Jody Jazz Tenor HR* 5*

In my tenor sax learning quest, at a point I decided to upgrade my mouthpiece from the Yamaha 5C I was using to something more "interesting". Many experts on the Internet praise Jody Jazz in general and this particular mouthpiece, so I gave it a go. Generally speaking the manufacturing seems of very high quality, the sound I can obtain is pleasant with nice shades of dark/bright and a fair degree of versatility. I feel like I can play very different genres with it, which to me is a plus. But, if you are looking for a very bright or very dark sound, maybe other options are better suited.

While I liked its tonal quality, the responsiveness was a bit lacking when compared to other hard rubber mouthpieces I have tried. I am not sure whether it's me, my not-so-professional horn, or some intrinsic characteristic of the mouthpiece, however when compared for example to a Vandoren Java or V16 (both of which, I believe, are fairly similar to this piece), or to a Berg Larsen 2/SMS (which has some more baffle and a different interior design), the HR* response was always sub-par. I am not sure if I would opt for it as I appreciate better responsiveness, but again, there is for sure a lot of subjectivity involved, so I would advice to try it against similar pieces (Vandoren Java, Meyer...) that also happen to be a bit cheaper, before buying one.

I mostly use this with Silverstein Ambipoly Jazz 2 reeds and either a Rovner VG or an ordinary brass 2 screw ligature on a Yamaha TS 280.

The sound is warm and powerful but it can be pushed to get bright. Altissimo is no problem and it can also subtone nicely. It has really helped me getting a nice old-fashioned dark sound.

Nothing to say against it except perhaps it is probably not for beginners - it has taken me two years to begin to get the best out of it.