We’re already SOLD OUT of the Nexus Select and Nexus One saxophones, as well as the Nexus Edge Mouthpiece BUT we’re taking a limited amount of pre-orders that will ship in the next few weeks! Nexus Elite Reeds are available to ship today! For more info: www.nexussaxophones.com
The 3D printed is clear and meets the tonal quality is vastly better watching your face straining was far more with the rubber to reach the full range and articulation lastly the rubber was muddy sounding far less enjoyable vs the plastic
I honestly preferred the sound of the 3d printed in almost every case, I think the sound is a bit more focused. And way less background noise from saliva it seems like too
This is very fascinating ! For the same and indentical cut of mouthpieces but from different materials, opens up a whole new playing style and volume! WOW
First off, they’re surprisingly different! Sometimes it’s hard to hear the difference between two entirely separate mouthpieces, while these two have very distinct personalities despite the identical built. Surprisingly again, to my ear plastic is way more round and “coated”, while rubber is more edgy and “sizzling”. I think Chad feels more comfortable on rubber. Both sound very flexible.
Both mouthpieces "worked" well but the hard rubber piece seemed to give you more flexibility both in the ballad and the hard-hitting playing situations. I would say that the hard rubber piece gave you the ability to play with a wider range of "textures".
The instant you switched from A to B for the first time it was immediately obvious to me which was which. Plastic mouthpieces always sound like they have less mids and I just don't like how that sounds.
I own a plastic 3D printed mouthpiece and found it did not seal well. I hand finished the table, myself with a very fine emery paper to get a superior sound and filed notches into the ring ligature to hold the reed in place and glued a very thin strip of rubber on the inside of the ligature between the notches to secure the reed now, it's perfect. I also own a hard rubber mouthpiece with similar specs. With it, I use a great H-frame ligature. Both play well but I prefer my 3D printed mouthpiece. When I listened to your demos, I was certain that A was the 3D printed mouthpiece and B was the hard rubber. I'm surprised but glad that I was wrong. I like both A and B. However, A sounded more organic and imperfect and B sounded more synthetic and smooth. I think, though, a skilled musician, aiming for a clear sound that they can colour/muddy to taste offers flexibility and versatility. B wins for me.
I feel the rubber sings and is like a blanket of sound, while the 3D is very core heavy and like a tight coat or suit. One is smooth and varying, the other is focused and convergent
if I were playing a rock show, A...but I really liked B for it's darkness...and it felt creamier and more centered in the low mids. I thought B was going to be the rubber one until the altissimo....for me, I'd want the brightness of the rubber one, but....for listening to a nice jazz tune, I'd rather hear someone playing B
Sounds like it’s got fine intonation. Really can’t tell a difference, but the range of sound you can produce with it is as good of testimony as any. Can’t wait to get my Vision.
Hey Chad, request for a future video: can you talk about staying relax and not getting overly emotional and tense during solos? I and I think many others tend to tense up and loose technique through the span of a solo
Both mouthpieces sound good, (A) has "that grits & gravy thang" for Jazz, Old School R&B applications. (B) had a cleaner sound, equally as versatile, but if it was a pop, or R&B recording I'd go with (B) because I know the producer would generally like that clean sound especially on a ballad🎷
Rubber seemed to play brighter and with greater dynamics in most scenarios compared to Plastic. Plastic seemed more round and centered. In the modern/pop scenario I preferred your playing on the plastic because it was less bright but that’s just my preference. Also, I would have guessed wrong on which was which by the way too.
I alternate playing on both a hard rubber piece and a 3D piece myself, so the awesome thing about this demo is the high quality mic confirms my own conclusions between the two materials. Namely: With the hard rubber you heat more ‘colors’ or the tone has ‘softer’ edges, whereas with the 3D printed plastic you get a crystal clean tone with a definite termination point of the sound. Hard to put into words, but there is a definite difference. Great video, Chad! Its exciting to see the work you guys have put into the Nexus line. Cheers.
I like B the best for the jazz sound and A for the funky progressive sound. To my ear on my Tannoy monitors and my headphones, B is a softer warmer sound. Both sound great and of course, the player makes a difference. I have a hard rubber Link 7* and a metal 7 Link and I sound bright on both.
Hard rubber is a clear winner for me. The plastic feels like it is shutting off too many frequencies. In case I'm happy that I'm starting to appreciate those differences now 😊
Well if i was going on color I would buy the black one however, the 3D print white is just so much clearer to me. Just like when I was listening to the Nexus saxophone demo I liked the two tone silver plated (Nexus Select) visually but the Select one sounded better. Sound wins over the visual. I was going to buy the the nexus one but was informed they are not making it in black so I almost bought the Edge because it was black however, I am buying the "nexus One". Hearing is believing.
Wow! I didn't think there was going to be such a clear difference! Overall, I liked B much better - which turned out to be the 3D-printed one. Originally, I thought the hard rubber would sound better, but apparently not!
