Differences between Vandoren Alto reeds

[WorldIRC]

Vandoren has a bunch of Alto reeds...what's the difference between all of them?

[Michael Ward]

WorldIRC Traditional ( Blue Box )are used a lot by classical saxophonists
They are french cut and are generally half a strength harder than their equivalent strength in other reeds. They are also sometimes used by Jazz and commercial players who like more " wood" in their reeds . I use them on soprano sax sometimes.
The other 3, Java, V16 and ZZ are designed for Jazz and commercial music. The Javas IMO are the easiest blow and are bright and flexible also like the V16 and ZZ they are American cut. V16 are the stiffest of the 3 with a slightly more rounded tip . ZZ are somewhere in the middle. I use Javas on alto and have done for years although I'm experimenting with Alexander Superials which are like a supercharged Java. Also all four reeds have different cuts which have a strong influence on the way they blow. Every player will tell you different so really you have to shell out and experiment . There really is no other way because of the multitude of factors that come into play. Hope this is of some use cheers.

[WorldIRC]

Thanks...what strength would be recommended for use with a Selmer S80 C* (bluebox).

[HC]

http://www.vandoren.com/travail/photos/comparmarques.jpg

That's the reed comparison chart, hope it'll help you determine the strength to go for. I'm using 3.5 blue box on my Alto, Selmer C*mouthpiece.

[Michael Ward]

HC is right. A lot of classical players use an S80 Cstar with a 3 or 3 1/2 Blue Box Vandoren.It seems to be the benchmark set up. Alexander Classique reeds are another " classical " reed that are getting good notices. With Alexander Classique their reeds correspond equally to Vandoren Blue Box ie 3=3. Again the cut is different but Alexander are very consistant and made from high quality cane with a correspondingly higher price. However they seem to last a longtime. Good luck.

[JfW]

Personally, I think the Alexander Classiques 3 is a little harder than the Vandoren, perhaps a 3 1/4 in comparison.

[saxmasta89]

I think that the alexander classiques are harder too...i used to play on a vandoren 3.5 on my cannonball mpc, which most of the time i had a decent sound. I saw the classiques and decided to give them a try. it was much harder getting a good sound mainly because they were a little harder. Now i'm not sure to go for vandoren or alexander though..my band director looked at one alexander reed and hated them because the way they fit on the mpc :shock:

[Michael Ward]

You guys are probably right. I was going on the tables. Instead of Blue box 3 ,I sometimes use 3 1/2 DC or Superials which have a more immediate response than Vandoren 3 . This is on a C star S80 soprano piece.