M Hemp Fiberreed vs. MS Onyx Fiberrreed?

[Keith Taylor]

Thought I’d report back here after having received my medium Carbon Onyx reed from Johnny and playing it for a few days. I – REALLY- like it.

Oddly, it’s not nearly as stiff as I remember the medium hemp reed being before I sanded on it some. And Johnny says the medium Carbon Onyx plays about like a #3 Java to him, but to me, it’s not that stiff. I said it’s about like a 2.5 or a little less. The lower register was a tougher than my Hemke reeds, but I’ve sanded down the back part of it a little as the website link Johnny linked to suggest and it seems a bit better now. That may just be due to me having gotten more use to it though.

Also, speaking of getting use to it. By the time I received the M Carbon Onyx I’d gotten kind of use to the MS Carbon Onyx after having been playing on it exclusively for the past couple of weeks. It did get much better for me, but still would close up on me when I pushed it – which I didn’t like. That’s not happening with the M Carbon Onyx though.

My one issues with them both is that they’re pretty bright sounding when I’ve grown to like a darker sound. But, I plan on seeing if I can darken it up some with a Rovner Dark ligature. The M Carbon Onyx feels good enough to me that I think I can be happy playing it daily, and just keep a few really good cane reeds on hand when I want to record something, as I still like the feel and sound of Hemke and ZZ Jazz reeds more.

The really cool thing here though is that the other day I stumbled upon a an old modern Otto Link Super Tone Master 6* that I played and immediately finally felt like I understood why they’re so liked and have been played by so many of the greats. The others I’d played before, all of which were brand new – sucked. Very stuffy and just blah to me. This one immediately got my attention. I think it’s likely cica 80’s because it looks as if it could be a vintage one, but it’s not. It’s been well used and has had some facing work done on it. It certainly is brighter than any other Link I’ve played so far.

So, my point behind sharing all that is that the M Carbon Onyx seems to play really well for me on it. My only complaint is the combination of it being a brighter sounding Link, combined with the brightness of the Carbon Onyx reed really makes it’s brighter than I’m use to right now. Thus being why I may try a Rovner Dark ligature to darken up the combo some.

I’m stoked that the mouthpiece has gotten me a little closer to that Dexter Gordon / Scott Hamilton / Aubra Graves sound. And I only paid $104 for it!

Happy Thanksgiving Y’all. And thank you for getting the reed to me in a timely manner again, Johnny. I’m super happy I went ahead and spent another $27.00 for it.

Cheers,

Keith

[john]

Thanks for the update Keith Some interesting points.
for sure the softer reed’s gonna close up a bit when pushed, that’s why and when we should move up to a stronger one….just as you did.
you’re in a good position now having a few good options available as you pursue your sound. it’s not all about the reed or any other one thing but a combination as you are now seeing.
as much as I like my Onyx M it doesn’t work as good on some other mp’s that I sometimes play so I will go back and forth in those cases.
fortnately it’s working as good as the vandorens on my main mp so I’m happy about that.
BTW, for a darker sound you may be better off relying on a different mp rather than on a reed.

[brother cavefish]

yes i agree, the MP gives the darkness, and the reed fine tunes it, or such,

[Keith Taylor]

Thanks for the input, Johnny. I’d mentioned about trying a ligature designed to give a darker sound to try and mellow out the brighter nature of the Carbon Onyx reed on the Otto Link STM I recently picked up. I can play my normal Hemke reeds, a ZZ Jazz, and even tried an orange box Rico 2.5 on it today, and they all gave me the more mellow / darker sound I prefer for playing ballads. Whereas the M Carbon Onyx played on it gives me a brighter and raspier rock / blues type sound – which is great when I’m wanting to play that style.
So, my idea behind trying a darker ligature with the combination is to see if I can tone down the brightness a bit while still using that mouthpiece and reed combo when I want to without having to buy different reeds for it.

As it stands now, I think I’m getting where I actually like the feel of the M Carbon Onyx more than cane reeds. So, if I can get it to be not quite so bright, I may end up ordering another one from you for a backup, or for when I eventually play out the one I just ordered. I’m really liking it and love not having to worry about soaking it for a few minutes before practicing. Roating out reeds. Having to adjust each day to the slight differences in whicherever reed I’m playing that day, etc. That’s why I don’t mind sending another $25 on a Rovner Dark ligature to see if I can make it where I can just switch out my ligature for the darker sound, or stick with the standard Otto Link Ligature for the brighter sound.

My taste / ear may adapt to it where I prefer its brighter sound over the darker sound too. Maybe I just need to give it a few weeks before I do anyhting.

[john]

you might try the other Fiberreed models which I included on the demo video: the Carbon and the Natural Classic I think it was called.
They’re not on the reed page on my site but you can still order one from me or directly from the distributor in California.
I didn’t like them as much as the Onyx and Hemp because they were’t as bright, which is what I like.
I must say that I have tried the Carbon again recently and it played pretty well, and a little less bright than the onyx which is why I mentioned it since that’s the direction you’re going in.

if you haven’t checked out that review it’s here:

Fiberreed Review – My Personal Experience

[brother cavefish]

well friends, my thoughts, i tried the onyx, in my opinion, there is nothing that sounds like bamboo , the warm wood sound can not be duplicated , in my humble opinion, i have tried fibracell premier, regular and onyx either they buzz or sound plastic—— if you want a bright buzzy sound well then you might have to figure what you want, me i want a soft warm spread out sound , only wood can do this

[john]

Brother Cavefish,
What strength bamboo reed is your preference

[john]

Another question. How do the strengths of the bamboo reed square up with the java cane reed

[brother cavefish]

java 2/V16 1.5 it seamed to match up for me

[john]

Brother Cavefish,
I like my onyx soft and medium soft reeds and my java 2.5 reeds.However I’ll try one bamboo reed. I ordered one Firestone Black Bamboo tenor sax reed. strength 3.
advice was to order half strength harder than what I usually play

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