Baritone reeds on tenor - what brands work best?

[Super 20 Player]

This is a question for those of you who regularly play baritone sax reeds on tenor: What brands/cuts of baritone reeds do you find to work best for you on tenor?

Thanks!

[Bill Mecca]

since I'm a synth-kinda-guy Fibracell, usually a strength harder than you play on tenor. I have also used Bari brand baritone on tenor mpcs. they seemed to fit extremely well on teh Jumbo Javas I used to have, their tables seemed wider and accomodated the wider reed.

[jogi_music]

Hi there,
my question: Do get -and which?- a positive effect with bari-reeds on a tenor?
jogi

[MB-913]

jogi_music

Yes, it's not a bad idea to use Baritone sax reed on Tenor.
But you got to know your sound will be more loud, more powerful.
So, if your existing setup is too dark + If you want to add a bit edge, more volume, more power. You can try Baritone sax reed.


I have this experience by using Rico Royal (2.5) Baritone reed on a dark sound HR tenor mouthpieces. The result is much better than regular tenor reed. Which sounds more brilliance. If I have chance, I may want to try V-16 and ZZ as well.


Since this reed is more expensive than tenor reed. Before you make sure you like it or not, you may consider share a box with your friend.

[robbieg]

This one tenor player I've played some gigs with plays on Bari Rico Plasticovers, same reed as I do (except I use them for bari :-P ).

[doublerdad]

This is something I recently discovered, and I'm real happy with it.

I'm using La Voz Medium Hard baritone reeds on a very old HR Berg 100/1 on Tenor, with great success. Low notes and subtone are very, very easy. It's a bright mpc., and the larger reed gives me more control and center, along with a slight darkening of the sound. It gives me more dynamic range in both directions. I was worried that it might be a little too dark and woofy at first, but I heard the recorded sound and it wasn't at all.

After doing this for a few months, I've just started experimenting with tenor reeds on alto. Most of the reeds I have (La Voz, Rico Jazz Select, Java) WERE too dark and woofy, but when I put on a nice, bright V16 3.5 which is too edgy for my tenor setup, it popped right in. GREAT low notes and subtone! Not as sold on this as the bari reeds on tenor, but definitely worth some more experiment time. My alto mpc, fwiw, is the RPC 80 with the wedge baffle, Ron's "standard" HR model.

I'd be real interested in other peoples' experiences with this. Although I haven't tried it, my guess is this wouldn't work as well on metal mouthpieces...??

thanks.

[GlorySoundRising]

i need more power! power (loudness) without sacrificing one end of the horn for the other. wanna know if bari sax reeds would work on a metal tenor mouthpiece. using guardala super king tenor mouthpiece, loudest one i've found so far. been using legere studio cut 2 3/4 to 3, either too hard to play soft or too hard to play loud as well as too much air to play period (like excess of air needed overall). hope someone can help me, would help me. i play against organ/keyboard, drums, bass with no mic and the other instruments are coming thru sound system. trumpet player and i have no mic, but i have a greater struggle to keep my head above water than he does cuz its a trumpet. im tired and really need to figure this thing out once and for all. sorry for griping, thanks for listening. Later.

[MyMartinTenor]

Glory -- yes, I play bari reeds (3.5 rico, orange or brown box) on a metal tenor mouthpiece (Wanne Durga) when I want to have maximum power. A plasticover will have even more oomph. IMO, bari reeds do somewhat limit your "subtle" playing -- I still use a tenor reed for straight-ahead jazz work where I need versatility. But, when volumes are all m to ffffff, bari reeds can add some real power.

[GlorySoundRising]

Thanks for your reply, i'll give it a try. I welcome further input, would appreciate it.

[Michael]

I've tried tenor reeds on alto. Very convenient because you can be way off and it'll still seal on the piece :)
I still prefer the original reeds though. When you use a much larger reed you gain power but for me it made it harder to control, lost dynamic versatility, and it was harder to bend notes. It was a little "bland" in my opinion, but I do recommend you try it, and tell us what you think :D

[seattlebari]

All good pieces of advice. I would add for your consideration, the notion of trying a BARI CLEAR baritone sax reed. They seem considerably brighter than the BARI STARS, which are also very nice. Both reeds can be easily sanded successfully (albeit carefully) to really dial them in for your specific needs.

If budget and curiosity allow, also consider Hartmanns, or Hahns in the synthetic category, as well as the Fibracells, of course. Maybe one each.

Others have posted here, the Hartmann Carbon Fiber Toptones, versus some of the other models Harry offers seem to work well. Trial and hopefully, minimal error.

I have found myself, the Carbon Toptone for strictly baritone sax, works the best of his several varieties. Your results may vary......