A seemed to have a broader dynamic spectrum, but B had a slightly cleaner sound. Is there a possibility that Nexus will do alto and/or soprano mouthpieces?
Without getting too many colorful words to describe what I'm hearing... the hard rubber is just way better... there's an obvious presents that the printed version is missing. I'd be real curious to hear what how a metal version would compare.
What it comes down to is so simple. The hard rubber mouthpiece is the old style the 3-D printed mouthpiece is the new style. It’s still subjective in what you think is good to hear. He played both equally. That doesn’t mean you will sound like him.
There must’ve been a lot of thought and hard work to design these mouthpieces. They both have distinct qualities to them. It reminds me of one of the greatest mouth piece technicians, Claude Humbert, who I had the privilege of meeting, work done, and purchasing one of his mouthpieces.
Hands down the rubber piece across the board for all categories.Quality of sound may be subjective but for me its also the rubber piece is the clear winner as well.
The slightly deceiving aspect is what sounds like added compression to the audio, which gives the impression that certain frequencies at certain volumes are being tamed or choked out. Maybe it’s the mic, I don’t know (a ribbon?) but it still sounds like there’s added compression. But just from a tonal standpoint alone, I prefer A, because the 3D plastic one seems a little narrow and nasally for my taste.
We’re already SOLD OUT of the Nexus Select and Nexus One saxophones, as well as the Nexus Edge Mouthpiece BUT we’re taking a limited amount of pre-orders that will ship in the next few weeks!
Nexus Elite Reeds are available to ship today!
For more info: www.nexussaxophones.com
The 3D printed is clear and meets the tonal quality is vastly better watching your face straining was far more with the rubber to reach the full range and articulation lastly the rubber was muddy sounding far less enjoyable vs the plastic
I love the muddy rubber heheheh like Phil woods for example no?
You could sell the STL files so people with 3D printers can attempt to make their own.
I honestly preferred the sound of the 3d printed in almost every case, I think the sound is a bit more focused. And way less background noise from saliva it seems like too
I thought the plastic sounded surprisingly focused yet sweet. Too much buzziness in the hard rubber.
I immediately liked the B. I think the sound is just a little more focused for me
This is very fascinating ! For the same and indentical cut of mouthpieces but from different materials, opens up a whole new playing style and volume! WOW
First off, they’re surprisingly different! Sometimes it’s hard to hear the difference between two entirely separate mouthpieces, while these two have very distinct personalities despite the identical built.
Surprisingly again, to my ear plastic is way more round and “coated”, while rubber is more edgy and “sizzling”. I think Chad feels more comfortable on rubber. Both sound very flexible.
Both mouthpieces "worked" well but the hard rubber piece seemed to give you more flexibility both in the ballad and the hard-hitting playing situations. I would say that the hard rubber piece gave you the ability to play with a wider range of "textures".
I don't think any mouthpiece sounds better than the other, probably because you make everything sound SO GOOD
facts
The instant you switched from A to B for the first time it was immediately obvious to me which was which. Plastic mouthpieces always sound like they have less mids and I just don't like how that sounds.
I own a plastic 3D printed mouthpiece and found it did not seal well. I hand finished the table, myself with a very fine emery paper to get a superior sound and filed notches into the ring ligature to hold the reed in place and glued a very thin strip of rubber on the inside of the ligature between the notches to secure the reed now, it's perfect. I also own a hard rubber mouthpiece with similar specs. With it, I use a great H-frame ligature. Both play well but I prefer my 3D printed mouthpiece.
When I listened to your demos, I was certain that A was the 3D printed mouthpiece and B was the hard rubber. I'm surprised but glad that I was wrong. I like both A and B. However, A sounded more organic and imperfect and B sounded more synthetic and smooth.
I think, though, a skilled musician, aiming for a clear sound that they can colour/muddy to taste offers flexibility and versatility. B wins for me.
I feel the rubber sings and is like a blanket of sound, while the 3D is very core heavy and like a tight coat or suit. One is smooth and varying, the other is focused and convergent
if I were playing a rock show, A...but I really liked B for it's darkness...and it felt creamier and more centered in the low mids. I thought B was going to be the rubber one until the altissimo....for me, I'd want the brightness of the rubber one, but....for listening to a nice jazz tune, I'd rather hear someone playing B
Agreed
B is warm for my ears and I like the most. Thanks
Sounds like it’s got fine intonation. Really can’t tell a difference, but the range of sound you can produce with it is as good of testimony as any. Can’t wait to get my Vision.
