A friend of mine recently purchased a JodyJazz DV HR for tenor; I played it for a few minutes and it played well but I could not see myself purchasing it due to the high cost. I played a metal Link on tenor for over 20 years and a few years ago, I purchased a SYOS ChadLB and been playing it ever since. I believe the best value for your dollar currently are pieces from SYOS. I gotta say, you sound really great on the Drake, so probably worth an investigation. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for your thoughts. I am shopping for a new tenor piece and will add this to my list of pieces to be sure to trial. LOVE your sound, but as an RN, totally understand the physiology makes a huge difference and also is what helps give us all our own unique sound. Keep the videos coming. You always have interesting (and helpful) things to share.
Sounds great! Finally getting around to trying one , have an fg arriving soon. Love the ny jazz on alto, didn’t find the ny jazz quite a match on tenor, hoping the fg is it! Cheers
Does your Drake have the resonance chamber? I see the option to add it on the website. If so, what are your thoughts on the chamber? Man, you can play! Keep it going, bro.
I think u sound as good as possible with the mp horn combo I went HR and bought a Burnin 7*, no regrets. It suits my concept. I have heard Carl and as much as I like how he sounds I am not so sure I would sound that way. You on the other hand certainly capture the essence of 11:23 what the FG can do. Maybe one day I will make another purchase.
That’s really great that you found something that works for you! I’ve heard great things about those Burnin mouthpieces. Mouthpieces are so individual…what works for one person might be an absolute disaster for someone else. I got pretty lucky finding a great piece that works for me. Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
I've been playing a hard rubber Otto link now for three years. I bought a Theo wanne slant sig because I thought it would help me get that nice old school hard bop tenor sound. Not was I wrong. Great for fusion and rock/bands with guitars, not good for jazz. Totally don't get why they market it as if it's a retro jazz piece when it has a huuuuuge baffle. Decided to stick to my Otto link as I love it. I believe Drake also make a slant sig replica, called 'son of slant', I wonder if that's any better!
I own a SLANT SIG 2 and I do agree with your assessment of his piece. When I first got it I was super surprised with the low step baffle but I dont believe that this factor truly makes it unusable for jazz. I've found that the reed choice on this piece makes a huge difference in the tone it produces, for example I've found great success in getting that dark and rich tenor sound with a hemke or la voz reed but It can also project in a rock band with something like a select jazz reed.
If you have a hard rubber Link that you’re happy with…my advice is to stay with it. I was never able to find one that worked for me. I played one for about 6 months but could never figure it out. I needed a little more brightness for when I needed to push. That’s why this Drake FG is so good for me. But a good Link is golden in my opinion. I love the body and color that players get who play hard rubber links. There are two other mouthpieces that I’ve heard are comparable to the best links. One is made by Matt Marantz which he calls a Slant Legacy. I think Melissa Aldana is playing one of Matt’s mouthpieces. Matt is a phenomenal musician/saxophonist and mouthpiece maker/technician. He worked on a Meyer for me which I played for a couple of years. Great piece but it was that whole lack of brightness when I needed to push it that made me want to keep looking. Ted Klum also makes a hard rubber Florida link type piece which is supposed to be great too. The issue with both of those pieces is the price. Both come in at over $500 which is a little steep for me. The Drake FG was about $350 when I bought it. Mouthpiece hunting is a very dark tunnel to go down and it can be a really long tunnel too…and expensive…lol. 🤪
@@GeraldDeLoachMusic cheers Gerald! I don't think it will be my forever piece, as I still do find it quite stuffy. However, for where I'm at in my playing and developing a solid sound, it's perfect. But we'll see!
Hi Gerald, on the Drake Mouthpiece website in the description of your FG mouthpiece there is also the option that you can buy the model with the Brass Chamber. Does what you are playing have the Brass Chamber? And do you know the differences between the two? I am playing a Burnin' mouthpiece and would be curious to try the Drake FG for a comparison. Always thanks for your great videos
Thanks so much for the question. My FG does not have the brass chamber and I haven’t played one with the brass chamber. I can only assume that it might be a little brighter sounding? Not sure though. My FG without the brass chamber has plenty of projection and brightness for when I need that. Hope this helps
I had also thought about the greater brilliance but I wanted to hear your authoritative opinion. If I try, I’ll take the one without the brass chamber. Many thanks for the answer
I use Drake mouthpieces & I love them. Control, sound, pushed hard or playing soft.
