Reed Strengths

Here is how reed manufacturers label their reeds.

A cane reed’s strength is not dependent on the cane’s thickness, but rather a measure of resistance. So a reed that is labeled as a #2 is the same cut, or strength as one that’s labeled as a 3 or 4. The fact is that the higher the number, the more stiffer the material. In this case, the cane. In the case of a synthetic reed, they build up the amount, or layers of material. The more resistance it has, the harder it is to move the reed with our breathing, or air pressure.

Reeds come in different sizes, or more properly called strengths. Their Strength is measured by much resistance the reed has. This amount of resistance is labeled in terms such as Soft, medium soft, medium, medium hard, and hard. Most manufacturers label them by numbers starting with the number one as having the least amount of resistance.

This makes it the easiest to play. That is, the least amount of resistance which for you means the easiest to get a tone out of your sax for those first tries: one, one and a half, two, two and a half etc.

When you’re new to the sax and just starting out, a thin, or very soft reed is better than a thicker, or hard one to make the playing experience as easy as possible. A soft reed is easier to make a sound, the harder the reed the more difficult it will be.

So Why Even Try Using a Harder Reed?

Well, as we gain more playing experience, moving up from a 1 or 1.5 will help us get a better sound. No one with years of playing under their belt stays on a really soft reed such as a 1 or 1.5. But that doesn’t mean the harder the reed you play the better sound you will have.

As your embouchure strengthens you’ll be ready to try moving up to a half size stronger. It’s all a very personal and individual thing. There are famous pro’s that play on a 2 or a 2.5 reed. The number of the reed strength doesn’t equal your playing ability. You’ll move up slowly over the first couple years or so and finally settle on a size that remains as your preferred strength.

It can be a little like finding the right size shoes to buy… one type or brand may not be exactly like another and you may move up or down a half strength depending on the manufacturer or the material.

The Reed Must Be Wet

Never attempt to place your reed on the mouthpiece when it’s dry. This is a sure fire way to get squeaks. But also, a dry reed just won’t have the ability to perform as it should to help you produce your tone. You can let it sit in your mouth to soak up saliva, or you can let it sit in a glass of water for several minutes.

The water should cover the entire vamp of the reed up to the stock. When a reed dries out it will warp, so if you were to play it this way it wouldn’t work very well until the warping was gone. The warping will soon disappear once it’s wet and you play it for a minute or two. To prevent warping, place it in a reed guard or firmly down on a hard flat surface.

How To Tell If a Reed is Good or Bad

There are ways to tell this by visually inspecting it. The first thing to do is look a the center, or “heart” of the reed. It should be dark in color and actually be in the center of the reed. Since a reed is made from cane you will see grains running lengthwise. Things like inconsistency and discoloration in the grain may mean it’s not a good one. The heart should be in the center. Having said all this, it is possible that a reed will have inconsistent grain and a heart that’s not in the center and it still plays well.

Personally I don’t worry about the appearance, just slap it in place and it either plays or it doesn’t. I think that people got into looking at reeds when they bought them as singles out of a box of 20 or so. But stores don’t let you cherry pick them anymore so a visual inspection isn’t as important.

Heart of reed with grain lines

How Will I Know When To Change The Reed?

Natural cane reeds do have a life expectancy. It can be short or long depending on it’s quality and length of use. This amount of good playing time can be several days to several weeks or even months. This is where a more expensive premium reed may last longer. Most cane reeds will feel a bit stiff out of the box. Then after a bit of usage it will start to feel right. This feeling starts to change and it will almost suddenly become softer and weaker. The reed is now telling you it’s time has come.

Rotating Your Reeds

Some players will rotate a few reeds. This is a good idea because when your favorite reed dies you have another one that’s already broken in and ready to go. If not, you’ll be playing on a fresh out-of-the-box reed which may be stiff for a day or two.

Don’t Buy One or Two, Always Get a Box

Cane reeds are so inconsistent and unpredictable that you may only get a few good ones in box. Let’s say you only buy a few (some stores will break a box and sell singles) and the reeds are no good. You get home and your entire reed collection is terrible. But you don’t know they’re bad cause you’re just starting out. Now you blame yourself and feel awful and probably want to quit already!

Playing through an entire box of 10 or 20 you’ll start to feel the difference between the easier ones to play and the bad ones.

