What's the best synthetic reed out there ?

[SaxPower]

Hi !

I'm looking at synthetic reeds now. I'm using Rico Jazz Select #2 filed. I love there sound but I'm tired of soaking ... sanding ... buying boxes ... and having to throw away half of them. So ... what's the best synthetic reed ? I've heard good things on the legere ones. I'm scared of having a buzzzzzing sound with synthetics ... Which one comes closer to what I currently use ?

thanks all for your answers !

[EFlat]

I find the best one to be the Bari Mediums.....they last and sound great once you adjusted to it. No soaking. Consistent playing for months. Here it is:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=bo/s=woodwind/search/detail/base_pid/462654/

They also started making this one, which I am not crazy about but mey be your style...

http://www.wwbw.com/Bari-Star-Alto-Sax-Reed-i26514.music#overview

Five stars for consistenty. They also come in soft and hard.

Hope that helps.

[Grumps]

I'm using Rico Jazz Select #2 filed. I love there sound but I'm tired of soaking ... sanding ... buying boxes ... and having to throw away half of them.

Don't knock all cane reeds because of current Ricos. I just quit using them after thirty years myself. There's a lot of other folks in our boat as well, and you can read their complaints on this very site. I didn't go the artificial route, and so far, I'm happy with Alexanders.

[scottyhoop]

SaxPower I did the same thing a few years ago. Was tired of cane and switched to Bari reeds. I tried a lot of different kinds, Fibracell, Plasticover, and a few other that I forget. I decided on the Bari's (not the bari star...didn't care for them) and used them for a few years. I decided to take a lesson with a well known sax player and the very first thing he said to me was what reed are you playing? I told him and he told me to stop playing it. I switched to Vandoren Blue box and I sounded like a new player. I couldn't believe I had played those reeds for so long and sounded the way I did. To make a long story short....make sure you try different cane reeds as well. Some people play synthetics and love them. They just weren't for me. Don't limit your options...Good luck with the hunt!
Scott

[sinjarah]

I've been very happy with the Hartman carbon Fibre reeds.

[area51recording]

I've been using Fibracell for a while now. I tried Bari, Hahn, and Hartmann as well and to me the Fibracells feel more like a cane reed in my mouth and I like the sound.

[Mike Ruhl]

I find the best one to be the Bari Mediums.....they last and sound great once you adjusted to it.I'll second the nomination of the BARI medium, based primarily on the fact that it probably has the longest, most successful track record of any of the synthetic reeds out there. It's also the least expensive of the quality synthetics. The BARI medium should be everyone's first synthetic reed, imho.

This is not a knock against Fibracell, Legere, or any of the others. Nor am I saying the BARI will work better for everyone (or anyone in particular). I'm just trying to be objective.

[Bill Mecca]

I use BARI from time to time, and they have remained consistent. I used to use Fibracell's almost exclusively, but then went to Plasticovers. The new formulation that Fibracell is using seems brighter to my ear(and I play R&R). They play well but right now the Plasticover's are working for me.

Oh and I finally destroyed a BARI soft.. the tip chipped, I had seen a slight variance in it but it still played. The other night the end just fell off. I think it was about 5 years old. Never played it consistently, but from time to time.

[zorroperro]

Another vote for them!

[super20dan]

plasticovers all the way!

[wersax]

Fibracells...........

[Roger Aldridge]

Saxpower,

I have a reputation with my sax buddies for being picky about my sound and the relationships between all of the parts of my set up. With that in mind, I can tell you that I've been happy with Legere regular cut reeds (not the Studio model) on saxophone and the Legere Quebec reed on clarinet.

In first trying Legere reeds I adapted to them fairly quickly on clarinet and I was very impressed with them. It took me longer to get used to Legere on tenor. In fact, I ended up changing my mouthpiece and ligature in order to arrive at a better match with the Legere reed. Once I found a good mouthpiece & lig match -- Morgan 6L mouthpiece and Charles Bay gold lig -- I then really loved the sound and response I get with Legere reeds. I'm especially happy using Legere as most of my playing is in doubling situations.

As I understand it, regular cut Legere reeds are based on the measurements of Vandoren Traditional (blue box) and Legere Quebec is based on the Vandoren V12.

