$#@% Legeres

[sax_appeal]

I played my new Legere 3 on alto for the first time today, and after an extremely difficult three quarters of an hour, my bottom lip was completely ruined. I now have these two red mounds where the sides of the reed dug into my lip. Worst AU$30 I've ever spent

[retread]

No matter what their chart says, a #3 Legere must be equal to a 4 or 5 cane. Hardest reeds I've ever seen. On baritone I use #3 Superials on a .110 mouthpiece. A Legere 2.25 works OK, but only when I use a .090 mouthpiece.

[paulwl]

I only tried Légères briefly. My impressions were like yours.

FWIH, those who like them best are the type of player who adapts to the demands of the setup, rather than adapting the setup to suit themselves.

Ie: people who don't like Légères are wimps.

Just kidding. :wink:

[retread]

I know I'm a wimp. I have to use a strap or harness to play bari--can't support it with just my hands.

Actually, I like the Legere sound best of any synthetic. I use it for practice and rehersals (rather than take out a second mortgage to buy baritone superials). With the smaller mouthpiece they aren't bad at all. I've heard a lot of clarinet players like them. But of course clarinetists are known for their machisimo.

[altoist]

I just got two alto Legere #2's from WWBW about three days ago, along with a
Hartmann FiberReed. I don't care for the Fiberreed, but I love those Legere's.
My lips are fine, I didn't notice any discomfort.

So far, of the synthetics, I think I like the Legere's best, Fibracells next, then
Plasticovers, then Fiberreed. Of cane, I prefer Vandoren Java 2.5, but I think I'm going to give up on cane for a while and just stick with synthetics. There's just not enough time in the day for me to mess with cane.

[duckmaster1089]

Opps i have a legere 2.75 on the way. Man i hope its not to hard. Hey altoist, send it back to legere to get ur money back, or exchange the read for a lower strength.

[altoist]

Hi Duckmaster,
I think you misread what I wrote. I like the Legere's, it's the (Hartmann) Fiberreed
that I am not as fond of; I find it a little buzzy. There is no return policy for Fiberreeds.

The Legeres are quite good for me. I'll keep mine. I also like Fibracells. Right now,
I'd probably say that I slightly prefer the Legeres, but if I had to stick with Fibracells, that would be OK.

I'm quite happy with synthetics. As a beginner, I'd rather practice than mess with finding
the right reed out of 10, and doing surgery on it, and...

[B Sharp]

I've used Legeres on and off for about 3 or 4 years. On alto, I found that a 2.5 is pretty close to a VanDoren Blue Box 3. I've used that with a c* mouthpiece. I found that I had to mess with my ligature, and make sure my embouchure was really perfect, but the tone is surprisingly pleasant. I currently find myself doing this: play on a cane reed for a few minutes. too hard. switch. too buzzy. switch. too stuffy. Grab the legere in frustration. Plays fine!
Studio cut did not work for me on alto.
On tenor, studio 2 or 2.25 worked fine with a Berg Larsen 120/1. Used about 50% of the time, compared to cane.
On Bari, a 2 or 2.25 works well with a Yanagisawa rubber mouthpiece. A 2.25 up to about a 3 works fine with a selmer D for classical. I use legeres almost exclusively on bari.

Hope this helps. They're good reeds. You just need to make sure you have the right strength, and you might have to experiment with embouchure and ligature a bit.

[Dentarthurdent]

I spent two years and a lot of £££s trying out loads of different reed brands. Guess what? I came back to the same reeds I'd been using before starting the exercise - Java's. I wish I'd taken the advice in one of Tim Prices excellent publications to heart - find a brand you can use and stick with it.

[Dr_sax]

Similar happened to me. I recently tried a fibracell ms on my bari. Sounded really great. But- after playing for about 2 h my tongue hurt like hell for allmost 2 days. Now I know what the "ms" means. :shock: I remembered years ago had had the same problem with fibercane reeds on tenor. So I am back to plasticover reeds. I´m such a wimp;)

[Roger Aldridge]

I've become a big fan of Legere reeds. The experiences that I've had with them are echoed in some of the comments already posted. Since I do a lot of doubling it's been a dream of mine to have a synthetic reed that sounds as good as a high quality cane reed. Then, I wouldn't have to worry about reeds drying out when one of my horns sits on a stand for a period of time and I need to pick it up quickly and sound good. All of the other synthetic reeds I tried in the past sounded absolutely terrible to me -- most often way too buzy. When I first tried Legere I could immediately tell that it was different. It had a cane-like sound. HOWEVER, it's response was different from my favorite cane reeds.

