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Boston Sax Shop R-Series 7* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

June 15, 2022 by Steve 3 Comments

Today, I am excited to be reviewing the new BSS (Boston Sax Shop) R-Series 7* tenor saxophone mouthpiece released by Jack Tyler at the Boston Sax Shop. Jack Tyler is the owner of Boston Sax Shop and has been my saxophone repairman for the last eight to nine years. I usually head down to Boston […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor Low Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: Boston Sax Shop, BSS, BSS reeds, R-Series, review, sax mouthpiece, superlative ligature, tenor saxophone

Avel Sound Concept ASC Foehn Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

June 14, 2022 by Steve 13 Comments

Today, I am reviewing the Avel Sound Concept (ASC) Foehn model tenor saxophone mouthpiece made by Max at Avel Sound Concept Mouthpieces.  These are really reasonable priced, quality hard rubber tenor saxophone mouthpieces that, as you will soon hear, play incredibly well…..  The hard rubber ASC Foehn tenor sax mouthpiece I am reviewing today has […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor Medium Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: ASC, Avel Sound Concept, Foehn, review, sax mouthpiece, tenor saxophone

Theo Wanne Lakshmi Gold Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review

June 3, 2022 by Steve 43 Comments

Today, I am excited to be reviewing a brand new “top secret” tenor saxophone mouthpiece by Theo Wanne called the Lakshmi. This Lakshmi gold tenor saxophone mouthpiece has a 7*  tip opening and is being released here (Lakshmi page) by Theo Wanne at the same time as I am posting this review today.  I have […]

Filed Under: Mouthpiece Reviews, Tenor Medium Baffle Reviews, Tenor Mouthpiece Reviews Tagged With: gold, Lakshmi, review, sax mouthpiece, tenor saxophone, Theo Wanne

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 21 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

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

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

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Testimonials

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
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
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
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
Hey Steve! I hope you and your family are well.  I’m just writing to say thank you so much for all the resources you have made available to the saxophone community. I have been using your material for many years and I always come back to it… in fact I just took a break from practicing to write this…( reviewing “CreatingModern II-V-I Lines with simple pentatonics”.) I am, and continue to be, one of your raving fans! Blessings to you and your family this holiday season! Wishing… Read more
Gerry Aylward

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
Hi Steve, I can’t express just how much I appreciate your teaching. My playing has improved so much over the past year since I have been studying and practicing with your lessons. It is possible to teach an old dog new tricks, these lessons are proof! Thanks, Michael Byington
Michael Byington

I want to thank you for your “Ultimate II-V-I Primer”  which has sent me off on a much better path to improvisation.  The primer and the four bound books I have will keep me busy for a long time.  I like your lessons for two reasons.  The lessons work and THEY ARE FUN.  Thanks again.

Robert

Robert
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
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

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
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
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
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!
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
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
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
I’ve been downloading your lessons for 4 months now (20 lesson) and I have noticed tremendous growth in my playing thus far! I’m so happy that I stumbled upon your site!
Bob
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 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
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
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
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
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

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