{"id":64585,"date":"2019-09-25T11:45:59","date_gmt":"2019-09-25T15:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/?p=64585"},"modified":"2022-11-15T15:56:57","modified_gmt":"2022-11-15T20:56:57","slug":"drake-phil-woods-master-series-alto-saxophone-mouthpiece-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/drake-phil-woods-master-series-alto-saxophone-mouthpiece-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Drake Phil Woods Master Series Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, I am reviewing a Drake Master Series Phil Woods alto saxophone mouthpiece made by Aaron Drake at Drake mouthpieces<\/a>.\u00a0 This alto mouthpiece is advertised as\u00a0 “a near identical replica of the mouthpiece that Phil Woods played for over 40 years.”\u00a0 <\/em>Don’t worry about the wording of “near identical”, this does not mean it is not identical.\u00a0 \u00a0Aaron sent me more detail that I highlighted in maroon after I posted the review:\u00a0 \u00a0The reason the mouthpiece is described as a \u201cnear identical\u201d reproduction of Phil\u2019s original mouthpiece is due to the deep teeth indentations found on Phil\u2019s original mouthpiece (he played this piece for over 40 years). This indentation was filled in so that it would not adversely affect each persons unique tooth placement on the beak.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

If you are a jazz fan, play the alto saxophone and have listened to any Phil Woods recordings, you can’t help but be interested in this alto sax mouthpiece.\u00a0 I remember listening to Phil Woods when I was a teenager on the records Musique Du Bois, Warm Woods and Live at the Showboat and I was in awe of his soloing as well as his beautiful alto saxophone tone.\u00a0 If this new Drake Master Series Phil Woods mouthpiece is a copy of Phil’s actual vintage Meyer alto saxophone mouthpiece then I had to try one out!<\/p>\n

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Drake Phil Woods Master Series Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

I asked Aaron if this was indeed a copy of Phil’s NY Meyer 5 alto sax mouthpiece and he said that it was.\u00a0 \u00a0Aaron says this project started in 2018 when Jill Goodwin (Phil’s widow) sent Phil’s main NY Meyer 5 mouthpiece to Aaron to see if he could reproduce it.<\/p>\n

I asked Aaron if he had more details on Phil Wood’s main mouthpiece and he sent me back this reply:<\/p>\n

“Phil’s mouthpiece was a NY Meyer USA – 5M – you will see the markings on the top of the shank of the mouthpiece “NEW YORK USA”.\u00a0 We know that this was the piece that Phil played for over 40 years – his backup piece was also a NY Meyer USA 5M, this piece was also in his case, but was not played much.”-Aaron Drake\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Aaron Drake sent me his 5 tip opening Phil Woods Master Series alto mouthpiece because that is the closest model to Phil’s original NY Meyer mouthpiece as it is the same tip opening at .073.<\/p>\n

The Drake Phil Woods model sax mouthpiece is not made with hard rubber but it is made from Drake’s vintage resin material.\u00a0 Each mouthpiece is created as a one piece casting that Aaron finishes by hand.\u00a0 The entire process is done at his shop and nothing is outsourced.\u00a0 (After I posted this review I had someone comment and refer to this mouthpiece as “plastic”\u00a0 I asked Aaron about this.) His response has been added to the review in maroon color:\u00a0 “Our Vintage Resin is not plastic, it is a resin composite material that incorporates ceramic to enhance its hardness and acoustic properties.\u00a0 <\/span>This material is the closest to the properties of vintage<\/b> hard rubber.\u00a0 <\/span>The Vintage Resin is engineered for durability and will outlast hard rubber. \u00a0<\/span><\/span>I recently had an opportunity to take a look at one of my pieces made 10 years ago.\u00a0 <\/span>It was played every day by a top professional musician and the facing was unchanged and still spot on.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Also, speaking to the material – it is not possible to capture the level of detail in the reproduction process using hard rubber and the process of milling hard rubber has a completely different acoustic affect on the finished mouthpiece – our one piece casting method is much more homogeneous and resonates differently – it is more \u201calive\u201d. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Casting hard rubber is a method that is still used – the process is reductive and will not result in the same level of reproductive consistency and detail possible with our process and material – the goal with this mouthpiece is to give each player an experience that is as close as possible to playing Phil’s mouthpiece.”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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Drake Phil Woods Master Series Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here is what Aaron Drake says about the Phil Woods alto saxophone mouthpiece from his website:<\/p>\n

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This mouthpiece is the product of a very special project in collaboration with the Phil Woods estate.<\/em><\/p>\n

