Steve Goodsen's rock n' roll reeds

[DanF]

Anyone tried these new reeds? I ordered a few just out of curiosity about a day after the hurricane and my order got screwed up (wonder why?) Today I recieved a leak light. I notified him with an email but really can't blame him after what he's been thru the last two months. I guess if they never show up I can't get too upset about it. Just wondering how they compare to other reeds. thanks!!

[Sigmund451]

Ive heard they are good but the price is way out of line unless its come down. I figure you can do as well working your reed and drilling it if you want the increase in low end response.

[DanF]

I think they were 3 reeds for 15 bucks. A little high at that but you know how it is: buy stuff you don't need just because it's new and you just HAVE to try new stuff. (Steve knows this too).:)

[Grumps]

For the do-it-yourself'ers out there:

http://www.geocities.com/reed_drilling/

[super20dan]

if you want reeds for rock &roll just get rico plasticover

[tophatsax]

I have tried them. They do have a thick vamp and run close to the strengths of Vandoren. The 2 1/2 alto's were a bit stiff for me, but I was playing a .115 Berg. I'll pull them out and try them on my Lamberson 6M (even though I'm not much of an alto player) and report back.

Disclaimer: Steve gave these reeds to me when I was in New Orleans

[DanF]

all: I have edited this thread to remove my own comments and those related as they were not relevant to the conversation.

carry on. I will be removing this message in 24 hours.
No harm done Bill. You were absolutely right and I enjoy a little "needling" now and then. I took no offense and enjoy reading your posts and value your comments.

[hangman]

I have tried reeds with a drilled hole and there seems to be something about the hole that helps the reeds play better. I don't know why, I just know it works. I wish I had a drill press instead of doing it by hand. Does anyone know an efficient way of drilling the holes for a cheap but decent press?

[saxtek]

Electric drill, flat bottomed 1/4" router bit, steady hand!

[Sigmund451]

I picked up a cheap table top drill press from Harbor Freight for 32 bucks and made a jig with 2 small pieces of wood glued to a larger piece. It takes me longer to walk to the garage than it does to drill a couple of reeds. Perfect depth every time.

[StrtdTooLate]

Has anyone tried drilling Fibracells?

[saxtek]

No, but I drilled a Legere reed. Not as effective as drilling cane.

[Mike Ruhl]

Has anyone tried drilling Fibracells?There was some discussion of this on the old forum a few years ago. As I recall, the problem was that the Kevlar fibers (or whatever they're made of now) would fray, and it was difficult to cut a clean hole. The frayed ends of the fibers were sharp, and irritated the lower lip. I think the conclusion was it was better to simply find the right strength with the Fibracells.

[Roger Aldridge]

I experimented with drilling reeds several years ago and I came to the conclusion that a drilled hole reduces the "spring" that I need in a reed. At first I found drilled reeds to be easier to play. But, the more that I used them the less happy I became. It seemed to me that life was taken out of a reed by drilling it. When I returned to undrilled reeds my tone sounded more robust.

Instead of drilling reeds, what makes more sense to me is to make sure that the reed strength and mouthpiece tip opening & facing curve (along with the chamber and baffle style) you're using is an ideal match for your chops and particular horn. The ease in which you can play low Bb softly is a good indicator. If you have a good match between all of the parts of your set up and you as a player, then you should be able to have a beautiful, powerful sound along with a good level of control and response throughout the range of the horn.

[CMelodyMan]

if you want reeds for rock &roll just get rico plasticover I agree. Plastiocvers are great for R&R. Nice projecting sound.

[CMelodyMan]

I agree. Plastiocvers are great for R&R. Nice projecting sound.They're also pretty bright.