[Mike Ruhl]

This is the problem with asking "What's the best $whatever": you end up with everyone telling you what they prefer, not what they think is the best.

I prefer to play the Fibracell over the BARI. But I think the BARI is a better design. And to be fair, I have not tried any of the other synthetics.

I have played a few Plasticovers, and didn't prefer them. But I don't consider them a synthetic reed.

So what do you really want to know: what we prefer, or what is best?

[Bill Mecca]

I think Roger hit on something there as well. How each synthetic matches up with a particular mouthpiece.

I remember a former poster here who mentioned he decided to use BARI reeds and then went testing mouthpieces to find which one worked the best. I believe he settled on a Meyer Metal, and has 3 sizes to match the 3 different BARI strengths.

I think it's all about finding the right combination, player, mouthpiece, reed, horn... just another variable to add to the confusing mix.

[Mike Ruhl]

I'm looking at synthetic reeds now. I'm using Rico Jazz Select #2 filed. I love there sound but I'm tired of soaking ... sanding ... buying boxes ... and having to throw away half of them. So ... what's the best synthetic reed ? I've heard good things on the legere ones. I'm scared of having a buzzzzzing sound with synthetics ... Which one comes closer to what I currently use ?Getting back to the original post, I'd say a Fibracell medium soft (#2 or #2.5) would feel about right to you, but you may not like the buzz you get from them. A BARI soft would probably feel about right, too.

So I say try the BARI soft.

[Roger Aldridge]

Mike,

Whenever we get into "best" discussions on this Forum we usually end up with a confirmation of the fact that there is in reality no "best". Rather, as Bill points out, it comes down to personal preference and to the particular mix of mouthpiece, reed, ligature, and horn that works best for us as individual players and our particular tonal conception of our horn.

I know several classical clarinetists who changed their mouthpieces in order to get Legere reeds to work better for them. Try as I might, I could not get Legere reeds to work for me (ie, in terms of sound) on my Morgan 3C tenor mouthpiece. However, after trying different mouthpiece facings I discovered that I get excellent results with a Legere on a Morgan 6L. Go figure! Happily, I got a great sound right off the bat with Legere Quebec reeds on the Morgan RM28 that's my main mouthpiece on clarinet. If that hadn't been the case, there's a good chance that I wouldn't have invested my time & effort in Legere.

PS, Legere regular cut saxophone reeds have a clear, pure sound...no buzz.

[Mike Ruhl]

Roger, I agree with you, for the most part. That's why I went back to the original post to see what the real issue was. Despite what the thread title says, the question wasn't really "which one is best?", but rather "which one comes the closest to what I'm currently playing?".

[SaxPower]

You are right ... ''which one comes the closest to what I'm currently playing'' :)

[Mike Ruhl]

You are wright ... ''which one comes the closest to what I'm currently playing'' :)Probably a Fibracell #2 or #2.5.

[SaxPower]

Ok ... but I tried a BARI Medium and it sounds awful !! It's so buzzing ! So I'm kind of scared on buying a fibracell ... I think that all syntech reeds are the same ... It is different with a fibracell ? I use a Vandoren A28 (V5) mpc with a Bonade 2254UG inverted ligature on a YAS-23

[MPL]

All synthetics are not built the same way. For example...the Legere I use for bass clarinet appears to be a single, molded piece of plastic compound, more or less transparent, machined to be the same shape as a cane reed. The Legere is very dark sounding, no edge to speak of, great for bass clarinet work. But finding the right strength was an issue - I use a 2 3/4 but it feels like a 3 1/2, very stiff to me, but gets the best sound.

The Fibracells I use for baritone saxophone are built from a fibrous plastic material, "glued" together with resin, so it has similar physical characteristics to real cane. It's then machined to have the same "cut" as cane. My experience is that Fibracells are on the bright side, but do not lack for tonal core or center.

Lately Fibracell has been using a new formula that's darker than the older stuff, both physically and sonically. With a Fibracell on a Berg Larsen HR, my baritone has plenty of bottom and fine response over the range of the horn. Fibracells always feel stiffer than the equivalent real cane (I've compared them to Rico Royals and Jazz Selects), maybe by a half size or so.

