What Is the HR* CUSTOM DARK Alto Saxophone Mouthpiece?
The HR* CUSTOM DARK is our premium line of hard rubber saxophone mouthpieces, where the goal was to make the most beautiful sounding and playing pieces that we possibly could. As alto sax players, we know there are often a lot of unpleasant highs in the sound, especially on the higher notes. With the HR* CUSTOM DARK Alto, we retained the fun of playing a great alto mouthpiece while taking all the unpleasant highs off, by shaping a beautiful rollover baffle which gives it the pop and feedback that alto players are used to and then making a big large chamber and bore to give it this mellow, warm pretty sound.
The HR* CUSTOM DARK Alto uses the finest material used in hard rubber mouthpieces today, which is our proprietary Chedeville® Rubber. CHR (Chedeville Rubber) is a softer purer formula than regular standard hard rubber. This rubber imparts a rich warm sound.
Next we made rounded sidewalls that add complexity to the core sound.
A large round chamber puts the timbre in a warm dark zone and the thick heavy gold plated brass band on the shank boosts the amount of harmonics in the sound.
The facing curve and baffle on the HR* CUSTOM DARK are what truly make the mouthpiece a joy to play. We have applied our twenty years of making mouthpieces on these two key components of a mouthpiece, with a combination of science, technology and old fashioned made by hand craftsmanship.
Thanks for reading the description of this mouthpiece. Now all we need is for you to try it and see what you think.
Jody Espina – Designer, Founder and President – JodyJazz
JodyJazz HR* CUSTOM DARK Alto Sax Mouthpiece Price: $350
The mouthpiece comes with a deluxe mouthpiece pouch and Free Domestic Shipping (USPS Priority Mail). For different shipping options and for Overseas Shipping Prices click the “Buy Now” button and fill in your address. You will be able to see your options and pricing before you actually have to buy the item.
$350.00
JODYJAZZ ARTIST TESTIMONIALS
“Jody Espina has knocked it out of the park again with the new HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenor mouthpiece. After establishing a stellar classical saxophone mouthpiece division using his proprietary CHR Chedeville rubber, he has now used the rubber for a jazz tenor saxophone mouthpiece for the first time. When played softly, it reminds me strongly of the sound of Stan Getz. John Coltrane said “Let’s face it–we’d all sound like that if we could,” and who are we to argue with Trane? When you go for it in a big band or commercial setting, it will stand up to the brass and amplified instruments as well as any mouthpiece out there. I don’t know of any other mouthpiece that can inhabit both those worlds so well. The Chedeville classical mouthpieces Jody designed have made a clean sweep on my Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Baritone, and I told him the HR* CUSTOM DARKS will do the same for my jazz setups. Bravo, Jody, and keep ’em coming!” “The JodyJazz HR* Soprano 5* mouthpiece allows for the rich warm tonal center that pleases me on all single reed mouthpieces, and just adds that slight edge that allows us to cut through the brass when playing with large ensembles. In my opinion the Soprano should never be strident and should have a contained ringing tone (like ALL musical instruments, including the human voice.) The JodyJazz HR* allows for that with great intonation, and can also provide incredible projection. The key to projection is tone, and it is also the key to “in-tone-ation!” All of Jody’s mouthpieces provide a great big tone, and the HR* line can also provide gentleness and beauty.” “The JodyJazz POWER RING is a work of genius. The heavy mass of the ligature lends incredibly rich resonance to the tone, while the limited contact points allow for great life in the sound and terrific ease of articulation. I own over a hundred excellent ligatures, and the POWER RING blows them all away. These are not just for jazz… they are also beautiful classical ligatures with the most resonant core sound you’ve ever heard for soloists, large ensemble, and chamber players.”
“I was really impressed with the new HR* Custom Dark Tenor 8*. Its sound is really smooth and it is possible to change intonation according to the energy of my playing. It is an extremely fair and homogeneous mouthpiece. It goes where I want to go, that’s the most important thing to me! For a young musician this may be the time to take a sound color term to the next level. I recommend it to all my students because it brings more confidence. On soprano, the HR 7* model allowed me to find smooth listening and playing sensations – in the studio, these accuracies make the big difference.”
“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.”
MAGAZINE REVIEWS
Jody Espina plays the JodyJazz HR* CUSTOM DARK Alto Mouthpiece
Mike Burton plays the JodyJazz HR* CUSTOM DARK Alto Mouthpiece
What Does The HR* CUSTOM DARK Alto Do?
- Beautiful Warm Spread Tone
- Free Blowing
- Reed Friendly
- Player Can Shape their Sound
- Huge Bottom End with Power on Top When Needed
- Traditional Jazz Sound
- Annoying highs in the tone rolled off
How Does The HR* CUSTOM DARK Alto Do It?
- Proprietary Chedeville Hard Rubber Formula
- Large Round Chamber
- Curved Undercut Sidewalls
- Heavy Solid Gold Plated Brass Ring on Shank
- CNC Machined From Solid Bar Stock
- Expertly Hand Finished Baffle, Tip Rail and Table
- Unparalleled Quality Control
- Play tested by Jody Espina
Do you need a facing comparison chart?
CLICK HERE to compare JodyJazz mouthpieces with other brands.
JodyJazz HR* CUSTOM DARK Alto Sax Mouthpiece Available Tip Openings
- 4 = .066
- 5 = .072
- 6 = .078
- 7 = .083
- 8 = .090
- 9 = .100
Does Not Include Ligature
This mouthpiece does not come with a ligature. Your current ligature (if you have a hard rubber mouthpiece) should fit this mouthpiece, but for upgrades on the ligature you can look here at our POWER RING® Ligatures. The POWER RING AS1 – Gold and AS1S – Silver models are made specifically for the HR* CUSTOM DARK Alto mouthpiece. You can also look here at our H-Ligature options as well.
Upgrade to a POWER RING® Ligature
You will love the simplicity, beauty, and effectiveness of the POWER RING Ligature. The POWER RING provides both a significant improvement in performance and greatly enhanced visual appeal. 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 new 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.
A Story From Jody
Playing this mouthpiece is as comfortable as putting on a pair of broken-in dress shoes as opposed to a brand new pair. What I mean by that is that when you play some mouthpieces it feels like your air and throat are being constrained but when you play the HR* CUSTOM DARK it feels like you are being welcomed into the piece where your air and throat can be comfortable and do whatever they want.
I want to share a funny story about the prototyping phase of the CUSTOM DARK Tenor which was the first HR* CUSTOM DARK in the Series. One day when I was sitting in the show room playing the latest versions of the of the HR* CUSTOM DARK and I had the 4 or 5 latest prototypes in front of me. There was also a display tray of POWER RING ligatures on the bar. As I contemplated which prototype was playing with the right amount of brightness and darkness, I was looking at those POWER RINGs and I looked at the shank of the mouthpiece and POWER RING MS1 for Soprano. I took the soprano POWER RING and I was able to jam it on the end of the shank. When I played the mouthpiece I instantly noticed that the mouthpiece had more harmonics in the sound the same way the POWER RING ligature adds harmonics to the sound of the mouthpiece. Of course we then designed a ring to fit perfectly on the shank of the HR* CUSTOM DARK Tenor and have similarly designed a new ring for the new HR* CUSTOM DARK Alto.