Reed Problems

[SaxJazz12]

Hi. I play a Guardala Post-Bop model mouthpiece. I have been going through some real reed problems. Some of them could be due to this gig that I'm playing--I'm in the Disneyland All-American College Band, and I've been playing 8 + hours a day outdoors and been blowing pretty hard. Anyways, I've been using ZZ's...and they basically have been really unfocused. I was using Lavoz Mediums (like Brecker), and those are dying out too fast (getting too soft, etc). I'm wondering what I should do. I really like a Brecker/Rick Margitza/Jan Garbarek/Jeff Coffin sound (haha, if that makes any sense). I'm thinking about trying V16's, regular blue box VanDorens, or Javas....any suggestions

[Bootman]

If you're playing that long outside and blowing hard then try using a plasticover, they will last the distance. You could try synthetic reeds too but I am not a big fan of these as they force you to change your embouchure to play them. This being said, they do last for a long time.

[Vortex]

Plasticovers would have a great tone and durability for your outdoor situation.