A friend of mine recently purchased a JodyJazz DV HR for tenor; I played it for a few minutes and it played well but I could not see myself purchasing it due to the high cost. I played a metal Link on tenor for over 20 years and a few years ago, I purchased a SYOS ChadLB and been playing it ever since. I believe the best value for your dollar currently are pieces from SYOS. I gotta say, you sound really great on the Drake, so probably worth an investigation. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for your thoughts. I am shopping for a new tenor piece and will add this to my list of pieces to be sure to trial. LOVE your sound, but as an RN, totally understand the physiology makes a huge difference and also is what helps give us all our own unique sound. Keep the videos coming. You always have interesting (and helpful) things to share.
Sounds great! Finally getting around to trying one , have an fg arriving soon. Love the ny jazz on alto, didn’t find the ny jazz quite a match on tenor, hoping the fg is it! Cheers
Does your Drake have the resonance chamber? I see the option to add it on the website. If so, what are your thoughts on the chamber? Man, you can play! Keep it going, bro.
Thanks so much! My FG does not have a resonance chamber….I’ve actually never played one that had the resonance chamber.
Great vid! I play on the Contemporary model. I've been searching for ligatures and the BSS Superlative alto lig fits great.
Great to know! Thank you so much!
I think u sound as good as possible with the mp horn combo
I went HR and bought a Burnin 7*, no regrets. It suits my concept. I have heard Carl and as much as I like how he sounds I am not so sure I would sound that way. You on the other hand certainly capture the essence of 11:23 what the FG can do. Maybe one day I will make another purchase.
That’s really great that you found something that works for you! I’ve heard great things about those Burnin mouthpieces. Mouthpieces are so individual…what works for one person might be an absolute disaster for someone else. I got pretty lucky finding a great piece that works for me. Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
So, you had Drake make you the same mpc as Carl Cox. Does the Carl Cox mpc differ from a stock FG?
No…as far as I know it is the same except for the different tip openings. Carl and I both play a 7 tip opening.
@ thanks. I may order a 7 a as well.
I've been playing a hard rubber Otto link now for three years. I bought a Theo wanne slant sig because I thought it would help me get that nice old school hard bop tenor sound. Not was I wrong. Great for fusion and rock/bands with guitars, not good for jazz. Totally don't get why they market it as if it's a retro jazz piece when it has a huuuuuge baffle. Decided to stick to my Otto link as I love it. I believe Drake also make a slant sig replica, called 'son of slant', I wonder if that's any better!
I own a SLANT SIG 2 and I do agree with your assessment of his piece. When I first got it I was super surprised with the low step baffle but I dont believe that this factor truly makes it unusable for jazz. I've found that the reed choice on this piece makes a huge difference in the tone it produces, for example I've found great success in getting that dark and rich tenor sound with a hemke or la voz reed but It can also project in a rock band with something like a select jazz reed.
If you have a hard rubber Link that you’re happy with…my advice is to stay with it. I was never able to find one that worked for me. I played one for about 6 months but could never figure it out. I needed a little more brightness for when I needed to push. That’s why this Drake FG is so good for me. But a good Link is golden in my opinion. I love the body and color that players get who play hard rubber links. There are two other mouthpieces that I’ve heard are comparable to the best links. One is made by Matt Marantz which he calls a Slant Legacy. I think Melissa Aldana is playing one of Matt’s mouthpieces. Matt is a phenomenal musician/saxophonist and mouthpiece maker/technician. He worked on a Meyer for me which I played for a couple of years. Great piece but it was that whole lack of brightness when I needed to push it that made me want to keep looking. Ted Klum also makes a hard rubber Florida link type piece which is supposed to be great too. The issue with both of those pieces is the price. Both come in at over $500 which is a little steep for me. The Drake FG was about $350 when I bought it. Mouthpiece hunting is a very dark tunnel to go down and it can be a really long tunnel too…and expensive…lol. 🤪
@@S_R1117-m7m that's very interesting as I use a select jazz reed with it. I like la voz reeds so I might have another go!
@@GeraldDeLoachMusic cheers Gerald! I don't think it will be my forever piece, as I still do find it quite stuffy. However, for where I'm at in my playing and developing a solid sound, it's perfect. But we'll see!
Hi Gerald, on the Drake Mouthpiece website in the description of your FG mouthpiece there is also the option that you can buy the model with the Brass Chamber. Does what you are playing have the Brass Chamber? And do you know the differences between the two? I am playing a Burnin' mouthpiece and would be curious to try the Drake FG for a comparison. Always thanks for your great videos
Thanks so much for the question. My FG does not have the brass chamber and I haven’t played one with the brass chamber. I can only assume that it might be a little brighter sounding? Not sure though. My FG without the brass chamber has plenty of projection and brightness for when I need that. Hope this helps
I had also thought about the greater brilliance but I wanted to hear your authoritative opinion.
If I try, I’ll take the one without the brass chamber.
Many thanks for the answer