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<\/a><\/p>\nNY Meyer 100th Anniversary Model Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece-on left normal beak-on right duckbill beak<\/strong><\/p>\n I reached out to JJ Babbitt a couple times to see if I could get a NY Meyer saxophone mouthpiece to review but both times they didn’t have any available to send me as they seem to have their hands full just filling existing mouthpiece orders.\u00a0 Luckily, Dave Kessler at Kessler & Sons Music<\/a> and Simon Harding at Tenor Madness<\/a> both volunteered to let me borrow some of the new NY Meyer sax mouthpieces for this review.\u00a0 In total I received three 6’s and two 7’s to review.<\/p>\n Normally, I do not need this many mouthpieces for one review but there was some confusion over the beaks of these new NY Meyer mouthpieces.\u00a0 Right around the time I started asking for mouthpieces to review, I also started hearing from players that the new NY Meyer mouthpieces had a unique (some described it as strange….) duckbill shape to the beak(a duckbill beak has a very low profile which looks a bit like a duck’s bill).\u00a0 Vintage NY Meyer alto mouthpieces do not have duckbill beaks.\u00a0 Some people were reporting NY Meyer mouthpieces with this new duckbill beak but others were reporting normal height Meyer type beaks on their NY Meyer mouthpieces.\u00a0 People were posting pictures on SOTW (Sax on the Web) of the different beaks. Many of us were quite confused.<\/p>\n By this point, I already had a 6 and 7 tip NY Meyer alto mouthpiece on their way to me and I found out that these also had the duckbill beaks.\u00a0 I also heard that Tenor Madness had the regular beaked NY Meyers in stock and Simon agreed to send me three of the regular beaked NY Meyer mouthpieces to review as well.<\/p>\n I figured that if there were two versions of these new NY Meyer alto sax mouthpieces out there, that I might as well review both of them so my readers will have an idea of what is going on. Here are some photos so you can see the differences in the beaks:<\/p>\n NY Meyer 100th Anniversary Model Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece-on left normal beak-on right duckbill beak<\/strong><\/p>\n NY Meyer 100th Anniversary Model Regular Beak Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n NY Meyer 100th Anniversary Model Duckbill Beak Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n As you can see in the picture above, the duckbill beak Meyer mouthpiece is much thinner than the regular beak mouthpiece.<\/p>\n Why or how two different versions of a newly released mouthpiece exist is something you will have to ask JJ Babbitt.\u00a0 I figure that someone either screwed up at the factory or JJ Babbitt had for whatever reason decided that the duckbill beak was a good choice.\u00a0 I also was wondering if maybe they had two models of the newly released NY Meyer for those who would prefer a different beak angle.<\/p>\n While researching this beak issue online I did find this quote from someone who talked to Jim at JJ Babbitt:<\/p>\n Babbitt still uses the same mold from the NY\u00a0Meyer<\/span>\u00a0when they acquired\u00a0Meyer<\/span>\u00a0in 1970. Yes, the same mold, different core.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n All the Babbitt pieces are hand grinded\/sanded \/ finished when they come out of the molds. The duck bill run is due to someone grinding the beak down to get rid of a wear spot that is now present in the 60+ year old mold.\u00a0 Jim has said they now have a way to finish them and not take them down that much.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n So it seems our mystery of the\u00a0 two different beaks is solved and that these duckbill beak NY Meyer mouthpieces just occurred in the first run of these mouthpieces.\u00a0 \u00a0 Who knows, maybe they will be collector’s items someday!<\/p>\n The next question to deal with is if these different beak heights affect the tone and playability of each mouthpiece?\u00a0 I will deal with this question later in the review.<\/p>\n Besides the beak\u00a0 difference the two models look exactly the same to me.\u00a0 The tip, rails, baffle and chamber look almost identical when comparing each alto mouthpiece side by side.<\/p>\n NY Meyer 100th Anniversary Model Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n Here is how the JJ Babbitt website describes the new NY Meyer alto sax mouthpiece:<\/p>\n The popular NY (New York) Meyer mouthpiece for Alto sax is being introduced by JJ Babbitt in commemoration of our 100th anniversary. A favorite among players, it is now back due to player requests.<\/em><\/p>\n This is the original free-blowing NY mouthpiece with superb control and playability. It fills a niche to complete the Meyer lineup and will enable saxophonists from students to professionals to achieve what they\u2019ve been looking for \u2013 in both sound and comfort \u2013 while performing. It\u2019s a great value, too!<\/em><\/p>\n Player comments:<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThey nailed it! I will probably retire my Vintage Meyer and switch to the NY.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAstonishing projection! Much more than any alto mouthpieces I have ever played.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIt exemplifies the best characteristics of the unique Meyer sound and playing experience.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re centered, easy to control, vibrant, colorful, and flexible for a rich sub-tone in the low register and screaming lead alto in the upper register.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n NY Meyer 100th Anniversary Model Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n The new NY Meyer alto saxophone mouthpieces look great out of the box.\u00a0 They all come with serial numbers on the side of the body which is really helpful in keeping track of a specific mouthpiece.\u00a0 I really like this feature and wish all mouthpiece makers did this.<\/p>\n The mouthpiece has a smooth rollover baffle that descends smoothly into the medium chamber.\u00a0 The sidewalls look and feel straight to me.\u00a0 Maybe slightly scooped out compared to the rail above them but I would consider these to have straight sidewalls.\u00a0 The table, tip, rails, baffle and chambers all look great to the eye on all five mouthpieces I received to review.\u00a0 The chamber floor looks to be scooped out a bit starting where the baffle enters the chamber.