That was a very successful test, i tested all 11 reeds playing each one along to johnny’s Michele backing track (suitable track for a dark mouthpiece).

When i was buying the reeds, i did mention the fact that i could be picking a bad reed, however when i tested them, i found three vandoren reeds were hard to play – in fact they are ideal if i want that breathy sound, Vandoren Traditional No.3, Vandoren V12 No.3 and the Vandoren V16 No.3 reeds.

i Think cane reed manufacturing quality has improved a lot more compared to 10 years ago.

In terms of sound, the only noticeable big difference was a few reeds had a nice buzz if you like that effect.

In terms of resistance, that where i noticed big differences, some reeds responded very quickly (ideal for marching band, and lively jazz) others were slower in response (ideal for strong classical music).

In fact the reeds that responded very quickly with least resistance tended to be more bright sounding which was interesting to notice.

I’ve played on No. 3 reeds on my bright mouthpiece for a few years, and find in general any reed below a no.3 tends to be unsuitable after 10 mins of playing, I’ve tried a few different Brands in the past, so buying several different sizes of the same reed, i would find to be pointless waste of cash.

So i’ve now got 8 playable reeds to further test out to find which i would buy by the box.

What really surprised me was the Plasticover No.3.5 reed was as good as the other 7 reeds, and had a nice buzz, ideal for more jazzy sound and it responded very quickly.

Just to be clear about what my meaning of Response is – play a big bunch of C notes as 16th notes, some brands take a lot longer to get the note out, while the more responsive reeds will kick the note out instantly (ideal if you are play a fast tempo)

i would definitely buy a few plasticover reeds, as an alternative to a plain cane reed, ideal for practicing.

But to reiterate, i need test the remaining 8 reeds in more depth, across different styles of music, all 8 reeds are contenders, the D’addario Select Unfiled 3Medium reed is a front runner with the rest closely following.

The funny thing with the plasticover reed i could really feel the tip vibrating against the tip of my tongue when blowing , compared to the pure cane reeds.