Carbon Fiber reeds??

[SMSHsax]

I recently saw my friend playing a reed that seemed to have black lines all over it so naturally I asked him what that was about. He told me that it was a carbon fiber reed. Now he says that carbon fiber reeds don't need to be wet to play on, they don't get dry, they're much easier to break in, they last a lot longer, and they don't break easy. He's bought only 2 in the last 2 years and just recently started using the 2nd one. These characteristics would constitute it as "the perfect reed" wouldn't they? I was going to buy one but each reed is $25. (I can only imagine what the price for the bari reed is :? ) Has anyone here used a carbon fiber reed and if so would you say they're better than Vandoren Javas, V16, and JaZZ ? I can't decide which kind I like more on all the mouthpieces I play so I ended up liking the way each mouthpiece plays with a different Vandoren reed. ALthough Vandoren reeds are rather treacherous. It seems like I must pick up 2 reeds at a time every time I have to change reeds because one will almost surely not play very well.

[Ritchie]

Sounds like a Carbone Toptone by Harry Hartmann. You can learn more about it here: http://www.fiberreed.de.

I have tried the Carbone Toptone and played it for a while. It is a quite bright reed and makes a good combination with a darker mouthpiece. Like with all synthetic reeds I tried so far, after some time I just returned to "the natural thing".

Reading about your troubles with reeds, I'd say give it a try. Having reed troubles, switching to synthetics can be a revelation. The baritone reed is not much more expensive than the tenor reed, but you should be able to find a cheaper offer than the prices advertised on the fiberreed website.

[Stencilman]

Here is what I wrote about them in another thread:
Very disappointing. Stuffy, unresponsive - totally opposite from what they claim. I normally play Fibracell 3.5 or Med Hard LaVoz on a Dukoff refaced to 115. I got a Medium and MedHard TopTone and they just don't work for me. I though that maybe they are just too hard for me, so I sanded one of them. It got softer but not any livelier. A waste of $45
Maybe they'll work better for someone else, but they didn't for me. Fibracells do what I want when I'm not playing on cane reeds (LaVoz).

[sessionsax]

I have not tried the carbon toptones, but I have tried the Hartman fibereeds and I think that they are great. They are a bright reed, but that suits me fine. They last forever as well. I have three sets for all of my horns and use the newest for playing live and I still use the 2 year old reeds to practice on, but I could use them live as well.