M Hemp Fiberreed vs. MS Onyx Fiberrreed?

[brother cavefish]

Yup V16s reeds are serious , 1.5 is my flavor, Java 2, they seem to be the most consistent reeds i have used, i also have some alexander NY, gonzalez and a handful of fibracel premiums and regular they buzz too much—i also tried vandoran purples yuk—
i have yet to find a synthetic reed that sounds like wood- the qualities in bamboo is soft, and it absorbs the sound and vibrates great, —synthetic reed can’t possible have pores, so the sound can be the same , the pores balance sound and absorb ———- the onyx seems like it might pull it off but my guess would be it still has bright qualities, — i don’t need reeds with bright qualities i have MPs for that-my thoughts anyways

[john]

I find the MS hemp reed easy to play but when I’m fast fingering the reed sometimes sounds like I’m blowing the reed against the mpc with a Duh sound so I scoot the reed down the mpc a bit below what seems normal. I switch to my soft onyx reed and the onyx reed is quick to respond. Some things about reeds can not be explained with words. Only Sound can explain this reed phenomena. Much of this happens when blowing my fiber carbon fatboy. Yesterday I blew my MB11 metal fatboy with a soft onyx reed and no problems. (However the Java 2.5 cane reed is still the best if you can find a good one in the box. I found one good one out of 10). So the fiber onyx reed will always be a part of my reed collection. Although the MS onyx reed is still a bit tough, only a bit. The MS onyx responds the best to embouchure changes. I’ll try the MS onyx with my MB11 metal fatboy. Every day it gets better. The onyx reeds are consistent. The Java reeds are not consistent. Humans are not consistent either. Down the road I’ll be back with another report

[Keith Taylor]

Thanks for the insight everybody! I should add that this whole setup thing has been an interesting journey so far. I say this because when I first bought my tenor, I was all about a brighter sound. Thus being why I bought a T75 Jumbo Java and liked the Java Greens and their buzz. It’s was kind of like a poor-mans Guardalla or Theo Wanne Shiva metal mouthpiece set up.

But, as I listened, and realized I really like the playing of guys like Dexter Gordon, Scott Hamilton, and Aubra Graves – I realized I needed something not as bright and piercing. So, my instructor recommended the V16 mouthpiece – which I now love. And then I found that the Hemke reeds got me closer to the sound of those players I mentioned.

Now, I’ve had the itch to just go all out and buy a vintage Florida Otto Link STM – although I can’t afford one right now and am not – to get me there since all my favorites played STM’s of some variety at some point: Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Dexter Gordon, Scott Hamilton, and Aubra Graves. $1000 is a lot of money to spend on a mouthpiece – especially when my taste my change again for what I think I like in the coming years.

But, I may by a metal V16 medium chamber, which is suppose to be Vandoren’s copy of a 50’s / 60’s Florida Otto Link STM which is only $300. Cheap in comparison to a Floirida Link or Theo Wanne Giaia or Jody Jazz DV CHI – both of which are supposed to be Florida Otto Link copies as well.

Anyway, my point behind sharing all that is that sometimes what you think you want in regards to sound and what you really want / need based on your playing style may be two entirely different things. I’d love to hear if you all own or have played a Florida STM Link or a copy of one made by other companies.

The new STM Links kind of suck – based on my limited experience having played two different ones at different times.

Also, here is a link you all may be interested in. This dude did a whole series of videos on YouTube on reeds and just posted it a few days ago, the latest of which is on synthetic reeds and was posted yesterday. Here is the first of the 5 part series:

Johnny: Thank you for taking the time to reply here. I’m going to go ahead and order a M Onyx. I will sand it down if it’s too stiff as you suggested. Although, I’ve sanded on my Hemp one already and it’s still a bit stiff. I guess I need to sand on it some more. Another thing I noticed too, you’d mentioned that you felt the Onyx was not as bright as the Hemp, whereas the Onyx sounds brighter to me than the Hemp right now, but I guess that may be due to the Hemp being a harder reed.

