mouthpieces.  I have […]

Filed Under: Saxophone Stuff Tagged With: ligature, review, Sax Clinic, saxophone, SCV, Sonus Divinus, string ligature, Tonus Mundi

Drake FG (Freddie Gregory) Model Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

February 16, 2022 by Steve 49 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a Drake FG (Freddie Gregory) model 8 tenor saxophone mouthpiece made by Aaron Drake at Drake mouthpieces.  This Drake FG model tenor saxophone mouthpiece was inspired by a Freddie Gregory  hard rubber tenor sax mouthpiece that Jeff Coffin plays and that Aaron Drake did some work on. Aaron told me that […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor High Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: aaron drake, FG model, freddie gregory, jazz sax, Jeff Coffin, Mark IV, mouthpiece, review, tenor sax, tenor saxophone

Eye-Opening Boston Sax Shop Heritage Tenor Saxophone Neck Review

February 9, 2022 by Steve 42 Comments

Today, I am excited to be reviewing the new BSS (Boston Sax Shop) Heritage tenor saxophone neck released by Jack Tyler at the Boston Sax Shop.   Jack had told me about this new BSS Heritage tenor sax neck a number of years ago and although I am a bit tentative to add another variable to […]

Filed Under: Saxophone Stuff Tagged With: Boston Sax Shop, BSS, BSS reeds, Heritage, R-Series, review, sax mouthpiece, saxophone neck, Selmer soloist, superlative ligature, tenor saxophone

Will the Real Michael Brecker’s Sax Mouthpiece Please Stand Up?

February 2, 2022 by Steve 75 Comments

I wanted to write a blog post on this subject because there has been a lot of discussion and confusion over the years about the Guardala tenor saxophone mouthpiece that Michael Brecker played on.    I started a discussion on this subject on Facebook but thought it would be good to post what I discovered […]

Filed Under: Saxophone Stuff Tagged With: Guardala, Michael Brecker, saxophone mouthpiece, tenor sax

Theo Wanne Water Classical Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

October 20, 2021 by Steve 17 Comments

I was excited to hear that Theo Wanne was releasing a new classical alto saxophone mouthpiece called the Theo Wanne WATER classical alto saxophone mouthpiece a few months ago and asked Theo Wanne if I could review it here on the site.  I was even more excited to hear that it was only $99 dollars! […]

Filed Under: Alto Low Baffle Reviews, Alto Mouthpiece Reviews, Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Alto Saxophone, classical, review, sax mouthpiece, Theo Wanne, Water

Theo Wanne Shiva 3 Gold Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

October 15, 2021 by Steve 9 Comments

Today, I am reviewing the Shiva 3 gold tenor saxophone mouthpiece made by Theo Wanne.  I just reviewed Theo Wanne’s darkest tenor sax mouthpiece which is the Ambika 3 (Ambika 3 Review), so today, I thought I would jump to the complete opposite end of the saxophone tone spectrum and review Theo Wanne’s brightest tenor […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor High Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: gold, review, sax mouthpiece, Shiva 3, tenor saxophone, Theo Wanne

Macsax Jalapeño ATX Gold Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

October 14, 2021 by Steve 3 Comments

Today, I am reviewing a beautifully crafted Macsax Jalapeño 8* tenor saxophone mouthpiece.  I was contacted by Jeff Gjertsen at Macsax earlier this year and asked if I would be willing to review the brand new Macsax Jalapeño tenor saxophone mouthpiece.  Of course, I was super excited to try this beautiful tenor sax mouthpiece as […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor High Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: gold, Jalapeno, MacSax, mouthpiece, review, sax, tenor saxophone

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NEFFMUSIC PRINTED BOOKS

Testimonials

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!

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.
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

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
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
Thank you so much for the great job you are doing to help further our jazz studies. Though I make my living as a repairer of musical instruments I am a student of jazz and have been fortunate enough to be involved with a big band and a combo for the last several years. As my children began to leave “the nest” I had decided to dedicate the next half of my life to a more serious study of the sax but I didn’t know exactly how I would go about doing this until a friend of mine turned me onto your si… Read more
Jon
Hey Steve, My name is Jason Freese and I play keyboards and sax in the band Green Day.  I grew up taking sax lessons from Eric Marienthal when I was a kid and got out of it for a long time. I ran into you on youtube while searching for sax stuff. I bought a whole bunch of your lessons and have been loving it! Thanks! Here is my wikipedia so you can see the albums I’ve played on….Thanks again. It’s sparked my interest in practicing again.   Jason
Jason Freese (sax player for Green Day)
I bought Steve’s dominant bebop book and took a couple of online lesson from him. I really appreciated Steve’s careful listening of what I wanted to get done in a lesson and his clear, concise ideas on next steps to improve my playing and musical interpretation.  His mastering  the Dominant Bebop Scale has lots of exercises to use a scale that addresses the largest percentage of chords I come across in pop/blues music. The dominant V7.  Needless say it has improved my playing.  I teach and a… Read more
Keith
Hi Steve, I live in a gorgeous but rural area of Oregon-no music store within 80 miles. Your lessons are my lifeline!  Truly the best there are anywhere online. Love your playing. Love your teaching.  Thanks again. Ed
Ed Woodmansee
I have NEVER seen material like yours.  Amazing!!
Jerry
Two years later I began a search for a sax teacher and happened to come across Steve Neff when I was searching YouTube for sax teachers.  I went to neffmusic.com and was very impressed with the lessons Steve Neff was offering.  The concept of selecting lessons was an approach that I thought was unique and purchased a few lessons.  I liked the lessons so much that I signed-up for a 6 month package. I was very happy with all the lessons I selected.  I also purchased Steve’s book Mastering the B… Read more
Michael
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
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

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

Love your lessons!  I have been using your lesson packages for many months now, and am learning a lot.  It is so perfect for me with a very busy adult schedule and difficulty in taking jazz/improv music lessons from reputable instructors who live and hour or more away from me.

Lenore
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 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

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 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
Absolutely the best learning experience in my 40 years of playing.These books are awesome!!
Alfred LaBella
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

Hello Steve, I’m getting so much out of your lessons and books, amazing how much one may think one knows, there is always a new frontier or new way to view something you think you had somewhat down. You have taken it all to a new level and am so grateful. Your lessons are so down to earth and understandable and clear!  Thanks so much Steve! Cheers, Eddie

Eddie Parente
For anyone living in remote areas away from live jazz sax teachers, Neff is the way to go. In fact this is a great resource for anyone seriously interested in mastering the sax. I’ve never been disappointed in a lesson.
Oliver

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

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