Review of Dave Kessler's Student-Line Alto Mouthpieces

[Dave Dolson]

Below is part of an an e-mail I sent to Dave Kessler, Kessler and Sons, Las Vegas, NV, regarding my testing of his new plastic student-line alto mouthpiecs. He asked me to post a review . . . he sent two plastic mouthpieces, marked at $29.00 each. One was similar to a Selmer C* and one was similar to NY Meyer 5.

After I sent this message we had a telephone conversation where he explained that he has in stock the "NY" mouthpiece made of half hard-rubber and half-plastic and that he and his tech thought the material-mixture aided the tone - better than the plastic NY I tested. he is now going to send me the HR/plastic "NY" piece to compare to the all-plastic NY piece.

Dear Dave Kessler: The two alto mouthpieces arrived today and I spent about an hour playing them and comparing them with other mouthpieces I favor on alto.

I used a Rovner fabric ligature, then a Selmer metal ligature, a newer Vandoren Java #2 reed (shaved down a bit) and an early '20's Buescher True-Tone alto saxophone (the best alto in my battery of really nice altos*). While I had other altos available, the Buescher worked good for this test.

Bottom line - both were good mouthpieces especially when considering the price!!

I did not care for the C* piece although it played well and with good intonation. It was just too closed for me. I tried two harder Fibracell ("medium" and "medium soft") reeds, but neither seemed to improve my response on the C*. For those who favor the typical Selmer C* I'm sure your C* piece will be a competitive alternative.

The "NY" model was a player, albeit not as robust as the mouthpieces I favor on alto. I compared the NY to my Meyer 6S-Medium Chamber, Selmer Soloist F, and Selmer Super Session F. My own pieces just had too much more power than did your NY piece.

The NY piece played with a nice centered, almost metallic tone - the response was outstanding as was the intonation. I can see a definite use for such a piece in a setting requiring some blending with other instruments or in a saxophone section.

I normally play acoustically without a microphone. I abhor playing into mics. So, through the years I've developed a fairly robust alto (and soprano) sound to play alongside cornets and trombones and strong clarinets in traditional Dixieland-style bands. If anything, I may play too strongly and I work on toning things down a bit. Still, the set-ups I favor allow me to be heard in such a setting.

Your NY piece would not serve me well in those types of settings. However, others may do well with this NY piece, especially if they like to (or have to) blow into microphones.

I can recommend the NY piece with ease. Plus, the price seems darned reasonable! It certainly is cheaper than anything I usually consider (new Selmers run in the $100.00s).

I would buy the NY model you sent to me. Your letter said you would probably soon have in stock the same piece made with a mixture of materials. However, the two mouthpieces you sent to me were priced at $29.00 (marked on the tubes).

Thanks for the opportunity to play them.

Sincerely,

Dave Dolson

*My altos include the Buescher TT, a 1925 Conn Chu, a 1932 gold-plated Cigar Cutter, and a new Yanagisawa A992

[Dave Dolson]

Dave Kessler: The "H" NY (50/50 HR-plastic mixture) alto mouthpiece was delivered this afternoon.

Wow!

What a significant difference when compared to the plastic "NY"!! I'll buy the 50/50 piece from you.

The NY piece marked with an "H" on the table (meaning the 50/50 HR and plastic mixture) was terrific. The sound was much bigger than the all-plastic version. The tone was as centered as any alto piece I've played. While it lacked the total power of my Selmer pieces (Super Session F, Soloist F, and an older S-80 C** that I dug out of my box to compare to your plastic C*), it had a certain controllability and focus that made it delightful. Intonation was good, response was good throughout my horns' ranges, and the tone was wonderful. For the price, I'm hard pressed to think of anything better. And even when considering price, only my Selmers could challenge this new piece. My Meyer 6S-Medium chamber had more power, too, but not nearly the controllability nor the smoothness of this 50/50 NY piece. The 50/50 NY piece was especially nice in the extreme low register where the notes popped out with authority, clarity and focus.

I played it with a Vandoren Java #2 shaved reed and standard metal ligature - on my Yanagisawa A992, my silver Buescher True-Tone, and my gold-plated Conn Chu (1925). It played best on my Conn, merely because the Conn has such a huge voice and this 50/50 NY piece helped tone it down a bit and smooth out some of the harshness in the Conn's sound.

Plus, the 50/50 NY piece is shorter than a Soloist and just a bit longer than the Super Session mouthpieces, so the 50/50 NY piece can be tuned a bit sharp on the Conn, if a sharp tuning is required by circumstances. The length of the Soloist on the Conn means it will just come to A-440 but no more with the micro-tuner screwed all the way in.

Dave Kessler, good luck with these pieces. You should be able to sell a ton of them at this price. DAVE