Big Beautiful Saxophone Sound
From a whisper to a roar, The JodyJazz HH Tenor is going to delight you and your audience with its range of expressions and the ease with which it achieves that variety of sound.
Not too Bright – Not Too Dark
Our goal in designing the HH Tenor was to make a saxophone mouthpiece that would appeal to the majority of players because of where it sits in the tonal spectrum. If you play traditional Jazz and ballads, you will love this piece and if you play more contemporary music requiring a brighter sound and more volume you can love this piece also. It is not the brightest or darkest mouthpiece, but it is in the middle where most players find it perfect.
Where Sound Meets Art
Hand-Hammered Brass combined with Gold-plating has created a work of art that sounds as exquisite as it looks.
Jody Espina demonstrates the new Hand-Hammered HH Tenor Mouthpiece
What is Hand-Hammering?
Hand-Hammering is the ancient art of working brass and bronze alloys to manipulate their sonic characteristics which cymbal makers have been using for centuries. Hand-Hammered cymbals are renown and much prized for their dark, complex, rich, and warm overtones. Hand-Hammering when applied to the brass blanks from which the mouthpieces are made, compresses the brass and makes it stronger. The harder the material, the easier it rings out and sustains. You need less energy to get it to resonate than a softer, un-hammered piece of brass. This results in a sweeter sounding mouthpiece with uniquely warm and complex tonal characteristics.
In order to bring this idea to life, we sought out one of the world’s foremost experts in the art of Hand-Hammering. With over 30 years of experience at one of the world’s largest cymbal companies, Paul Francis has designed some of the most famous and highly coveted cymbals ever created. Paul was able to apply the many hammering techniques he had learned and developed during his more than 3 decades of making cymbals, to the hammering of the mouthpiece blanks. Considered one of the top master cymbal artisans in the world, Paul is currently making cymbals under his own ‘Cymbal Craftsman’ brand.
Paul Francis – Cymbal Craftsman
The Result
Unmatched fullness and bottom with easy power and sweet subtones make the HH the best mouthpiece that we have ever made. It’s our sincerest wish that the HH helps you achieve your highest form of musical expression.
What is the HH Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece?
The JodyJazz Hand-Hammered plays effortlessly and delivers the sound that you desire in the moment. It is our fullest sounding mouthpiece with the most bottom we have ever achieved. The HH is the heaviest tenor sax mouthpiece that you have ever felt. This massive amount of material adds weight to the sound. Yet the mouthpiece can play the most delicate, fast and nimble passages because the brass is vibrating so feely. Finally, twenty-two years of experiments and experience have gone into making the facing curve of the HH. This results in the reed being able to vibrate at an optimum rate in every register of the saxophone delivering a uniformity of tone that is unmatched.
The Patch Bay
The HH Tenor models feature another design innovation which JodyJazz is calling the “Patch Bay”. This is a recessed, shallow basin in the beak of the mouthpiece that allows for the easy and comfortable placement of a clear protector patch. JodyJazz will be shipping the new HH Tenor mouthpiece with one of their ‘Perfect Patch’ mouthpiece cushions already affixed in the patch bay and then another larger clear patch over the top.
Available Tip Openings
Hand-Hammered HH Tenor Mouthpiece Available Tip Openings:
- 6* = .095”
- 7* = .105”
- 8* = .115”
JODYJAZZ ARTIST TESTIMONIALS
Charlie DiPuma
“JodyJazz is more than just a mouthpiece. It is a true extension of a player’s creativity and emotion. After playing Jody’s mouthpieces for over twenty years, I can honestly and enthusiastically attest to their ability to grow with a player and enhance their unique sound. What more could you hope for as a saxophonist!”
Kirk Whalum
“Bro, the new mouthpiece is killing!! And GORGEOUS. I’m in love with it! Thanks #JodyJazz for creating the great Hand-Hammered HH Tenor and HR* CUSTOM DARK Soprano mouthpieces! The difference between a good and a GREAT mouthpiece is that the great one is transparent. Jody has this stuff down to (literally) a science. Why not do what it takes to sound like You!”
Dan White
“The HR* CUSTOM DARK Baritone sax mouthpiece has changed the game. I can feel the whole horn singing with a fatter, richer sound. Not only does it feel and sound better, it plays more in tune! Top to bottom 10/10.” “Jody’s HR 8 allows me to do everything that I can imagine with ease. It has warmth and the right amount of cut allowing me to do my thing in any musical setting. Hemke 4 reeds with the Jody Jazz HR 8 gets me the fat sound from top to bottom that I am looking for.” “The HR Custom Dark Mouthpiece sounds incredible!! It has a nice, consistent response through all the registers. This mouthpiece makes the the horn resonates more giving each note a nice deep, rich, and full sound. Altissimo responds beautifully and the intonation is spot on.” “The JodyJazz Clarinet mouthpiece makes the clarinet a whole lot more fun to play and record with. It brings out the nice warm, woody sound of the instrument with great intonation and is super consistent through all registers at any dynamic.”
Hand-Hammered POWER RING in Gold and Rose Gold – Available Separately
This mouthpiece does not come with a ligature but to accompany the new HH Tenor we are offering a special matching POWER RING which, like the mouthpiece is also Hand-Hammered. Available in Gold or Rose Gold plate. The Hand-Hammered HH Tenor and POWER RING together make for one of the most stunning looking setups that we offer.
