Plastic reeds

[Z]

I’m hoping it’s just reeds cause I put a newer one on and it’s fine now I think. The ones I got have apparently run their course. I just hate being the guy that blames everything on the reed; but sometimes there’s no other explanation.

[Anonymous]

i remember many months ago asking the question ‘when do you chuck your best reed?’ – The only way
i can tell is when i feel something is right – after 10 mins of playing it doesn’t sound as good, the notes loose there shine,
the very top notes get harder to
control in terms of long tones &
the very bottom notes dont have
that kick – in general the reed
doesn’t doesn’t want to respond
as well & i notice i start having
to work my embouchure a lot more
than normal to get the same sounds.

my teacher drives me nuts, he gets
a pair of clippers out, cuts off
the tip of the reed & carries on
playing like nothings happened –
i stand there open mouth thinking ‘What? for Real?’ – i wish i could
that, mine go straight in the bin.

[Frank Basamania]

Here’s my two cents. When I purchased some reeds on the internet they through in a box of plastiCOVER reeds for free. They made my sax sound cheap, kind of like a toy. That turned me against them, I had a 10% off coupon so I purchased a Bari reed, it’s some kind of plastic, I thought that was horrible,(I want my money back!!) made my sax sound very, very dark. I also purchased a FIBRACELL which is a man made material, this one I love, it sounds great with my Berg, I would never have believed it. It’s so easy to play, not having to soak reeds and the thing won’t die, I think it was in the $10 range for one but it I’m still using it after about a month.

[Luis Pablo Gasparotto]

Hi Folks,
This is my first post here so let me introduce, my name is Luis Pablo Gasparotto and I was the Hahn reeds distributor for the Americas. I’m the guy somebody referred as the Argentinian Hahn reeds provider. I don’t represent nor distribute Hahn reeds anymore, I’m developing my own product at this time, I’m at a very advanced stage of the developing process.

I’m a synthetic reeds big fan because I think they have a better pros/cons relation than natural cane reeds. I play synthetic reeds exclusively since 10 years ago. After testing almost all available synthetic reeds brands and models I realized there’s a right synthetic reed for everyone. Of course, certain synthetic reeds could demand an adaptation period. I think the synthetic reed is the best option for those players who want a reed which “just works” or a kind of “plug and play” reed. A well know saxophone player said “nothing compares to a very good natural cane reed but, how many of them (if any) you get in a 10 reeds box? Synthetic reeds are more like an average natural cane reed”.

I did a few recordings for comparative purposes (not for sharing my below average playing level). I used the synthetic reeds I like the most on both alto and tenor.

Alto reeds Mouthpiece was a Meyer 6M and saxophone was a Martin Imperial Handcraft (1935).

Tenor Sax Mouthpiece was a Saxscape SL and saxophone was a Holton 241 (’30s).

I did these recordings as a blind test, I’ll share the reeds brands and models later. Your opinions will be highly appreciated.

[Anonymous]

couldn’t view any of your stuff!
my teacher was recently moaning about the synthetic reeds, he reckons they manufacture them differently now so they don’t last as long!
me – i don’t know anything about them, to me its like smoking cigerettes – some people like to roll their own others like to buy em in packets – personal choice i guess

[Luis Pablo Gasparotto]

Hi James,
You just need to download the files on the links and then extract the audio files using WinZip or a similar tool.

[Anonymous]

it’s probably cause i’m using an i-pad?

[Luis Pablo Gasparotto]

Hi James,
I’m afraid that’s the cause. Take a look at these links I hope they help you
http://www.qj.net/ipad/ipad-faqs/ipad-faq-how-to-open-zip-files.html
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/izip-zip-unzip-unrar-tool/id413971331?mt=8

[Leo Jr]

I use a fibracell 3, on my Otto link 6 mouth piece. I am able to use a fibracell 4 on a simple plastic mouth piece.
You can buy them on Amazon for abou $16 but the last for months.
Leo

[Noah Osnos]

I use Legere (2.5 or 2.75) on my tenor (MK6 with Lamberson SB7) and would never switch back to cane. I find Bari reeds to be rough on my lip and much more difficult to manipulate the sound. I did play on Harry Hartmann and Hahn reeds in the past, but the availability was tricky, so I settled on Legere. Nobody can tell the difference in the audience, and I don’t spend hours maintaining or finding a proper reed.

[Author]

Posts