My Custom MBII MP for the Tenor is coming this week…synthetic reeds v.s. cane?

[Michael]

My new custom MBII MP for my Tenor will arrive this week and, based off of the MBII that I had made for my Alto back in the fall; I’m really excited about getting it for the Tenor to say the least. I wanted to get a Theo Wanne for my Tenor, but in light of the $ I just spend paying off my Saxophones a Theo Wanne will have to wait for a little while; I’m guessing late this year I’ll get one? Well see. I love the Theo Wanne Durga for the Alto. I’ll start uploading to Johnny’s blog with them here in just a short bit; first one will be “The Green Onions” on Tenor in F minor (played in G minor on Tenor).
I went by the local shop today to pick up a new set of reeds that I need for the Tenor and they were trying to get me to use the Fibracell or Legere Synthetic Reeds, saying that nothing is better for an MP like I just had made and coming. Does anyone have any experience in playing these reeds? Synthetic Reeds have never appealed to me since I started learning from Johnny…I’ve listened to players who use synthetic reeds play v.s. cane reeds, and there always seems to be a “warm, rich” sound that players have with Cane reeds which those using synthetic reeds don’t seem to have. Anyone ever try Fibracell or Legere Synthetic Reeds?

[Z]

I switched to fibracells for bari because on the Bari a reed lasts once and then warps so bad you can’t play it anymore. Switching to fibracells were amazing. At first the fibracells did sound “different” but after about a day it started to sound like a regular cane reed because you get used to playing on them. They sound just as good as cane for me and they last so long it’s worth it. You could always buy a fibracell or whatever, and just use it for practices and save your cane for performing if you end up not liking the synthetic, but it could still be great for practicing. But they really are worth it. A couple synthetic reeds a year compared to many BOXES of cane is worth it in my opinion.

[Dazza]

Hey Babs. I am looking at the MP comparison chats and seeing the MB is above a 110 opening. My recently acquired Otto STM is a 95 and it’s a struggle. Did you get a chance to test drive one and confident it’s gonna be comfortable for ya.

[Anonymous]

I just have two types of cane reeds now – best reeds & loads of 2nd best reeds.
The 2nd best reeds i use all the time for practising.
One thing i never tried out is buying these special cases to store my reeds in,
some of them are pretty expensive, and i often wonder do they really work or not?

I belong to cane reed player camp, and haven’t tried the plastic ones,
so can’t comment on them. My daughter plays with one of them on the clarinet,
and i can’t ell the difference. My instructor has made professional recordings
using them & i can’t tell the difference.

Whatever you play with, the mind gets accustomed to the sound after a while,
which the same goes for not tuning up your instrument beforehand, resulting
in you not knowing what sounds in tune or not.

[Michael]

Hey Dazza,
I’ve been playing on a Guardala Studio with a tip opening of .118″ for a whole year-started using it last spring-and the MBII has a tip opening of .119″. The biggest difference will be the chamber as the Studio has a Medium-sized chamber and the MBII has a larger chamber…with a little bit of practice I’ll be fine. The 2 videos that I’ve done of “The Watermelon Man” and “Use Me” was with the Studio MP…oh my I just realized I haven’t uploaded any videos here to Johnny’s site with the Tenor since that time! Shame on me…time flies by too quickly. Come to think of it, let’s take a look back on those 2 videos–haven’t looked at them in a while.

[Author]

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