It took me about 2-3 weeks of heavy duty shedding to adjust my chops to Legere reeds. I did this first on clarinet. The key thing -- as it's already been mentioned -- is determining the correct reed strength. I did it through trying different reed strengths and the different reed cut models. I started on the soft side with a #2.5 regular cut Legere clarinet reed. As my chops adjusted to the reed I moved up to #2.75 and #3 strengths. After becoming comfortable with a #3 on my Morgan RM28 mouthpiece I then discovered that I prefered the Quebec cut much better than the regular Legere clarinet reed as it has a darker and thicker sound.

Given all of the adjusting I had to do as a player, I honestly don't think that I would have gone though it with a new cane reed. Ya know? But, I saw the potential in Legere. I figured that if I could get perhaps 90% of my sound with Legere it would be worth it given the great benefit I'd receive from it with greater ease in doubling. To my amazement, I've gotten so much into the Legere Quebec reed (based on the old Morre) and really love the sound I get from it that I can't see myself going back to cane.

After I was settled and happy with Legere on clarinet, I then started working with Legere on tenor. I had a similar period of adjustment and trial & error. Long story short, in order to get the quality of sound that I wanted with Legere on saxophone I ended up using a different mouthpiece and ligature. For whatever reason, I wasn't happy with Legere on my regular set up. It didn't sound right to my ears. So, I experimented with different mouthpiece facings and different ligature brands & metals. Finally, I was all grins and giggles with #2.5 regular cut Legere on a Morgan 6L with a gold Charles Bay ligature. It took a good amount of effort to get there; but, I'm now actually happier with this set up than my previous one.

I feel a kind of liberation in not having to put so much time and energy into my reeds as I had to do with cane throughout my years of playing. It's amazing to me that no one (audience or other band members) can tell that I'm using Legere rather than cane. It's true! This, too me, says it all.

[danarsenault]

I've played Legeres on all my single reeds, at one point or another. I like them, and they ARE a big help in pit, but...

They are hard to figure - some are softer than others, relative to their cane counterparts. For instance, I play a Walter Grabner Chicago on Bb/A clarinet with Gonzalez FOF 3.75. The equivalent Legere is 4.25. I play LaVoz medium on a Meyer 5M on alto, the equivalent Legere is 2.5, so it seems to me.

My other problem with Legeres is response time. They seem to like smaller instruments better... although...

I much prefer cane reeds, even blue box VDs, to Legere on bass clarinet. Perhaps it is my Grabner BB_CX_PERS, or perhaps the sample Legere that I have. On Contra-alto clarinet, the Legere 3 is da bomb on it's Grabner.

On bari, the Legere 2.5 is about the same as a 3 cane reed on my Lamberson 8SB.

On Eb clarinet I much prefer 3.5 blue box soprano sax reeds (or shaved 4s) to Eefer reeds, including Legere. I haven't tried a Legere on my Jody HR tenor piece, nor my Yani HR sorpano piece, and they do not yet have an alto clarinet solution, apparently.

Bottom line? I don't play Legeres as much as I thought I would, and it is too bad, especially in the pit.

[AustinBrister]

I am absolutely in love with Legere reeds. Care to hear a sound file?

I play Blue Box 3.5s (at very high altitude, so almost like a 4)

Legere 3 works PERFECT for my classical alto setup.

Jazz Tenor - Francois Louis 3.5, Legere 2 works perfect.

[BayviewSax]

I tried a Legere 2-1/4 on bari after reading that they were hard. I found it easier to play a Vandoren 3, which in itself is a brick (with a .125 mpc). They *are* good for burnishing, though.

[PaulNYC]

After finding the correct strength for me I like them very much. MY instructor says they work better on my setup than Lavoz cane. I agree and think they worth trying.

[Roger Aldridge]

I got out my stash of Alexander Classiques in various strengths today. It seemed to me, depending upon the particular Legere reed I played, that a #2.5 Legere was comparable in resistance to a #3.5 Classique on my Morgan 6L. In fact, several of the Legeres in my reed case had more resistance than a #3.5 Classique! Classique reeds have a GLORIOUS sound. However, I also like the darker and more muscular sound of Legere. My dream saxophone reed would be a cross between Classique and Legere.

A couple of weeks ago I tried the Vandoren Master's ligature and found that it gives me better results with Legere reeds than the previous ligs that I had used -- better response and more open sound. My sax buddies in our big band remarked that they heard a difference.

