{"id":105475,"date":"2021-10-14T20:31:31","date_gmt":"2021-10-15T00:31:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/?p=105475"},"modified":"2022-02-25T16:03:29","modified_gmt":"2022-02-25T21:03:29","slug":"macsax-jalapeno-atx-gold-tenor-saxophone-mouthpiece-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/2021\/10\/macsax-jalapeno-atx-gold-tenor-saxophone-mouthpiece-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Macsax Jalape\u00f1o ATX Gold Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, I am reviewing a beautifully crafted Macsax Jalape\u00f1o 8* tenor saxophone mouthpiece<\/a>.\u00a0 I was contacted by Jeff Gjertsen at Macsax earlier this year and asked if I would be willing to review the brand new Macsax Jalape\u00f1o tenor saxophone mouthpiece.\u00a0 Of course, I was super excited to try this beautiful tenor sax mouthpiece as I have already reviewed a Macsax Soco tenor saxophone mouthpiece<\/a> as well as a Macsax Queso tenor saxophone mouthpiece<\/a>.\u00a0 Both of these Macsax mouthpieces looked absolutely\u00a0 beautiful and played incredibly well so I would expect the same from this new Jalape\u00f1o tenor saxophone mouthpiece from Macsax!<\/p>\n


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Macsax Jalape\u00f1o 8* Gold Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

First of all, the Macsax Jalape\u00f1o tenor saxophone mouthpiece is beautiful to look at.\u00a0 When I received the package and unwrapped the Jalape\u00f1o mouthpiece, I was floored by how beautiful this gold Macsax Jalape\u00f1o mouthpiece looks.\u00a0 These mouthpieces are beautifully crafted works of art.<\/p>\n

The Macsax Jalape\u00f1o tenor sax mouthpiece feels heavy in your hand as you hold it as it is made from a solid rod of brass.\u00a0 The gold plating looks thick and perfect with not a flaw or blemish anywhere in sight.\u00a0 The mouthpiece comes with a stylish green marble bite plate that looks fantastic as well.\u00a0 On the top of the mouthpiece is engraved MACSAX in all capital letters and on the top side of the shank is engraved Jalape\u00f1o ATX (I assume ATX stands for Austin, Texas as that is where Macsax is based out of). On the underside of the shank is the tip opening of 8* and USA.<\/p>\n

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Macsax Jalape\u00f1o 8* Gold Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here is the description of the Macsax Jalape\u00f1o tenor saxophone mouthpiece from the Macsax website<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The MACSAX JALAPE\u00d1O was created to be a tenor saxophone mouthpiece for a player who wants to soar above a band with a clear and even tone. The sound of this mouthpiece is bright and projecting, while maintaining a thick core sound we all like in a tenor sax mouthpiece. This mouthpiece was designed to be played in pop or rock settings, but it is also extremely fitting for a soloist in front of a big band or in a jazz fusion group. If you are looking for a sax mouthpiece to make you stand out in the crowd, the JALAPE\u00d1O tenor saxophone mouthpiece is the mouthpiece for you.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Each MACSAX JALAPE\u00d1O is made from a solid rod of brass with a green marbled hard rubber bite plate which is CNC milled for a very consistent and high quality tenor saxophone mouthpiece.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Macsax Jalape\u00f1o 8* Gold Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

The tip, rails, table and baffle of the Jalape\u00f1o tenor sax mouthpiece all look perfectly crafted.\u00a0 The window of the mouthpiece looks extra long and wide in comparison to my other tenor sax mouthpieces. This extra long window is a feature of all the Macsax tenor sax mouthpieces to let more of the reed vibrate and resonate while playing.\u00a0 The side rails and tip rail look thin, even and precise.\u00a0 The tip rail is close to the shape of my Rigotti Gold reeds although the outside curve of the tip rail looks to bend towards the side rail a little bit sooner than the shape of my Rigotti Gold reeds but it is really close in shape.<\/p>\n

I would describe the baffle as a high baffle.\u00a0 The baffle is higher than the Macsax Soco and Queso model tenor saxophone mouthpieces I have already reviewed. The baffle heads at a straight angle for about 7\/8 of an inch and then curves to a steeper rate of decline until it terminates at the edge of the chamber.<\/p>\n

The sidewalls are straight as they head back to the chamber as well. The chamber is the same diameter as the bore of the mouthpiece.\u00a0 The bore of the mouthpiece comes right up to where the baffle ends and the extra long and wide window gives the impression of an extra large chamber area to me because that window takes out material from where the chamber is.<\/p>\n

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Macsax Jalape\u00f1o 8* Gold Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Macsax Jalape\u00f1o tenor sax mouthpiece is slightly thicker in diameter than a typical metal Otto Link tenor saxophone mouthpiece. Ligatures that fit an Otto Link metal tenor sax mouthpiece will fit on the Macsax metal mouthpieces as well if you open the ligature up a bit.\u00a0 For example, my fabric Rovner ligature for metal tenor mouthpieces worked great on the Jalape\u00f1o as did my Selmer 404 silver metal ligature if I opened it up a bit more. (Although, my Francois Louis Ultimate ligature for metal Otto Links would not fit on the Jalape\u00f1o mouthpiece as it was too tight)<\/p>\n

The bore of the Macsax Jalape\u00f1o tenor sax mouthpiece was similar in diameter to the bore of a typical metal Otto Link tenor saxophone mouthpiece as well and fit on my neck cork nicely.<\/p>\n

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Macsax Jalape\u00f1o 8* Gold Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

I found the Macsax Jalape\u00f1o 8* tenor saxophone mouthpiece to be very free blowing and reed friendly. I tried Rigotti Gold 2 1\/2 medium,\u00a0 2 1\/2 strong and 3 light reeds on this mouthpiece and all of them played great.\u00a0 Although I didn’t try harder reeds, I have the impression that the Macsax Jalape\u00f1o tenor sax mouthpiece would have played just as easily with the Rigotti Gold 3 medium or 3 strong reeds.<\/p>\n

On the sound clips at the bottom of the review,\u00a0 I tried to show a variety of different sounds that the Jalape\u00f1o tenor saxophone mouthpiece could get when I was playing it.<\/p>\n