This mouthpiece is a near identical replica of the mouthpiece that Phil Woods played for over 40 years.\u00a0 The essential geometry of the mouthpiece is identical to Phil’s mouthpiece, and it has the great characteristic vibe of one of the greatest alto saxophone sounds the world has ever known!\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>
\nThere is a comfortable level of resistance balanced with a freeness and ease of play through the range of the alto.\u00a0 A true experience to play and explore its potentials.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Each Phil Woods Mouthpiece is Handcrafted by Aaron Drake and is finished with a serial number.\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
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Each mouthpiece includes a Drake Quad Point ligature and cap, velvet pouch and carry case.<\/em><\/div>\n
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These mouthpieces are designed for a “universal” ligature fitment and most standard HR Alto ligatures will fit.<\/em><\/div>\n

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Drake Phil Woods Master Series Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Drake Phil Woods model alto saxophone mouthpiece came well packaged and protected.\u00a0 The mouthpiece looked great right out of the box.\u00a0 The resin material is shiny and smooth to the touch.\u00a0 The table, tip, rails, baffle and chamber look perfect.\u00a0 Everything is clean cut, even and smooth.<\/p>\n

The mouthpiece has “New York USA” faintly engraved on the top of the shank and “Medium Chamber” and “5” engraved on the bottom of the shank.\u00a0 I imagine this is to copy the engraving on Phil’s original NY Meyer 5.<\/p>\n

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Drake Phil Woods Master Series Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Drake Phil Woods Master Series alto saxophone mouthpiece looks great as I examine it while writing this review. The table looks flat and smooth with not a mark on it.\u00a0 The side rails and tip rail are thin and look to be perfectly even to my eyes.<\/p>\n

The baffle is a smooth rollover baffle that looks slightly higher on the left side than the right as it rolls over.\u00a0 The baffle then descends down into the medium sized chamber.\u00a0 The side walls are slightly scooped out also.<\/p>\n

Interestingly enough, the mouthpiece chamber looks to be somewhat oblong shaped meaning that it looks a little bit higher in diameter than it is wide.\u00a0 This might just be the affect of the chamber floor being a little lower than the circle of the chamber which gives it this look.\u00a0 The chamber opening is smaller than the bore size and opens up into the bore at the end of the chamber. The roof of the chamber is pretty thick compared to many modern day mouthpieces also.<\/p>\n

As far as any asymmetry I write about in this review or that you see in the photos, Aaron Drake sent me an email about these after I wrote the review that I highlighted in maroon which I think is helpful:\u00a0 “I wanted to comment on the subtle asymmetries in the mouthpiece – these were present in Phil\u2019s mouthpiece and lend to the the unique \u201cone-of -kind\u201d nature of his mouthpiece.\u00a0 <\/span>The original NY Meyer mouthpiece that Phil played was hand finished, these subtle asymmetries are not unusual for a vintage mouthpiece.”<\/span><\/em> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Drake Phil Woods Master Series Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Drake Phil Woods Master Series alto sax mouthpiece came with two slide on ligatures that Aaron wanted me to try out. (I believe it only comes with one ligature if you purchase the mouthpiece). One is called a Drake Quad Point Ligature and one is a Drake Dual Rails Ligature.\u00a0 They both look the same as the photos below from the outside.\u00a0 The difference between the two is that the Quad Point Ligature only holds the reed on the four outside corners where the reed touches the ligature.\u00a0 The Dual Rails Ligature holds the reed with rails on each side of the ligature.<\/p>\n

I personally felt that the Quad Point ligature was a bit more spread and diffused in tone where as the Dual Rails ligature seemed to have a more centered and focused tone.\u00a0 This is of course highly subjective so take this opinion for what it’s worth.\u00a0 I personally liked the Dual Rails ligature the best and used that ligature on the sound clips because I like a focused tone but the Quad Point ligature did seem to allow more freedom for the reed to vibrate I think.<\/p>\n

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Drake Phil Woods Master Series Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although I used the Drake ligature for the sound clips and felt that it worked well, in general I am not a big fan of slide on ligatures just because they only hold the reed at the point where they slide on tightly.\u00a0 If I am having an issue with a reed, the first thing I do is to adjust the reed position as well as the ligature position on my sax mouthpiece.\u00a0 I like the option of being able to position a ligature further back on the mouthpiece to free up the reed a little more or to position it closer to the tip end of the mouthpiece to perhaps seal the reed better and give the tone a little more focus.\u00a0 I find these ligature adjustments to influence the response and articulation of a reed many times also.\u00a0 That’s just my opinion though………..<\/p>\n

As a point of reference for other ligatures, the Drake Phil Woods alto sax mouthpiece\u00a0 will work with a Vandoren Optimum metal alto sax ligature positioned towards the rear of the reed.\u00a0 It doesn’t quite tighten enough if it is more forward towards the tip but tightens nicely if you slide it back towards the middle or rear of the reed.<\/p>\n

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Drake Phil Woods Master Series Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

