That’s a great point you bring out and I know I remember hearing either on one of your youtube videos or reading it somewhere in something you wrote (can’t remember off the top of my head whether it’s here on this site or in your ebooks) that, as we’re learning about these things, we have to go through some experimentation; but once we find a set-up that works for us then stick with it. It amazes me with the Saxophone the huge difference that these little things can make.

Hey Sxpoe–thanks for the leads. Haven’t checked out either websites; but as Johnny mentions in his comment above we can listen to things other players say, read all we want to read, etc.. In the end we ultimate have to find what works for us and stick with it. An example is the MBII Mouthpiece with the Java 3 reed that Johnny uses–my understanding is that he’s been using that combination for years. He found what worked for him and has been using it every since. From conducting my own little experiment LOL(and I had to experiment, as the Guardala Studio is new to me) I can tell that yes, the Juno is softer reed than the Juno, which is probably why a Java 3 felt too “rough” for me when compared to a Juno 3. It was almost as if the Java 3 was “thicker” in it’s construction I guess you could say.
And while the Java 2.5 is equivalent to Juno 3, the Juno 3 is STILL softer like you brought out here. But with the Java 2.5, the difference I saw immediately was that I’m able to play with even MORE of an “edgy” sound with very, very smooth transition to high notes (in a song like Tequila I did on the blog), that I was able to do with the Juno in that upload. When I did “Rock Around the Clock” with the Java 3, Johnny commented there that he wondered what a 1/2 size smaller would do…..and it hit the nail on the head for me 🙂 It has that “vintage rock” sound we all love.