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This mouthpiece has been in the works ever since the ESP Tenor Gold was completed. I think that this alto sax mouthpiece is a true sibling to the tenor mouthpiece. Alto and tenor are different, yet many of us play both. We all know that we rarely favor the same brand mouthpiece on both instruments. In designing this alto mouthpiece I had three criteria; to make an alto mouthpiece that had the full spectrum of sound, felt as easy to blow and as fun to play in all registers as the ESP tenor mouthpiece and also that was in the same family as far as design, the way the tenor sax and alto sax are. This is tricky because I believe that alto saxophone and tenor saxophone are ultimately two distinct instruments. For example, my personal feeling is that the alto sax is best suited for one job and the tenor sax is for another. For that reason I've tweaked the alto mouthpiece in a way that I think that Cannonball, would have enjoyed and the tenor mouthpiece in a way that Colltrane, would have have felt comfortable with.
The new ESP Alto Saxophone mouthpiece is a saxophone mouthpiece for everyone. Traditional Jazz players will find a warm round sounding piece that can produce the sounds of Bird, Cannonball and Johnny Hodges. Players looking for a more contemporary sound will love this saxophone mouthpiece with the spoiler in. You will have as much projection/volume as you will ever need and a bright crisp clean sound. This combination easily can produce the contemporary sounds of David Sanborn, Dave Koz, Grover Washington, Eric Marienthal etc.
The added benefit in the ESP Saxophone mouthpieces is of course the spoiler. Invented by the great Santy Runyon, the spoiler is a removable baffle that has a metal reed attached to it. This metal reed actually vibrates inside of the mouthpiece when you play, splitting the air stream and amplifying the harmonics thereby making the volume louder. I've tried this wedge with and without the metal reed and the reed definitely does add volume to the sound without changing intonation or tone quality. Another amazing thing about the spoiler in the JodyJazz mouthpieces is that the intonation of the saxophone is still impeccable as long as you pull out a little bit compared to where you would be in tune without the spoiler in.
If it's volume, cut and edginess that you need, but you'd still like to play in tune and have a nice round, full spectrum tone than the JodyJazz ESP Alto Gold with the Spoiler, is the mouthpiece for you. If you want a superbly playing alto mouthpiece that allows you to shape the sound and lets you make it whatever you want it to be, than the ESP Alto Gold without the spoiler is the mouthpiece for you. The spoiler is included in the price so you always have the choice.