My first experience playing the Drake Phil Woods alto sax mouthpiece was that it was really easy blowing.\u00a0 Some of this probably had to do with the .073 tip opening as I usually play around a .080 tip opening.\u00a0 All the reeds I tried on this alto mouthpiece just felt a little too soft for it but I believe that was because the hardest new alto reed I had was a Rigotti Gold 3 medium reed which was just too soft for a .073 tip opening.<\/p>\n

Luckily, I have about a thousand used Vandoren Java reeds in a shoe box in my office.\u00a0 I tried a Vandoren Java 3 reed and it played perfectly for me.\u00a0 I also tried a number of other Java 3 reeds that played great on the Drake Phil Woods alto sax mouthpiece as well.<\/p>\n

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Drake Phil Woods Master Series Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first two clips below are with the Vandoren Java 3 reed that I would say offered a good hardness and resistance.\u00a0 The first is a dry recording with no affects and the second has a little bit of reverb added.<\/p>\n

I also decided to add two clips of the Drake Phil Woods alto mouthpiece with a softer blowing reed which is a Ishimori Woodstone 3 1\/2 reed.\u00a0 I wouldn’t say this reed was too soft but it does lean to the softer side as compared to the Vandoren Java 3.\u00a0 Many players are more comfortable playing softer reeds, so I thought it would be good to add these clips as well.\u00a0 As above, the first is a dry recording with no affects and the second has a little bit of reverb added.<\/p>\n

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Drake Phil Woods Master Series Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

I thought that the Drake Phil Woods alto mouthpiece played great as you can hear on the sound clips below.\u00a0 It has a bright clear tone that is powerful and crisp. The tone is focused and has a tight round core to it.<\/p>\n

In the clips below I play a few Phil Woods lines in each clip from a “Stolen Moments” solo<\/a> I just transcribed a few weeks ago and “The Summer Knows” which is another classic Phil Woods solo.\u00a0 (Do yourself a favor and check out the Stolen Moments solo……)<\/p>\n

I feel\u00a0 like the harder Vandoren Java 3 reed has a little bit more texture and character to the tone.\u00a0 The softer Woodstone reed has a clearer tone that I think is somewhat brighter in my opinion although you might disagree with that.\u00a0 I do think the slightly softer reed was easier for me to bend notes and use vibrato but I do like the thickness of tone of the harder Java 3 reed.\u00a0 I would imagine there is an inbetween area between both reeds that can be attained by more playing with this mouthpiece where all these elements I really like about each reed can be mixed together.<\/p>\n

The intonation with the Drake Phil Woods mouthpiece was as would be expected on my Selmer Reference 54 alto sax.\u00a0 I will say that my middle E was sharper for me than I am used to but this is common for me when I play alto mouthpieces with chambers smaller than a large chamber. This is a characteristic of my sax unfortunately.\u00a0 \u00a0The more I played the Drake Phil Woods mouthpiece the more I got used to this and brought the pitch of that note down.<\/p>\n

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Drake Phil Woods Master Series Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you like the sound and look of the Drake Master Series Phil Woods Model alto saxophone mouthpiece by Aaron Drake, you can find them at the Drake website<\/a>.\u00a0 I think Aaron Drake has done a great job in reproducing this great alto sax mouthpiece that was owned by Phil Woods.\u00a0 \u00a0Of course, I haven’t played Phil’s original NY Meyer 5, but when I listen to his recording of Stolen Moments above I can hear how the Drake Phil Woods model is in that ballpark of sound for me which I am ecstatic about!\u00a0 It makes me just want to transcribe and shed even more Phil Wood’s solos!<\/p>\n

Thanks to Aaron Drake for his work in reproducing this great alto mouthpiece.\u00a0 Thanks to Jill Goodwin for taking the leap of faith in sending it to Aaron, and thanks most of all to the master and legend Phil Woods for using the tools he had to create music that is extraordinary and spectacular.\u00a0 You are missed Mr. Woods!<\/p>\n

If you have played or end up playing a Drake Master Series Phil Woods Model alto saxophone mouthpiece or have any other thoughts or comments about this review, I would love to hear what you think in the comments below.\u00a0 Thanks,\u00a0 \u00a0Steve<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2019\/DrakePW.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Drake Phil Woods Master Series Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece-Vandoren Java 3 Reed-No Effects<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2019\/DrakePWReverb.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Drake Phil Woods Master Series Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece-Vandoren Java 3 Reed-Slight Reverb Added<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2019\/DrakePWWSReed.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Drake Phil Woods Master Series Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece-Ishimori Woodstone 3 1\/2 Reed (Softer than the Java 3 above)-No Effects Added<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2019\/DrakePWWSReverb.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Drake Phil Woods Master Series Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece-Ishimori Woodstone 3 1\/2 Reed (softer than the Java 3 above)-Slight Reverb Added<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n