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MOUTHPIECES

J&H Mouthpiece Optimization

 

A balanced mouthpiece is imperative to proper response, a rich sound, and consistency when playing. If any small detail is off, you can get chirps, lack of power or response, intonation problems, and more. If you want your mouthpiece optimized and personalized for YOU, we can help.

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  • Before any work is done, we will play test, measure, and contact you to discuss our impression of the piece and figure out which direction to go to reach your goal.

  • A “stable table” is the first step to having a mouthpiece that plays well. The table is leveled first to ensure a good reed seal. This drastically improves response, note stability, and you’ll find the piece is much less reed picky. 

  • The tip opening can be opened or closed at this point if desired.

  • The facing curve is then applied to precise specifications depending on sound and feel desired.

  • The tip rail is cut to match a reed shape of your choice, and the tip rail, baffle, and side rails are evened out to be symmetrical. Rail thickness, shape, and baffle profile will be tailored to your preferences.

J&H Restoration + Optimization

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Many players are seeking that vintage "thing" they've heard in recordings, or have a mouthpiece they played 20 years ago that is pretty worn and was set aside. These well loved pieces can be revived! Often, these old materials were very high quality and can be brought back to factory spec. Our Restoration philosophy is minimalist and aims to make the piece perform how it was originally designed to, not hot rod it into something else.

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In addition to the Optimization, the restoration addresses things such as, but not limited to:
 

 

  • Broken or bent tips

    • Full tip transplants on rubber or metal (don't throw away your favorite piece just because you dropped it), rebuilding chips/breaks in hard rubber mouthpieces, filling where the dog chewed your mouthpiece, reshaping tips on brass pieces, etc.

  • Shank repairs

    • Straightening bent shanks on metal mouthpieces, banding cracked shanks on hard rubber and plastic mouthpieces, rebuilding an entire shank, etc.

  • Bite plate fills or full replacements

    • Many color matching options

    • Many material choices including hand crafted hard rubber replacements​

  • Mouthpiece recorking

  • Replating: Full piece or touch ups

J&H Everything Else

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Sometimes we get a little more experimental. If you have a piece that you love but just wish it had that one little thing, we can work with that. If you have an idea you'd like to try out, we are happy to facilitate and customize the piece in any way we can.

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The sky is the limit, but some things we have been asked to do in the past include:

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  • Custom baffle work​

  • Floor additions or carve outs

  • Side wall reshaping

  • Chamber modification

  • Shank resizing, lengthening, or shortening

  • Beak shape alterations

 

Our Process

J&H mouthpiece work is done by Jimmy Jensen, but testing and voicing is a collaborative effort because we believe that two heads are better than one. Our diverse professional performance and teaching backgrounds allow us to tailor pieces to the individual.

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If you need a mouthpiece repair that you don’t see here, contact us! I’m sure we can help you out.

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