Alexander Concistency

[HonkBopSax]

Let me first say that I love Alexander DC reeds...they play outplay any reed I've tried, and even the ones that don't speak AS WELL still play better than most others. I purchased 3 tins of DC 3 tenor reeds about 3 weeks ago. I did the break in procedure, as I always do, for one tin, and NONE of the reeds played well. Then I'm thinking, oh well, let's see where we are in a week. Meanwhile, I did the same thing for the second tin, and got the SAME results. Every reed was resistant and stuffy. I took my horn to my repairman, figuring it was likely the horn, and he checked it from top to bottom and there was nothing wrong with it. I then put my mouthpiece on a Selmer VI he had just overhauled, and had the same problem. Just a thick,stuffy sound throughout. I then bought a box of Jazz Select 3S's and they all played fine. Not the great sound that I get out of the Alexanders, but they all played with ease. So now I'm $33 down the drain, with one tin left, and not much incentive to use them anymore. Maybe it's the change in temperature from Spring to Summer? I'm not trying to diss his reeds, cause like I said, on the whole I love them, but I used to get at least 3 in a tin that worked, now I'm 0 for 10!

[Beowulfmk]

My personal experience was similar. I switched to Fibracell and went back to Lavoz. Alexanders warped even when I kept them on the flat surface. They had uneven cuts on the tip. Yes, I can clip tip, but Alexander reeds cost higher than Lavoz, so I expected better quality. There are lots of pros using Alexanders, so they must be suited for some people. Not for me though.

[Vortex]

Sounds like it's the mpc to me. Either it's incoreectly manufactured or damaged/scratched in some way. A friend of mine tried some for clarinet and she didn't like them at all - I checked out her mpc and it was rather badly scratched - but she loves Vandorens. I have an alto mpc that's in need of a little tweeking and it squeaks a LOT with all Alexanders, again Vandorens work fine. My Greiffenhagen-refaced Soloist plays splendidly with Alexanders, just ok with Vandorens. It could be sound concept conflicts, embouchure issues, etc, but I think this shows the mouthpiece to be the culprit. There's a reason Alexanders were JVW's favorite reeds.

[HonkBopSax]

Actually, the mouthpiece isn't the culprit, since it worked with the DC reeds that i was using BEFORE I opened the two tins of DC's. The mouthpiece also works with every other reed I've tried on it. And then, just to be sure, I tried the reeds on a Ponzol M2, a Dukoff M10, and a Barone Limited Edition hollywood and got the same results.

[Mike Cesati]

HonkBop I just got a bunch of DC 's from Saxquest. Pretty good results so far. I have lots of orange ricos and they are OK but a good DC is excellent. They aren't all great but I've only played 7 out of 5 boxes I bought.I'm hoping the investment pays off. I like them real wet.I don't overblow the first couple of sessions but once I get a good one on there it STAYS. Nice reed,you might have hit a bad run.

[HonkBopSax]

Mike,


I actually just played them again and they play a little better. Usually, they all play great right out 'o the box, but this time, they all felt like 5's. I have an old Lamberson rubber tenor piece that has never had a problem with reeds, so I was kind of surprised. Anyway, you're right - a good DC is better than anything out there, and will last for ages. When I lived in Boston, I was constantly messing around with Rico Royals, trying to get them to work, getting to gigs and having to soak new reeds, but once I found these, I was floored.

[Vortex]

I just got a box of Rico Royal's a couple weeks ago to mess around with (mostly to avoid wasting good ones on dumb stuff) and MAN, if you think that Alexanders have been a bit inconsistent, you should look at these. Whoever's checking these boxes (if anyone) must be on drugs because I found some real abominations in there - how about a reed with a sliver of bark beginning 3/4 of the way down from the tip, or a thin line of dense fiber running all the way to the tip? Didn't find a single one that I really liked and most went into the dead-reed suitcase within a couple days.

Yep, DC's still rank at the top for me.

[Sigmund451]

On the topic of Alexanders, I have tried a bunch but always come back. Nothing seems to match the color and tonal flexibility.

There is a general thread of cheapest reeds that recently ran but since all in here are Alexander users, where is the best price for them? Best Ive done is WWBW.

[WG]

I'm on my sixth tin of alto Alexander Classiques. I have yet to find a reed that is less than excellent.
Given the consistancy of these reeds, I'm beginning to wonder how the competition is surviving. :roll:

[HonkBopSax]

I agree, they are hands down, the best reed out there...I was just asking if anybody noticed anything weird in the last few months. Hell, it was probably the climate change, but I was just curious. No slam on his product, because it's really helped me out overall.