<\/p>\n One thing I must warn you about is that the new ligatures that come with these NY Meyer mouthpieces may have sharp edges on the inside ridges of the ligature.\u00a0 One of the mouthpieces I received already has a scratch on it from someone before me trying it with the ligature.\u00a0 I felt the inside ridges of each ligature I received and there is indeed sharp edges I could feel with my finger towards the top where the screws are.<\/p>\n NY Meyer 100th Anniversary Model Alto Saxophone Ligature<\/strong><\/p>\n The ligature is a two screw ligature that has the screws on top and there are two metal bars on the plate that hold the reed in place.\u00a0 The concept reminds me of the Marc Jean ligature concept but these are metal bars instead of wooden bars like the Marc Jean ligatures have.\u00a0 I tend to prefer the two screw ligatures because you can experiment with loosening or tightening the tension on the rear or front of the ligature and see how it affects the response of the reed.<\/p>\n NY Meyer 100th Anniversary Model Alto Saxophone Ligature<\/strong><\/p>\n Like I wrote above, I would be really careful if you are trying these new mouthpieces with these ligatures.\u00a0 You might want to ask the store to check them before sending them to you if you want a ligature that won’t scratch up your new mouthpiece. (Especially if there is a return policy and you might choose to return it)<\/p>\n NY Meyer 100th Anniversary Model Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n So, how do these new NY Meyer alto sax mouthpieces play?\u00a0 \u00a0First off, I want to say that all five mouthpieces played great for me.\u00a0 I have to be honest though, the mouthpieces with the lowered beaks just felt odd to me. I actually compared the beak to my Gaia soprano sax mouthpiece beak and it was even lower than my soprano mouthpiece.\u00a0 It was probably the lowest beak I have ever played on and because of that it just felt odd and a bit uncomfortable for me.<\/p>\n As far as tone and playability, the lower beaked mouthpieces seemed brighter and more focused than the tone of the normal beaked mouthpieces.\u00a0 \u00a0The duckbill beaks seemed more like they had a more compressed and focused sound to me than the normal beaks. The normal beaks seemed like the tone was more spread and round I think. I’m not sure I can make out these differences on the recordings in a blind test but that is what I perceived when I was playing them.<\/p>\n As I reflect on this, this might be entirely due to the difference in shape of my oral cavity while playing.\u00a0 \u00a0We all know that the shape of your mouth and position of your tongue have an affect on your tone.\u00a0 The change of 0ral cavity shape when playing these two mouthpieces is pretty large in my opinion and I wouldn’t be surprised if this change in oral cavity shape affects the tone in some way.<\/p>\n You can listen to the clips below and tell me what you think as I am curious if others will hear what I perceived while playing.\u00a0 I can hear it on the recording but I already have a preconceived idea of what I felt and heard so I am probably biased.\u00a0 Matter of fact, now that you have read this also, you probably have a preconceived idea of what you will hear also…….Not sure there is any way around that unless you do a blind listening and playing test and that is not what I am doing today.<\/p>\n NY Meyer 100th Anniversary Model Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n I’ve made four recordings below. Two are normal beak 6 and 7 tip opening NY Meyer mouthpieces and two are duckbill beaked 6 and 7 tip opening NY Meyer mouthpieces.\u00a0 I tried to player similar ideas in each clip although at times I did wander off into other areas.<\/p>\n I did play the beginning of Charlie Parker’s Kim at the beginning of each clip as well as the melody of Stella By Starlight at some point in each clip so if you compare those sections of the clips you might get a good idea of how the mouthpieces might vary in sound.<\/p>\n I usually prefer an alto saxophone mouthpiece tip of around .078-.080 in my experience.\u00a0 The 6 tip of the new NY Meyer alto mouthpiece is at .076 and the 7 tip opening is at .081.\u00a0 I wasn’t sure which tip opening I would prefer but in the end the 6 did feel a little small for me although it played great.<\/p>\n NY Meyer 100th Anniversary Model Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n I ended up using the same Rigotti Gold 3 medium reed on all of these NY Meyer mouthpiece sound clips.<\/p>\n I found the 6 tip opening to be somewhat brighter and have more of a concentrated focus than the 7 tip openings. On the other hand, I felt like I could put more air through the 7 for a bigger and slightly darker sound.<\/p>\n The intonation and articulation on these mouthpieces was great and I felt like I could get a good range of volume from each mouthpiece.<\/p>\n I know some of you might be wondering how these compare to the vintage NY Meyer mouthpieces from the 60’s but I really can’t write about that. I have only played one vintage NY Meyer alto mouthpiece and that was for five minutes in a store some 20 years ago.\u00a0 I remember being impressed with it, but the guy wanted 450 bucks for it which I thought was ridiculous, so I passed on it.\u00a0 Hopefully some player who own and play vintage NY Meyer alto saxophone mouthpieces will try these new NY Meyer versions and give us a side by side comparison….<\/p>\n I will say that these new NY Meyer alto sax mouthpieces beat the pants off of all of the regular Meyer alto mouthpieces I have tried over the last 30 years.\u00a0 \u00a0I used to teach about 70 saxophone students every week when I lived in Massachusetts years ago and once a week I would make a trip to the local music store to try out the new Meyer alto sax mouthpieces they had for my advancing alto sax students.\u00a0 I would pick out the best ones I could find for each of my students.\u00a0 In my opinion, these new NY Meyer alto mouthpieces are all better than any of those Meyer mouthpieces I picked out during those 10 years and I tried out many.<\/p>\n If you like the sound and look of these new NY Meyer alto saxophone mouthpieces from JJ Babbitt you can find them at Kessler & Sons Music<\/a> or Tenor Madness<\/a>. \u00a0If you play one or have any other thoughts or comments, I would love to hear what you think in the comments below. Listen to the clips below and see if you can hear any differences between these four mouthpieces.<\/p>\n Thanks,\u00a0 \u00a0Steve<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n