Today, I am excited to be reviewing the new NJS Hummingbird 8* (.115) bronze tenor saxophone mouthpiece made by a young mouthpiece maker named Nick Stahl from the Seattle area.  This review wasn’t going to happen but then Nick Stahl sent me a few tempting photos that were too much for me to resist and I had to try this NJS Hummingbird tenor saxophone mouthpiece……….

NJS Hummingbird 8* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece

I have to be honest in saying that I very rarely accept mouthpieces from new mouthpiece makers these days.  I usually get an email about once a month from someone who is an aspiring mouthpiece maker asking if I would try their saxophone mouthpiece out to see what I think.  I usually decline because 1.) I have so many sax mouthpieces already on my desk waiting to be reviewed and just don’t have the time to play test every mouthpiece and 2.) Many times, young mouthpiece makers are usually still working on figuring out the whole mouthpiece making skill and they are just looking for my opinion or confirmation that they are on the right track.

When Nick initially reached out to me, I was ready to compose a response saying I didn’t have time to try his new mouthpiece when I clicked on a link he provided with photos of the saxophone mouthpiece he had been working on.   I was honestly blown away by the photos of the mouthpiece he created.  Even though I had never heard of Nick Stahl, I decided to respond that I would be willing to try out this beautiful looking mouthpiece.

The NJS Hummingbird Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Name Inspiration

Here are some words about Nick Stahl and the NJS Hummingbird tenor saxophone mouthpiece from the first email Nick sent to me just so you can get a sense of who Nick Stahl is and the concept behind this tenor saxophone mouthpiece.

“My name is Nick Stahl, I’m a saxophonist and aspiring mouthpiece maker from the Seattle area. I’m writing to see if I could send you one of my mouthpieces to try, and possibly review.

I’ve been playing the saxophone for 16 years, I graduated from CalArts with a BFA in jazz performance in 2019, and moved back to the Seattle area at the start of the pandemic. I’ve used the past three years to learn metal casting and mouthpiece facing/making, and it has become a second love for me.

I’m at the point where I’m ready to try to turn it into a small business, which is something I want to approach with sincerity and honesty (especially with a Guardala-style mouthpiece). I want people to really get their money’s worth with a good playing, good looking, gimmick-free saxophone mouthpiece, where the price is reflected in the amount of work and care that went into it. 

I’ve been working on creating a Guardala-inspired handmade tenor saxophone mouthpiece that is warm, not too bright, does not compromise any register of the horn, and can be pushed without the tone breaking up. What I have settled on (for La Voz medium reeds) is a .115 tip opening, long (54) elliptical facing, rounded-over baffle, scooped sidewalls, and a medium chamber. They are single-piece high quality castings, made from lead-free silicon bronze, which are then extensively hand finished. The mouthpieces are entirely made by me, I do everything from alloying my own bronze, to the casting, to the finishing. Each NJS mouthpiece comes with a ligature and a cherry wood box, both of which I also make, and a polishing cloth.”-Nick Stahl

NJS Hummingbird 8* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Box

Here is another great quote from the NJS website on the NJS Hummingbird tenor saxophone mouthpiece:

“The NJS Hummingbird mouthpiece is a Guardala inspired, handmade tenor mouthpiece designed to be warm, moderately focused, and symbiotic with the player. Each one is meticulously crafted and extensively playtested by me. I’ve played Guardalas for nearly all of my years on tenor, and too much of the time found myself struggling to keep my sound from getting too bright and thin. The NJS Hummingbird is my solution, maintaining character and power from a Guardala, while being richer, warmer, more controllable, and better responding. They are set up to enable the player to really sculpt their sound, sounding better and better the more they are played.”-Nick Stahl

In the above photo is the wooden box that the NJS Hummingbird tenor saxophone mouthpiece comes in.  It is evident that Nick is very detail oriented and a craftsman as well as an artist.  As you can see in these photos, the NJS mouthpiece comes well packaged and protected.  Besides being in these beautiful boxes, the boxes were shipped with ample padding around them in a shipping box as well.

NJS Hummingbird 8* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Box

NJS Hummingbird 8* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece Box

As the NJS Hummingbird mouthpiece is made of unplated bronze, Nick sent me a few tips before I even received the mouthpiece in the mail:

NJS Hummingbird 8* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece

The NJS Hummingbird tenor saxophone mouthpiece looked just as amazing and beautiful in person as it did in the photos.  It’s one of those mouthpieces you get and then you spend ten minutes just admiring its beauty because you are afraid to play it and put a mark on it in any way.

NJS Hummingbird 8* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece

The NJS Hummingbird tenor sax mouthpiece looks terrific to the eye.  The tip, rails and table look even, flat, precise and well crafted.  The mouthpiece tip rail and side rails are even and thin, and the shape of the tip rail perfectly matches the curve of the saxophone reeds I used.  The thinness of the rails remind me of the thin rails Dave Guardala was known for using on his mouthpieces back in the day.

NJS Hummingbird 8* Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece

One concern I had from looking at the photos as well as admiring the NJS Hummingbird tenor sax mouthpiece in person was the “duckbill” beak of the mouthpiece that you can see in the photo above. (Nick