While SAX-CCESSORIES has called on the opinions and feedback from many professionals around the world, I am very proud to have the professional services of Alex Budman and Greg Vail to do the audio/video clips posted on this website as well as on the Facebook and Twitter accounts. Alex recorded nearly all of the mouthpiece and saxophone clips while Greg recorded the saxophone and Guardala mouthpiece clips.

There are countless places out there for players to read different opinions regarding saxophone mouthpieces, but Alex and Greg's playing here brings you a unique and completely unbiased way of evaluating by giving you a chance to hear and compare the differences between various mouthpieces. Hopefully, this will help you as you try to decide between the many mouthpieces available today. 

My sincere THANKS to both Alex and Greg for their valued assistance and support!

Brian Stevenson
Owner/Manager
SAX-CCESSORIES LLC

BIO - Alex Budman
Alex Budman is an active musician of 20 years with performing experience on all saxophones, clarinets, flutes, electric and acoustic basses. His versatility has allowed him to perform and record with a wide range of artists including Liza Minnelli, Rosemary Clooney, Erykah Badu, The Game, Boz Scaggs, Eric Clapton, Bettye LaVette, The Funk Brothers, Wendy and Lisa, Busta Rhymes, Jesús Díaz, Glide Memorial Church Band, and the San Jose Symphony.

As a bandleader in the San Francisco Bay Area, Alex directed his 16-piece Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, playing more than 300 shows and recording two albums. The second, Instruments of Mass Pleasure, was released in 2005 to critical acclaim. Since his move to Los Angeles, Alex has been in heavy demand as a sideman and soloist playing jazz, funk, pop, hip-hop and classical — all with a style of his own.

Most recently, Alex started up an exciting young big band with composer/trombonist Jeremy Levy. He can also be found playing in the big bands of Clare Fischer, Kim Richmond, Bill Holman, Steve Huffsteter, Chris Walden, Ed Neumeister, Bruce Lofgren, Roger Neumann and Tim Davies. In addition, Alex can be seen with ground-breaking punk, lounge, performance artists The Fuxedos.

His standard setup includes: Selmer Mark VI tenor sax with Dukoff LD7 mouthpiece and Vandoren Java 3 reed, Selmer Mark VI alto sax with E. Rousseau JDX7 mouthpiece and Vandoren Java Red 2½ reed, Yamaha YSS-62R soprano sax with Meyer 6MM mouthpiece and Vandoren Traditional 2½ reed, and Selmer Mark VI baritone sax with Morgan 9J mouthpiece and Vandoren 2½ reed.

For the mouthpiece sound clips here, Alex used the same reeds as his current setup. He also used an AKG 414 microphone with Garage Band software. Each recording was made clean without any reverb or any other modifications to the natural sound.  When not using the stock ligature that comes with the mouthpiece, he used a BG Super Revelation ligature.

Learn more about Alex at www.alexbudman.com.

BIO - Greg Vail
Often defined as “… [playing with] raging action … stunningly rich … charismatic … totally engaging …”, saxophonist Greg Vail has established himself as a key component of the music industry.

Greg has toured and recorded with some of the hottest names in the jazz, pop, and Christian music scenes including Rick Braun, Peter White, Greg Adams, Josh Groban, Petra, Crystal Lewis, Natalie Cole, Al Jarreau, Michael McDonald, Earth Wind and Fire, and Smokey Robinson. Over the last 30 years, Vail has also made appearances for everything from television and cable, BET Jazz, History, Fox News, TBN, to the national commercial for TimeLife Records promoting the renowned Sax by Candlelight and Sax by Moonlight CDs which sold in the millions worldwide.

Vail first picked up the saxophone at the age of six and continued to play throughout his education, graduating in 1984 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music from California State Long Beach. After graduation, he worked with many local area bands until joining Smooth Jazz super group, Kilauea, in 1991. Vail recorded four albums with Kilauea before joining up with Smooth Jazz guitar sensation Peter White.

In 1995, Greg released his debut solo record, eMotion on Brainchild Records. In 1996, when he left Kilauea, he recorded Sax by Candlelight for TimeLife. In 2000, Vail began his own record label, Greg Vail Music, and currently has five releases on the label including Christmas, the Hymns 2000, The Gospel Truth 2001, the re-release of eMotion 2002, Is It Christmas Yet? 2004, and The Gospel Truth Revisited 2006.

Released in 2008, Smooth Jazz Classics contains 13 tracks of favorite, classic instrumentals. Songs including Klemmer’s Touch, Grover’s Make Me a Memory, Affirmation, Feel’s So Good, Biggest Part of Me and more. Utilizing some of the hottest names in jazz, Vail and co-producer Tony Guerrero developed a fresh approach to these smooth standards, maintaining the heart of the originals while developing exciting arrangements and orchestrations and using the latest in recording technology. Favorite songs, amazing performances by a cast of world class musicians - Smooth Jazz Classics. The band includes Tony Guerrero Keys and Brass, Gannin Arnold Guitar, and Melvin Davis Bass. Special guests include David Pack, Grant Geissman, Blake Aaron, Rob Whitlock, Steve Di Stanislao, Julio Figueroa, Wayne Bergeron, Keith Smith and Shannon Kennedy.

Greg Vail has been signed as a Yamaha Performing Artist for 18 years. He also endorses the AKAI EWI, Audio Technica Wireless, and KenKase Reed Cases.

In addition to his reputation as an artist/performer, Greg Vail has made a name for himself as an educator in the Internet world with dozens of educational music sites online and ongoing contributions to forums, blogs and news groups. In his own words, “We have to learn all we can, and then give it away to ever really make a difference.”

Saxophonist Greg Vail has been a vital participant in the music industry over the last few decades and will continue to grow to be one of the most prolific musicians on the instrumental jazz scene. In the words of the national jazz author, Jonathan Widran, “Whether [he is] blowing a tenderly passionate soprano sax, firing up his exciting and playful alto, or edging into a more aggressive stance with his brilliant technique on tenor sax, Greg Vail is a show stopper nonpareil, and one of the most dynamic saxophone players on today’s instrumental scene.”

His standard saxophone setup includes: Yamaha YSS-62R soprano sax with Beechler Bellite 7 mouthpiece and Rico Royal 2½, Yamaha YAS-875EXW alto sax with Guardala BeBop/Traditional mouthpiece and Plasticover 2½ reed, Yamaha YTS-875B tenor sax with Guardala Crescent mouthpiece and Plasticover 2½ reed, and Yamaha YBS-62 baritone sax with Guardala Studio II mouthpiece and Rico Royal 4 reed.

Learn more about Greg at www.gregvail.com.