[dshack]

I play a Legere 2.5 on my .110 mojo-worked bari link. In the mid-high range, it seems to respond a lot like a #3 rico royal, but I think due to it's width and thickness it plays a lot harder down low. I like the sound, but at least for me, it makes my tone clean almost to the point of brassiness; sometimes I get an itch for a more caney sound.

Has anyone played around with doing reed adjustments on legere's? I'm not sure if they'll ever put out a studio-cut bari reed, and there are definitely some sound adjustments I'd like to make.

[Roger Aldridge]

dshack,

I have 2 Legeres in my reed case that were playing on the stuffy side. Your message insipired me to try a small amount of scraping with a knife in the area just behind tip...back to around 1/4" from the tip. This made a noticable difference in freeing up the reed's response. I'm thinking that using 400 grit water proof sandpaper, as recommended on the Legere web site, might be better than the knife scraping. I'll try that next time.

In doing the scraping only in that limited area of the reed I drew upon my understanding of the Alexander Classique reed cut in having a thicker cut in the heart & vamp and a somewhat thinner reed tip.

Personally, the Studio version of the Legere reed doesn't do anything for me. To my ears, it's sound is on the thin and buzzy side. They remind me of the yellow box Alexander Superials. They were too buzzy for me as well. Whereas, the thicker cut of the Classique was just right. For me, a thicker cut reed gives me a stronger tonal core and a more muscular and robust sound.

So, it's possible that making some adjustments to Legere reeds will give you what you're looking for on bari. Please let us know how you come out.

PS, The Legere web site has a downloadable document that has a lot of information about Legere reeds and their care & feeding. There is a section that has info about adjusting Legeres.

Roger

[bartone]

So, I got my Legere today and it plays fine. I switched quickly to a cane reed, because I could feel my tongue and lig starting to be affected. I guess I have to break into the Legere a few minutes a day. Overall, nothing outrageous, but of course, it's always there, ready to play. I'm thinking that when I get used to it, I may prefer it (I'm playing Vandoren ZZs now). I've a pretty bright setup (Ponzol M2-S) and the Legere (studio cut) is absolutely not dark. Far from it.
So does everyone get sore from playing a Legere at first? I figure it's like riding a bike, but the pain's in a different spot. I think.
bart

[bartone]

I played the Legere for a couple of hours yesterday and I feel fine. Nice tone, I'm not sure it's better or worse than cane. Maybe I slightly prefer cane, but maybe not. Not any more variance than one cane reed to the next, actually. On the other hand, I practiced for about a half hour today, put the horn aside to run an errand, then picked it back up several hours later - it played exactly the same.
I can't get used to that...
bart

[Jorns Bergenson]

Got s batch of Legere Studio Cut (LSC) reeds for alto and tenor. I've been playing on #3 for tenor and found the new one to be a little harder than the older ones but not by much.

I've been playing a reworked LSC #3 on alto so I bought a 2.5 and 2.75. Even the 2.5 is quite a bit harder than a Fibracell 3.0. I'm reworking the 2.5 and will try out Legere's exhange policy with the 2.75 to get a 2.25.

The standard cut Legere 2.5 soprano reeds seem to be right on the money strength-wise.

Reworking these pups is not easy but I haven't ruined one yet. I start with 150 grit paper on top and finish with 400 grit using the instructions provided with the reed.

[bartone]

I tried the 2.5 and returned it for a 2.0. They sent me a 2.0 AND a 2.25. At first I liked the 2.0, but decided on the 2.25 in the end. After playing Legere for a few days, I don't have any nostalgic desire to mess with cane reeds - but I find myself doing the same rituals - putting the reed in my mouth while assembling the horn, checking it for warp and so on. It's really odd to NOT wet the reed before playing, so I do it anyway. Old habit, I guess.
I'm finding the Legere SC just a bit livelier than the Vandoren ZZ reeds.
bart

[larry]

Tried a 2.5 tenor (I usually play 4 Plasticovers) and it was way too hard - sent it back to Canada and just got a 2 replacement today. Lovin' it! So far, it seems to be everything I was hoping it would be - instant karma.

I did end up rounding over the sides a bit with 400 grit sandpaper - they were so sharp that they were biting into my lip. Just a few passes with the sandpaper and it's much more comfortable. Lost my altissimo A-B, but I'm sure I'll get it back in a couple of days...

Kudos to Legere for a very professional exchange service!

[Canadiain]

I bought an Alto studio cut 2.5 that works great on my Selmer piece (was using Vandoren Bluebox 3s, and its a little softer, but not much). Well, its a little too hard on my new Beechler so I just bought a 2. Its hard as a rock, like a 4 or something. No good to me so I'm sending it back. Its also split at the tip which might not help.