Brother Cavefish: My primary mouthpiece right now is an ebonite V16 T7 – and I also occasionaly play a Vandoren T75 Java I recently bought used at a good price – so both are in the .105 range. Java Greens were my favorite for a long time too. Then I discovered the Hemke’s. I really like their mellowness and warmth. They don’t last that long though, which is kind of a bummer. Most recenlty I realized the ZZ Jazz play really well on the V16 – and sound good. I only have one though, so I imagine my next box a real reads will be a box of them. I too also feel it’s better to change my mouthpiece for to get louder. I have a T75 Jumbo Java which is the brightest and loudest of all I own. I like the T75 Java because it’s kind of a middle of the road between the Jumbo Java and V16.

Jeff: I don’t feel like I’m good enough to try and adjust my playing / air flow for a more sensitive reed verses one that’s not just to control my volume. To me, consistancy is a big plus right now. To the point that I really stay on one mouthpiece – my V16 T7 – with the exception of occasionally playing on my newer Java T75 when I want more of a rock / blues sound.

Mel: I’ve only played one V16 reed – the one I got in a variety pack – so maybe it’s not safe to base my opinion on, but I didn’t care for its feel and sound. As I remember it was really stiff and stuffy sounding. Glad to hear you’re liking the setup though.

Jake: I too bought a couple of Fibracells prior to hearing about Fiberreed and wasn’t that happy with them. They do have a great buzz to them for a more rock blues type sound, but were not good for ballad type stuff, which is what i speed most of my time working on these days.

William: I suspect the Fiberreeds will always be out and ready to go for me too. I like being able to just put them on and start playing when I don’t have but 10 or 15 minutes to spare to play, and don’t have the time to presoak a reed like I do when I do my more usual one hour of practice.

[john]

Keith, my first mpc was hard rubber otto link, then a jumbo java T-95, then a T-75, and on and on through the theo Wanne’s and Jody Jazz and theo wanne slant sig 2, which is Theo Wanne’s otto link. I now play the Guardala MB!! fat boy, and the Guardala fiber carbon fat boy. The metal Guardala MB11 fat boy I like the best. The soft carbon Onyx reed blows well in the MB11 fatboy. I’ll be working on the medium onyx reed some day soon.

[Anonymous]

interesting reading all the comments, none of which has convinced me to change either my mouthpiece, ligature or reeds.

In terms of mouthpieces, my instructer has a cheap alto Chinese mouthpiece costing less than £50 which i shall ask him to get me one, looks exactly like my metal nadir guardalla mouthpiece, and guess what – it sounds better than my guardalla, and thats a whopping price to pay for a guardalla.

the only problem i cant stand metal mouthpieces.

[Mel]

Oh Boy! I put a Green Java 2.5 on the V16 mouthpiece just to give it a blow and man does that ever sound good. I know there is a lesson somewhere in this???

[john]

The green box Java 2.5 is my favorite reed too. When I blow the synthetic reeds like the medium soft hemp reed or the soft onyx reed I get a warbling sound in low C. I stuck a light down the bore and no leak. I don’t get the warbling sound with a Java 2.5. I like the onyx reeds but I can’t do with the warbling in low C.

[Mel]

I have always liked Javas. I played it with a Rovner MK 111 lig. It’s halfway between the Dark and Versa. The Rovner sounds better than the Optimum lig with the Green Java Reed.

[john]

Mel, I may have solved my warbling in low C. I switched necks. I switched to my sterling silver sax neck. No warbling with my silver neck so tomorrow I’ll play using my silver neck. I too use rovners. They’er the best. And we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

[john]

Mel, I have a better solution to my warbling on the low C note. I now remember to tighten the gooseneck screw where the gooseneck goes into the bore. No more warbling. So now I’ll remember to tighten the gooseneck screw.

[Author]

Posts