I used a Bari plastic reed for marching tenor sax 23 years ago. It's similar to the Legere in material and manufacturing, but was never dark sounding at all - very edgy and buzzy on my metal Link 7*, but acceptably OK on the Link HR 6* I used for marching. I'm sure Bari has changed their formula, cut, etc., so I couldn't tell you how they compare today.

Synthetics are not for everyone. The only way to find out is to try a few, and it's not real cheap to do so. However - the advantages of reeds that play well all the time, need little maintenance, and aren't prone to failing due to temperature/humidity changes are worth that investment, IMO.

[wersax]

MPL stated: "Synthetics are not for everyone. The only way to find out is to try a few, and it's not real cheap to do so. However - the advantages of reeds that play well all the time, need little maintenance, and aren't prone to failing due to temperature/humidity changes are worth that investment, IMO."
Well said! One has to adapt to them to make them work, but there are definite advantages..........

[MojoBari]

I've been playing on synthetic reeds for over 30 years. I have purchased cane reeds over the years, but never a large box. Just 5 packs or less.

I was in HS when I first tried some synths that my band director had (a working pro). Prestini had a white plastic reed that was dreadfully buzzy in a 1.5. Nearly all synth reeds are buzzy in soft strengths, then again so is cane. But I latched on to Clarion and Bundy Fibracanes. I think they were the same design under 2 different names. I would rework them until it suited me and one would last for a year or so. I had a stockpile of these after they were discontinued.

I went to Bari and Bari*s in the 80's. I wanted a bright and loud sound and they supported that. They cut my lip when pushed too hard. They also could be sanded and scraped.

Then, as I was getting into other brighter mouthpieces, I went to Fibracells. I reworked the first few I had purchased, but I eventually decided to stop doing this. The raised fibers were irritating my lip. I just invested in a few at a time in different strengths and from different manufacturing lots (over time) to build up a small inventory for each size sax. Initially a lot of money to put out. But I was able to regrade them into 1/4 sizes and marked them as such. Now whenever I test a mouthpiece out I can easily go harder/softer a little bit until the set-up "rings".

A good cane reed will beat out a synth. But I'll take a consistent 9-9.5 out of 10 anyday that I get from Fibracells. The main area Fibracells lack in is altissimo response above G4 on tenor (big deal). But a big plus is that they are virtually squeek-proof and remain consistent for a very long time.

I still use some cane on sop sax. But long faced MPs work great with Fibracells on sop sax.

On sop clarinet, Legere is fabulous. Dark and clear sounding. Mine are several years old so I have not tried the new cuts.

On Bass clar, I'll use tenor Fibracells and sometimes a Bari plastic reed. I need volume more than a classical sound. Did not care for Legere here.

I have not tried the Hartman/Codera reeds. I did try the Teflon-like reeds sold under Olivieri & Woodwind names. Really buzzy and lifeless.

BTW, Fibracells are pretty buzzy at 2 and darken up at 3.5. 2.5-3 is like a transition area. If you prefer a darker clearer sound, you should drop down in tip opening until you get to a hard enough reed for your sound goals.

[Bill Mecca]

Lately Fibracell has been using a new formula that's darker than the older stuff, both physically and sonically.

Interesting, I recently got a couple new Fibracells (2.5 and 3) and they seemed brighter than the older version, soncially that is, we obviously agree on the color of the material. ;-) I have been on the mpc carousel a bit so my interpretation, or memory of my interpretation may be suspect.

I'm mostly playing Plasticover 3's at the moment, not a true synth, but played Fibracells for years before that, and still love their consistency. YMMV.

[wersax]

Good stuff. I too have tried a lot of synths over the years.....remember the 80's when the reed quality tanked, anybody? store clerks kept mumbling stuff about "bad reed crops".....that was when I seriously began to check synthetics out. First with Plasticovers.....BTW, I recently tried a box of them and none of them worked! Ouch! Over the years, I've found Fibracell the most consistent synth with a tone I can live with. (I do think Hahn is close though, but a great deal more expensive and I don't like the rubber "thingeys" on them.) And I've found that MojoBari's observations about Fibracell brightness/darkness relative to reed strength to be true; harder strengths are less buzzy. Reed placement with synthetics is more acute than with cane reeds as well. If the reed is too buzzy, moving the reed over the tip rail some will help........ligature placement can change things as well..........