Still love the 2.5, but maybe there is a lack of consistency thing going on?

What drives me nuts is the numbering between the original style and studio cuts is not same, and isnt even really close! Also I got a clarinet reed..2.5, and then got it home to find it was a "student reed" (which I hadnt noticed in the store) and that 2.5 really meant somewhere between 1.5 and 2!

AAAAARRRRGGGHHHHH.

Pick a freaking numbering system and use it for everything will ya!!!

EDIT: Returned to the store, refund, no problem (they didnt have another 2 in stock). Said they had never seen another like that in the time they had sold them. I now have a 2.5 studio cut clarinet reed too, and its much better than the student model, not just in terms of strength, but its a lot more like cane too.

[Scott Ramminger]

I like the Legere reeds. One thing that is nice to me is that they are consistent. No more buying a box of reeds and finding one that's great, several that are ok, and two that are total duds.

The answer (generally) is to play softer reeds in Legere than you would probably play in cane reeds, no matter what there charts say. If you are trying them for the first time, I would start a 1/4 step lower than the softest reed you think you would possibly play.

I have been trying to switch between tenor, alto, and bari and to maintain a consitent (and good) sound on each horn. Of course, one key is to practice every horn, and to practice switching. However, I am trying to minimize the obstacles and get some consistency going on.

I am playing the same model mouthpiece (SR Tech Pro) on all three horns. Of course, they are different sizes. But the basic shape and feel is the same. I like it on all three horns. Partly to balance out the difference in resistance of the three horns, I am playing a 2 Studio Cut on alto, a 2 1/4 studio cut on tenor, and a 2 1/2 on bari.

So far it seems to be working. On my tenor, which is a Cannonball unlacquered and came with two necks (I also purchased a third), I can change necks and go from a screaming rock sound on the unlaquered neck to a dark smokey jazz sound (the black nickel neck) without changing mouthpieces or reeds and not effecting the way the horn feels to play -- just the sound.

Anyway, that was a bit of a ramble, but I like the Legere reeds.

Scott

[Jorns Bergenson]

I'm reworking the 2.5 and will try out Legere's exhange policy with the 2.75 to get a 2.25....Reworking these pups is not easy but I haven't ruined one yet.
Well, I killed the 2.5. That's $13 down the drain because I wasn't patient enough to wait for an exchange. I'll be exchanging the 2.75 for a 2.0.

I am loving the 2.5 Studio Cut on tenor and the 2.5 soprano (they don't make a studio cut on soprano or bari). If I can find the right strength on alto, then no more reed worries. Is that possible? :)

[Roger Aldridge]

If you haven't already done so, please read the message that I posted about how the ATG Reed Finishing System has greatly improved the response, tonal quality, and projection of my Legere reeds. Amazing difference! It's especially amazing to me given how subtle the adjustment is that I'm making to the reed tip. Never the less, this very small change really opens up the reed's performance.

Roger

[barelytone]

YODA? seriously?

[Roger Aldridge]

Yes, it's true. It's from The Empire Strikes Back. The scene was when Luke first met Yoda and told him that he was looking for a great warrior. Yoda replied, "War does not make one great".

[Doctormyeyes]

I like them, too. After much experimentation, first with the regular series, which are extremely heavy, then the studio cuts, which are lighter, but still heavy, I wound up with a #1.75 (!) strength studio cut on my Selmer Super Session E alto. Feels/sounds pretty identical to a Vandoren V16 #2. The two I've tried so far are consistent. So far, I think these are a keeper. It's great to be able to just pick up the horn anytime and instantly get a great sound.

They really should change their numbering system, however.

[barelytone]

I am a new convert to Legere Studio Cut. Comparable in strength to the V16 2 1/2 I have been playing. Maybe a little softer, actually, as it seems to close off more readilly on the high notes if pushed. I am going to try a 2 3/4. Anyone compare these to the Hahn Reeds that SaxAlley sells? And seriously, about Yoda - if you are a Star Wars fan, you owe it to yourself to rent "Thumb Wars". It is a parody where all of the characters are human actors faces superimposed on thumbs. It comes as a double feature with possibly the even more funny "Thumbtannic"

[gyrofrog.com]

I wound up with a #1.75 (!) strength studio cut

I managed to get a 1.5 studio cut, but it had to be specially ordered. For sake of comparison, I had been playing on La Voz Medium Softs. 1.5 felt the closest to these, which is a good thing because that's the absolute lowest number Legere makes.

I never had much luck with Fibracells or Baris but I like the Legeres.