JJ DV available!

[patseguin]

I got an email that the Soprano DV's are now available. The question is, do I want one? Anyone play-tested one at a show? I love my alto DV and want some opinions on the soprano. I am really getting used to my SS G and kind of wonder what the DV will do for me.

[andrewbowie]

I received my Soprano DV on Thursday and did a gig with it last night, which I recorded: it sounds great, though I say it myself. I'm a huge DV fan (as you can see on this site), playing them on alto and tenor because they give you so much freedom to play and so much easy volume, tone, and control. All my gigs are unamplified jazz gigs, in generally quite noisy pubs, and soprano is often the hardest: to get the volume you end up losing the tone. The nearest I got, until now, was the Jody ESP with spoiler, but that tended to have a slightly hard edge, and required that extra bit of effort that reduces your technique and makes intonation very difficult at the top end.
The DV seems definitely to be the solution: it doesn't get rid of the inherent soprano problems of pitch high up, etc., but it diminishes them very substantially, and the tone is something else: it is warm, solid, with the right kind of edge. The effort of playing is hugely reduced, and intonation much more stable than I have ever known. This is partly because the chamber is more open than on most soprano pieces I have seen, so you can keep the air stream under control more easily.
In short, if you like the other DVs you will probably like this one. I play a 6*, which is the narrowest tip, and I needed to adjust my reeds (Alexander DC 2) to be slightly softer, as the tip is more open than the equivalent ESP. I'm still experimenting, but my experience with DVs is that you get better and better on them, and last night I had no real problems on soprano at all, which, after 3 days sporadic practice, is as good as it gets.
OK, they are expensive, but at around a tenth of the cost of my horn they are not that expensive, and it's like getting a new horn. I often travel and sit in at sessions. With all the restrictions on baggage I generally have to take the soprano, which has always felt rather insecure, given the volume and other problems of the instrument. I think this is now over.
Give them a try: Jody does great customer service, so if it's not for you, you can return it, provided, of course, that you look after it. I now have that feeling I had with the other DVs of wanting to get back to the horn, because practice is so much more rewarding. Hats off to Jody again!

[patseguin]

Thanks for the review. I love my DV alto and really can't play anything else at this point. I might get a soprano piece on trial.