Fibracell strength question

[maestroelite]

I'm using a Medium Hard fibracell on my soprano now(S80 C*). The reed plays easily, but I think it is too soft. What would be a better choice for me in the new grading system? To compare, I was using 3.5 Classic Van Doren reeds and they worked pretty well for a little while, just went limp too fast. I like the sound of the fibracell, just seems like it needs to be a bit stronger.

[wersax]

According to the reed strength chart on Fibracells web site, the old medium hards are comparable to the new, (Premier), 4's and a 4 1/2's, ...............

[maestroelite]

I've seen that, but the charts aren't always reliable from my experience.. oh well. I'll just see if I can pick up a few different strengths.

I ordered a 4.5 and a 5 from ww/bw, hopefully it'll get here soon since I live a couple hours away from their warehouse.

[maestroelite]

Got my reeds in today. The 5 plays a bit too stuffy for my tastes, but it will be used as my classical reed for that purpose. I'm sure when it is played a lot it will eventually be my primary reed, but not now.

The 4.5 plays about right for me, but still is a bit soft. Improvement over the the Med. Hard though. Both of the reeds seem to have a much brighter sound than the original style of Fibracells, which isn't a problem for me. I'm sure others would beg to differ with me, but different strokes for different folks.