Start with a very soft reed, 1 1/2  and see how that feels. If it’s still hard to get a sound try a 1. Saxophone reeds are the type of thing that you need to decide for yourself, especially as you develop. There’s no such thing as the best reed in the world. What works perfectly for one won’t for another. There’s different variables for each of us like embouchure, mouthpiece tip openings etc.

You’ll eventually want to get several different brands and strengths and experiment to see what works best for you.

As someone who has played on cane reeds for decades, the thought of being able to just pick up a reed and put it on the mouthpiece and have it respond perfectly everyday for months and months seems too good to be true. Fortunately this is a reality now that there are some very good synthetic reeds being made.

After dealing with the inconsistency and expense of cane reeds it’s a natural progression to at least look into, if not totally going with a synthetic. It’s a fact, sales are up because more and more players are doing this.

Synthetic reeds (some call them plastic) have come a long way in the last few years. Personally, I never could play one till only last year. There are more and more manufacturers getting into the game so that’s good for all of us. I truly believe that for a beginner, a good synthetic reed is the way to go. You’ll be assured of a consistent, reliable reed every day.

With inexperience and just starting on the saxophone there are just too many other variable to deal with. So if you can take care of one of the biggest problems we have when it comes to playing sax, by all means do it!

What Are Synthetic Saxophone Reeds Made From?

We all know natural reeds are made from cane, but what about the synthetic ones? All manufacturers of these reeds are attempting to mimic a cane reed in their products and each of them have their own way of doing this with a variety of materials. Polymer compounds are used, both natural and synthetic ones.

Natural polymers can be made from silk, wool, paper, wood fibers and even natural rubber. Plastic polymers derived from chemical compounds are also used. These types of polymers are not exclusive to the reed industry, they are used in making cars, plastic parts, carpets and many other products we use everyday.

Synthetic Reeds for the Total Beginner?

If you’re literally just starting to play the sax then the best thing you can do is have a soft synthetic reed. If you are staring out and happen to have a few new cane reeds and they all suck, then you don’t know if the reason you can’t get a sound is because of you or your reed.

A box of regular cane reeds can have 10 or 20 reeds in it. That in no way means they will all be good. A few will be very good, a few will be ok, a few will go right into the trash, unless you’re willing to work on them. This is one of the problem with traditional reeds.

Working on Reeds to Make Them Play Better

reed rush

Yes, we can work on reeds to make them play better, whether they’re cane or synthetic.

Reed Rush is a natural product that has been around for many decades., This is a natural plant found near water.

It has rib-like edges and when it dries out from it’s normal living green state it becomes hard enough to wear down the reed. This will only work on cane reeds.

You can also use fine sand paper to shave down a reed. There is also a tool you can buy called The Reed Geek which also works well on synthetic reeds.

What Are Some Of The Synthetic Reed Brand Names?

Rico started with a “plastic covered” reed way back in the 1980’s, at least that’s the first time I tried one. These were not a full synthetic reed, but a regular cane one covered with a thin black plastic coating. The idea was to give it an extra layer of protection and make it last longer.

Rico Plasticover Saxophone Reed

They felt good from what I remember but the problem I had with them was that they’d split very easily when I screamed a lot in the altissimo register so I had to give them up. I wasn’t going to give up my altissimo notes!

Fiberreed – these are the brand I was attracted to the most and am currently using. There are 4 different reed types from Fiberreed:

• Natural
• Carbon
• Hemp
• Onyx

Check out the comparison of these reeds in the video below:

Legere – made in Canada and was the first 100% synthetic reed I heard about and tried. I suppose most of my sound was still there but it just felt weird to play so I never did use it after one day of trying it out. To be fair, this was a few years ago and I know they have more models now which are most likely an improvement over the one I played which is the Studio Cut.

• Classic (Studio Cut)
• Signature

Check out the Legere vs Vandoren cane in the video below:

Forestone – these are newer and I have yet to try them. They’re a white bamboo synthetic reed made from polypropylene resin and cellulose wood fibre.

Bravo – American made as well. These are sold differently than other brands since they come in a box of 5, whereas all the others are sold individually. Bravo’s box of 5 reeds cost about the same as one of the other brand’s single premium reeds.

Bari – I believe this is the same company who makes mouthpieces as well. Had a Bari plastic mouthpiece on my baritone sax many years ago and loved it. The reeds are much cheaper in price than most other brands and only come in one model.

Fibracell – is another top name and comes from the USA. These worked better for me but it was still hit and miss depending on the mouthpiece and even the day.