Reeds…

[Anonymous]

one thing i’ve learnt from mouthpieces – they do work better with specific types, case of finding the right reed type & strength!

some reeds are designed for dark sounding mouthpieces & some are designed for bright sounding instruments. ie classicsl is very different to rock in terms of reeds – see the pro’s on you tube for more info, don’t just listen to what the rockers say, see what the classical players say, and what the jazzers say – they all reed differently, and they all embouchure differently – there is a case for different setups & embouchures for the different styles.

in general if you are squeeking its more of a week embouchure problem , less of a wrong choice of reed – go back to practing just on the mouthpiece, if you cant play a proper scale, could be an unsuitable reed for the mouthpiece, or a badly made mouthpiece.

just to really annoy, reeds are seasonal, you get good crops, bad crops, i reckon thd machine calibrations often change resulting in irregular cuts of reeds – i have found a perfect reed in every brand i’ve tried, so i can only say, on average some brand/specific strenghts work better on my mouthpieces.

i have 4 mouthpieces, and they all have their own unique brand of reed/strenght combination – what works well on my rubber sounds crsp on metal etc…

if you troll through the comments about reeds on this site everyone, myself included – everyond keeps changing there mind over time about the best brznd etc…

[jake]

Hey Dazza, I’ve tried both Java Red and Greens 2.5 and 3’s on my tenor sax. I prefer the Reds as they seem a little softer and give me more of a buzzy sound which is what I like as of right now. But as James said, all people are going to experience them differently. I will throw a java on every now and then just to compare. I had a custom mouthpiece made which I guess is similar to a Guardala King metal mp. It has some brightness but can be subtle as well. I played a video for the guy that did the mouthpiece work and he suggested Riggoti Gold medium 2.5 tenor reeds. These reeds are fantastic for me. I have been using them ever since. The seem pretty consistent in the box meaning I have had most of them play well for me. Like I said I try other reeds as well, Java Red & Green, Rico Selects unfiled, Rico standards, Vandoren ZZ and I always find myself back to the Rigotti Golds. They play nice for me and give me the buzziest sound as compared to the others. I’m actually thinking about stepping them up to a 3 soon. I sent Michael a couple a while back. I know he tried them out as well. Maybe he can give you his take on them as well.

[Michael]

LOL I remember those size 3 Rigotti Reeds Jake sent me….I don’t think I ever posted any kind of comment/insights about them, well shame on me for that! That was very nice Jake of you to do so as it allowed me to see what they’re like before buying them.
Yes, Jake got me hooked on Rigotti Cane reeds and I prefer them over the Javas…..for the Tenor. The Javas a great, no question about it. But I have noticed with the Rigotti Cane reeds is that they are, I guess the word to use would be “richer” in sound. Also, almost all of them play great straight out of the box v.s. looking for that one reed that plays exceptionally well. The size 3 were a little to big for me, I play on size 2.5 medium. I have a box of Java 2.5 Greens for the Tenor, but I have them for the Alto in size 2.5 too. I did some recording as a test to contrast the Javas and Rigotti reeds on the Alto…there was no difference.
Speaking of recording, I had planned to do an upload today with Johnny’s backing track, but my wife is very sick…we’ve all got hit with a flu bug last week and she was the only one not to get it; it hit her pretty hard starting yesterday. As soon as she gets to feeling better then I’ll upload. Got quite a few songs of Johnny’s coming here pretty soon. I really love the blog…what a HUGE tool to help us improve!

[Kevin]

On Alto, I use a Meyer MP and the last purchase of reeds I got a tin of 5 Alexander Reeds #2 strength. All 5 played well, and I am still playing/rotating the first 2 of the 5 a year and a half later. Though that speaks more of the minimal practice/playing time I have put in, but I do like the reeds.
Also I have tried leaving the reed on the mouthpiece, and though it does come to life promptly enough I still like to see a good flat reed from being stored in the case and I’m inclined to think that it lasts a bit longer from not easily taking on the curvature of the MP facing.
Regarding the synthetic or plastic covered reeds- I think I’ve tried them all, and though I will occasionally test and compare them to cane, I favor the canes.

[john]

yes I agree with Kevin regarding the canes over all else.
leaving them on the mp forever is probably the worst thing to do, although that’s exactly what I do because I’m on and off them so much I just can’t be bothered to put them away each time I blow a few notes. but for those who have a long practice daily routine taking them off is the way to go for more reasons than one!

[Dazza]

So I am on holidays this week and getting hours of practice in a day and trying out those Java reds but decided they sound odd. They seem to “rattle” the sound of the sax to a point where they are not pleasant to my ear. I grabbed the last of the Rico Royal’s I had and put it on my new Meyer and I think I might hve nailed the sound I have been after. It just sounds full with a sweet mellow tone and a slight buzz when you push it. When I took the reed off I was surprised to see I had been playing a 2 1/2 not a 2 so I am very excited about that small progression. You fellas mentioned some odd brands that I don’t seem to be able to buy down under (in Oz) so for now the Royal’s are my pick for the foreseeable future. Back to the practice room (closet) now……….

[Anonymous]

yeah i noticed that the vandoren compared to the ricoh often seemed to be a 1/2 a strength different, even the guy in the shop said to me months ago, the size across some of the brands don’t exactly match up number wise.

[Dazza]

Is there any harm in soaking your reeds continuously in water when not playing. I read a pro does this to stop them drying and warping to extend there best playing condition. Can it really hurt. Not as though they are going to rot. JF – is this something that is necessary you think? I have done it the past few days and find I immediately get all my notes out first time as opposed to soaking for just a few minutes which takes time for the reed to get to optimum playing condition.

[john]

never tried that Dazza but why not keep experimenting with it and keep us posted on how it goes.
I would naturally just think that it could over wet them but I guess not since some people are doing it.
I don’t even wet mine, just take off the mp cap, blow a few runs from the middle to the low Bb, put the cap back on, come back to it in a few minutes and it’s perfectly ready to go.

[Dazza]

Yes I guess that should be the case cause if it wasn’t then when a sax player got to his solo after not playing for a few songs he would have problems.

[Author]

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