Reed confusion

[Carl Robinson]

I’ve been using the same reed now for three weeks, daily practise etc. The Reed seems to be getting better the more I play it, is this normal?. Because as a guitarist the moment you start to play a new set of strings they start to degrade, I thought that would be the same for Reeds. I’m using Vandoren Blue 1.5. Another thing is they seem to “warm up” a bit like a Marshall valve amp lol. I really am enjoying learning the Saxophone–so many new discoveries. I’m not even going to ask anything about mouthpieces, not remotely educated enough to open that can of Worms lol.

[Anonymous]

reeds – that’s a can of worms. usually they take a few minutes to warm up, unless you play synthetic reeds.

[john]

Carl, since you’re new to it just keep on your current mp at least for a few months.
meanwhile you’ll be learning how reeds work, then you can better decide on your mp.
yes, a cane reed will get better day by day…stay good for a while longer, then die out
you’ll feel it dying because it felt so perfect for that little time in between.
how long? they’re all different and it also depends on how much playing you do so
a good cane reed can last several week to several months.

[Carl Robinson]

Would a symptom of a cane “Dying” be difficulty in hitting high register notes? because shortly before changing the reed Vandoren 1.5 I found it harder to hit A etc with Octave key. I put it down to me.

[Anonymous]

One of the best things to do is take your sax into a repair shop, to check for leaks.
I recently had problems with high notes, and that was down to the little pad on the neck not sealing properly.
Another problem with reeds, is how they are positioned on the mouthpiece, miss-allign them and they don’t play properly in the full range of notes. What i do is slap a reed on the mouthpiece, and just play a complete scale of notes on the mouthpiece against a tuner, more often than not, i have to re-position the reed a tiny fraction on the mouthpiece, to get all the notes playing properly. Once i’ve done that i’m good to go and then i connect the mouthpiece to the sax. Otherwise, in my case, it’s just pot luck, sticking the reed on the mouthpiece. (call it fine tuning if you like)

[brother cavefish]

i have a sax light i use if there is a leak you will see it

[john]

yes, even the slightest pad leak can make it difficult to play.
also, a reed that’s on it’s last legs can do the same!
with experience we can tell which is which that’s why
making sure you have no leaks is a must.
when it’s the reeds fault you will notice other things other than that one note though.

[Carl Robinson]

Man I tell you Guitarists have it soooo easy with strings lol. Just been playing, using a 1.5 Vandoren Blue, I sounded like a farting Frog!! checked the Reed, looks great, still sound chronic, take reed off, put back in exactly same place–perfect!!! these things have a mind of their own. If Guitarists had to put up with this they’d be having hissy fits every ten minutes.

[Author]

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