Jody Jazz DV NY Reviewed

Some of the claims Jody Jazz makes about their DV NY mouthpiece would interest almost any saxophone player, and the fact that it's one of the few high end mouthpieces you can find in a local music store (Sam Ash) makes the mouthpiece even more interesting to those of us who insist on trying before buying.  I've recently had the chance to play one of these, so I'll be examining some of those claims Jody Jazz is making in detail.

When you look at the right side of the DV NY website you'll see a bullet point list labeled "What Does The DV NY Do?", and the first bullet claims a big and dark tone.  I found this to be true on both counts.  The sound is big and it carries well due to the full spectrum of dark and bright elements present in the sound.  The tone is generally dark, but it is accompanied by a vibrance that comes from the brighter overtones also present in the sound.  Since the mouthpiece relies mainly on its vibrance for projection rather than edge or punch, when compared to a mouthpiece with more edge the DV NY  has a less definition to the tone. Despite this the mouthpiece still has a powerful warm sound.

Another claim Jody Jazz makes is that the DV NY produces a "vintage sound" reminiscent of the 50s and 60s. The dark quality of the tone definitely put the mouthpiece puts it in the running. Though the DV NY does an excellent job at producing a vintage like sound it does lack a little of the edge which some 50s and 60s mouthpieces had and others didn't.  Your preference on edge will be a major factor in determining if the DV NY is the right fit for your vintage sound pursuits. On a side note, given the right reed I feel like the mouthpiece could even be pushed in a more contemporary direction.

Third from the top on the DV NY's website we see a section explaining the goals or aims of the mouthpiece, and the first goal is summed up as "no stuffiness and little resistance." The DV NY nails this one on the head.  It is a very free blowing mouthpiece, and even with a harder reed it responds with little resistance to your airflow. This also seems to result in easy feeling articulation, which happens to be another claim on the bulleted list. 

The final claim I'd like to examine, also from the bulleted list, is its claim to excellent altissimo, which I would agree with only to an extent.  The altissimo register of the mouthpiece is excellent in terms of its full sound and uniform continuation of the normal register's tone quality.  However, I would say it is only average in its ease of producing the altissimo register. The DV NY, like many other mouthpieces, requires focus to produce the altissimo register reliably, and I have played other mouthpieces that have felt easier and more reliable in the altissmo register. However, the DV NY does have an above average and "excellent" depth of tone in the altissimo register that other mouthpieces would have trouble competing with.

Here is a sound clip for you to hear the tone quality for yourself.  If you'd like to compare it to my normal setup which is a metal Florida Otto Link, just go to the last post.

Ben Plays a Jody Jazz DV NY

Set up - Jody Jazz DV NY 8* tenor mouthpiece, Rico Jazz Select Filed 3S reeds

Conclusion: The Jody Jazz DV NY lives up to many of its expectations. Most importantly, it has a big and dark tone with no stuffiness and little resistance, and it provides a rounded vibrant take on the 50s and 60s era jazz saxophone sound.