Hey Chad, request for a future video: can you talk about staying relax and not getting overly emotional and tense during solos? I and I think many others tend to tense up and loose technique through the span of a solo
Both mouthpieces sound good, (A) has "that grits & gravy thang" for Jazz, Old School R&B applications. (B) had a cleaner sound, equally as versatile, but if it was a pop, or R&B recording I'd go with (B) because I know the producer would generally like that clean sound especially on a ballad🎷
Rubber seemed to play brighter and with greater dynamics in most scenarios compared to Plastic. Plastic seemed more round and centered. In the modern/pop scenario I preferred your playing on the plastic because it was less bright but that’s just my preference. Also, I would have guessed wrong on which was which by the way too.
I alternate playing on both a hard rubber piece and a 3D piece myself, so the awesome thing about this demo is the high quality mic confirms my own conclusions between the two materials.
Namely: With the hard rubber you heat more ‘colors’ or the tone has ‘softer’ edges, whereas with the 3D printed plastic you get a crystal clean tone with a definite termination point of the sound.
Hard to put into words, but there is a definite difference. Great video, Chad! Its exciting to see the work you guys have put into the Nexus line. Cheers.
agreed, I found the 3d plastic better for low soft tune (the first one) and the hard rubber way better for all others... it s kinda complementary
I like B the best for the jazz sound and A for the funky progressive sound. To my ear on my Tannoy monitors and my headphones, B is a softer warmer sound. Both sound great and of course, the player makes a difference. I have a hard rubber Link 7* and a metal 7 Link and I sound bright on both.
I prefer the 3D one, more focussed
Hard rubber for me. Question: Are you going to make them for alto, soprano etc?
Do you guys ever plan to produce gear for Altos?
Hard rubber is a clear winner for me. The plastic feels like it is shutting off too many frequencies. In case I'm happy that I'm starting to appreciate those differences now 😊
Well if i was going on color I would buy the black one however, the 3D print white is just so much clearer to me. Just like when I was listening to the Nexus saxophone demo I liked the two tone silver plated (Nexus Select) visually but the Select one sounded better. Sound wins over the visual. I was going to buy the the nexus one but was informed they are not making it in black so I almost bought the Edge because it was black however, I am buying the "nexus One". Hearing is believing.
Hard Rubber 100%. The hard rubber had a unmatchable depth and body to every note.
Wow! I didn't think there was going to be such a clear difference! Overall, I liked B much better - which turned out to be the 3D-printed one. Originally, I thought the hard rubber would sound better, but apparently not!
A seemed to have a broader dynamic spectrum, but B had a slightly cleaner sound. Is there a possibility that Nexus will do alto and/or soprano mouthpieces?
Could the 3D Nexus Vision become a model of your mouthpieces? It sounds so round and warm!
The rubber is better in my opinion except perhaps for the altissimos
I like the look of the Nexus Edge (Spiderman thing) but prefer the darker sound of the Nexus Vision.
B has a great sound!
Definitely like the Nexus Edge sub tones…
For subtone I prefer the Vision, for all other playing styles I prefer the Edge
I'm guessing A is the HR
To my ear B was way too shrill. Something about it makes me unable to relax and focus on listening to the music.
As a player myself, I prefer rubber
The 3D printed one sounded better. But I actually originally thought that a was plastic
I wish it was B for cost reasons, but it’s A that does is it for me….
I like the 3D
Defenitely B is best to my ears:)
Any long-term health issues from having plastic in ones mouth??
I thought the rubber is B. I like the sound of Hard Rubber.
Actually B was plastic...
did you play with literally the very same reed ? or did you mean the same type of reed?
I find mouthpiece (A) way better btw..
So after listening again to the quality of the recordings, I gotta ask… Chad, what mic did you use to record those clips?
Until nexus time. LOL
Without getting too many colorful words to describe what I'm hearing... the hard rubber is just way better... there's an obvious presents that the printed version is missing. I'd be real curious to hear what how a metal version would compare.
What it comes down to is so simple. The hard rubber mouthpiece is the old style the 3-D printed mouthpiece is the new style. It’s still subjective in what you think is good to hear. He played both equally. That doesn’t mean you will sound like him.
There must’ve been a lot of thought and hard work to design these mouthpieces. They both have distinct qualities to them. It reminds me of one of the greatest mouth piece technicians, Claude Humbert, who I had the privilege of meeting, work done, and purchasing one of his mouthpieces.
B sounded better to me in each case.
B plays better. Less noise.
3d !!
Hands down the rubber piece across the board for all categories.Quality of sound may be subjective but for me its also the rubber piece is the clear winner as well.
Wow, I don't spoil it for your viewers... so I'll just say that I thought it was going to be the opposite.
A
Hmmm
Hello
Very good
The slightly deceiving aspect is what sounds like added compression to the audio, which gives the impression that certain frequencies at certain volumes are being tamed or choked out. Maybe it’s the mic, I don’t know (a ribbon?) but it still sounds like there’s added compression. But just from a tonal standpoint alone, I prefer A, because the 3D plastic one seems a little narrow and nasally for my taste.