[Mike Cesati]

Honkbop,

I soaked and tried 3 of the 7 DC's that I had begun to break in. 2 were KILLER and the other was playable.I threw away 1 today that I had played about 1 1/2 -2weeks. I'm very happy with these so far. I needed a change and these have been just what the doctor ordered.Very resonant reeds. i'm using a Dc 3 on a 7* Link HR. How about youself? You play a metal Link don't you?

[HonkBopSax]

Mike,

I played a metal Link for the last 4 years or so, until I got a really old HR Lambeson tenor mouthpiece. I'd been listening to Joel Frahm alot, and when I put that piece on, I sounded a lot like him - that deep, fat sound int he low register, but almost a Breckerish tone in the upper register. It's the best thing in the world for me for jazz. I recently picked up a Ponzol M2 120 tenor piece and I use that on the gigs when I've got to be heard. Funny though, that piece is not bright at all, just very fat and focused. So now I feel like I have the best of both worlds in a way. I'm convinced that Hard rubber is the way to go though. It seems to be much more forgiving than metal, and i find that a lot more reeds work well with the Lamberson. This one is a keeper!

[paulwl]

I like 'em. Superial 2 1/2, 3, or 3 1/2 seem to fill most every playing need for me lately. They last a good long time. I don't find warpage problems (YMMV). Tom Alexander is also a pleasant cat to exchange email with.

[Vortex]

HonkBop - I noticed something a little different in terms of tone and response /w Alexanders recently too, I'm not sure what. I'm breaking in a Classique, DC, and Superial right now and once they're fully broken in I'll let you know what I think's going on with them. I've been away from Alexanders for awhile and have been using Javas a lot.

[Chris S]

Hey All,

Here's my two cents about Alexander reeds. I've been playing semi-pro for the last two years or so. I think that they're amazing reeds, they respond well all over and I don't think I've ever had to take a reed knife to one of them. I think that this letter that I sent to Tom Alexander is genuinely how I feel about his reeds:

"Dear Tom Alexander or whomever reads this,

I'm a saxophonist from Cheyenne, WY. I'll be attending the University of North Texas next fall. I just wanted to write and tell you thank you for making the best reeds that I've ever played on. It's nice to know that when I buy a box of your reeds, I can count on them playing well. I used to buy box after box of another brand (I won't mention names, but it starts with a V) only to find that maybe one or two reeds (sometimes none) really played well. I had to spend a lot of time with a reed knife and some sandpaper to get them playing well, and then after maybe 30-50 hours of playing time, they were dead. With the Alexander reeds (I've tried Superial, DC and Classique and play them all, depending on horn and mouthpiece) I can be assured that they will play well, right out of the box. Most of the time, I condition them very little and I don't remember EVER having to adjust one of your reeds. My reed knife has gotten a little dusty in the last 3 years, and I say amen to that. The V company started putting out some 'hand-select' reeds, and I bought a box, and yeah, they played well, they still didn't last, and I paid a horrendous amount for the box of five reeds. I can play on an Alexander reed for an average of 2 months, 20 hours per week. And they still sound great. I've never played a reed that's had such great response in all registers, with such longevity and consistency. I just wanted to write and tell you thank you for getting it right and I recommend your reeds to everyone that I know. Thank you thank you. Thank you a thousand times for giving me the equipment that I need to spend more time worrying about the changes or that wicked cadenza than worrying about whether or not my reed is going to make it through the gig.

Sincerely,
Chris Sundberg
Saxophonist/Composer
Cheyenne, Wy"

CS

[Vortex]

My only gripe with Alexanders lately has been that they seem rather unstable, I've noticed that some reeds tend to chirp (think Charlie Parker), and it's really easy to slack for a moment and hit a random overtone on some note like E2. These are the only problems I've been experiencing, and I too am an Alexander convert. Never used to experience any of this. I sincerely hope this doesn't become a trend b/c what I love most about Alexanders (especially DC's) is how they play.

[Durand]

I have recently prepared two reeds, same mpc, same sax, one Vandoren trad and one Alexander Superial yellow tin.
The vandoren sounds dull and muted and the AS give me a powerful sound and flexibility in all my sax range. Just one reed in each box, let's see the others

[Sigmund451]

Durand, thats because Vandoren Traditionals by nature sound pretty dull (IMHO).

[Vortex]

I think they sound dull because we're all so used to hearing people play on them. To the audience it probably sounds just fine.