The POWER RING features a concave inner design, which reduces the touch points on the reed, thereby maximizing reed vibration. There are no moving or added parts, thereby increasing the efficiency of vibration. The increased mass and greater wall thickness of the POWER RING Ligature, together with its more contoured shape, provides a more solid contact with the reed at the points where they touch. This allows the most freedom and vibration of the reed, which in turn also increases the amount of harmonics present, allowing the fullest saxophone sound containing high, mid, and low frequencies. The Hand-Hammering brings the same attributes to the POWER RING as it does to the mouthpiece, enhancing its ease of vibration and further increasing the harmonics and fullness of tone.
In addition to fitting the new Hand-Hammered Tenors, the new Hand Hammered POWER RINGs also fit the same models as the standard HRT1 POWER RING including the HR* Tenors, HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenors, JET Tenors, GIANT Tenors and new DV HR Tenors. The POWER RING provides both a significant improvement in performance and greatly enhanced visual appeal. You will love the simplicity, beauty, and effectiveness of the POWER RING Ligature.
Hand-Hammered POWER RING HRT1HHG Gold = $235.00
Hand-Hammered POWER RING HRT1HHRG Rose Gold = $250.00
What Does The HH Tenor Do?
- Big Beautiful Saxophone Sound
- Huge Bottom and Fullness
- Effortless playing
- Perfect Blend of Bright and Dark Sound
- Focused sound with Complexity
- Reed Friendly
- Excellent Sub-tones
How Does The HH Tenor do it?
Hand-Hammering – Brass vibrates more with less effort and produces a sweeter sound
Heavy Mass – Adds body and harmonics to the sound
Facing Curve – Notes Plays easily and sound consistent throughout the entire range of the saxophone
Chamber Shape and Baffle – Sound is not too bright and not too dark
Straight side walls – give focus for louder playing
Big Chamber – gives warmth for soft playing and sub-tones
- CNC Machined From Solid Bar Stock
- Expertly Hand Finished Rollover Baffle, Tip Rail and Table
- Unparalleled Quality Control
- Play tested by Jody Espina & Staff
What are straight side walls?
Straight side walls are common in many mouthpieces. If you look at the Side rails down into the mouthpiece those walls go straight down. Not at an angle or bowed out. This focuses the sound more than rounded sidewalls and that focus is balanced out by the very big deep chamber which gives the warmth and depth of the sound.
Special Note from Jody: (Be careful with your saxophone neck)
The tenor saxophone neck can be bent when putting on any mouthpiece if one is not very careful. The HH is a very heavy mouthpiece and I urge you to take the neck off the saxophone and then put the mouthpiece on the neck. This will assure that you don’t bend the neck down while putting on the mouthpiece. As I said, be very careful putting any mouthpiece on the neck of a saxophone.
Another Special Note from Jody: (wide side rails)
You’ll note that the side rails on the HH are wider than many mouthpieces and this is because if we made the side rails thin, the Hand-Hammering on the outside of the mouthpiece would have affected the consistency and perfect smoothness of the side rails thus interfering with the facing curve. This was one aspect in a year of prototyping and figuring out how to make a Hand-Hammered saxophone mouthpiece. Happily, we discovered that the thick rails not only didn’t take anything away from the performance of the mouthpiece, it seems to add stability and solidness to the playability.
The Story of The JodyJazz HH
Since Jody Espina first began designing his JodyJazz mouthpieces, he has been on a constant quest not only to offer the finest and most consistent mouthpieces available, but also to further expand the palate of sound textures and performance characteristics available to saxophonists. Now Jody is proud to unveil his newest innovation and the latest result in his ongoing quest for new sounds, the world’s first Hand-Hammered saxophone mouthpiece.
Hand-Hammering is the ancient art of working brass and bronze alloys to manipulate their sonic characteristics which cymbal makers have been using for centuries. Hand-Hammered cymbals are renown and much prized for their dark, complex, rich, and warm overtones. Jody wanted to know if these same sonic properties could be imparted to a mouthpiece through the application of Hand-Hammering. To bring this idea to life, he sought out one of the world’s foremost experts in the art of Hand-Hammering. With over 30 years of experience at one of the world’s largest cymbal companies, Paul Francis has designed some of the most popular and highly coveted cymbals ever created.
The results of the first experiments were instant and pronounced. Hammering the bell brass blanks resulted in mouthpieces with uniquely warm and complex tonal characteristics. In order to enhance the unique tonal characteristic and response of the hammered brass, an all-new internal design and facing curve was developed. And so was born the new JodyJazz HH Tenor mouthpiece, the world’s first Hand-Hammered saxophone mouthpiece.
“Hammering the brass compresses it and makes it stronger,” says Jody. “The harder the material, the easier it rings out and sustains. You need less energy to get it to resonate than a softer, un-hammered piece of brass. Everyone who has played the mouthpiece says the hammering makes it sweeter sounding. Together with its combination of a round chamber and straight side walls the new HH Tenor delivers a truly unique combination of warm beautiful sound with power and fullness.”